bollywoodmasti

From crew, one of the persons present there was Rahul Bose who was all praises for the music and director Santosh Sivan who shot the film beautifully. Also he mentioned that he could not resist when offered this role which is not title but important, as the kid who performed the title role was perfect, prominent and the best fit. Then he handed over the mike to Taufiq Qureshi who has given the music in the film. Taufiq Qureshi did thank Santosh Sivan for giving him this opportunity to work on 'Tahaan'.

Sarika, who addressed the media after a long time, was happy to be a part of he film and playing mom to the kid Purav who enacts the title role. He was unanimously being addressed as a brilliant actor. Adnan Sami then took over and thanked the main character in the film - 'Birbal' the donkey - whom no one mentioned but then they all had a glow on the face once the donkey was mentioned. Adnan complimented all the artists, especially the kid.

The star of the evening was Purav Bhandare who thanked every one from his 'Santosh Sivan Uncle' to the 'unit uncles'. No wonder, he was reminded by Sarika and soon he thanked even the 'unit aunties' hence resulting in everyone being in splits by his innocence and charm.

Also present for the event were Mubina Rattonsey and Ashish Bhatnagar from Idream.

We reported earlier that Salman Khan has been telling his friends, “Whatever happened between Ash and me is over. I’m really fond of the Bachchans. Abhishek is a buddy and I really like him.”

On Monday afternoon, Sallu followed up his words with some action. Putting the past completely behind him, Sallu spent half an hour with Abhishek, in the latter’s vanity van, at Mehboob Studios.

At the Studios Salman was shooting for Veer, Abhishek was there at the same time for a promotional shoot of Drona. At about 3 pm Salman took the initiative to break the ice with Aishwarya’s husband. He went to meet Abhishek and the two were closetted in Abhi’s vanity van for 30 minutes.

At around 3.30 pm Salman and Abhishek emerged from the van, looking pretty happy with themselves. After escorting Sallu back to the sets, Abhi returned to his vanity van.

What did Salman do after that? Reports an eyewitness, “Salman headed straight to his set and started shooting.”

The eyewitness adds, “It was heartwarming to see Salman and Abhishek bonding so well. Everyone was pleasantly surprised.”

Salman’s official spokesperson Alok Mathur confirmed the news and said, “It is true that Salman and Abhishek met at Mehboob Studios on Monday afternoon. They chatted for some time. Salman is extremely fond of Abhishek.”

To hash a loose chronology, Aishwarya and Salman were a couple for four years (1999-2003), before they split. She married Abhishek in April 2007.

According to past reports, Salman and Abhishek were spotted walking the ramp for Farah Khan in 2006 and the two stayed away from each other literally dividing the ramp into two factions. While Hrithik Roshan, D J Aqeel and Kunal Kapoor stood by Salman; Arjun Rampal, Zayed Khan and Ritiesh Deshmukh were on Abhishek’s side. Everyone present on the show could sense the tension between the two.

In 2007, there were more reports suggesting friction between between Salman and Abhishek. Apparently, at one of the awards events in 2007, when Katrina Kaif was performing, Salman Khan had jumped on the stage to join her. Soon after Abhishek too dragged Aishwarya, who was sitting with the audience, to join him for his dance number, because he wanted to send out a message to Aishwarya.

Bong beauty Bipasha Basu is the latest member to take a ride in the reality show wagon.

She will be soon seen as a judge for the reality show "Chak De-Shehar Di Kudiyan Te Galli De Gunde".

In the dance based show she will be sharing her responsibilities with the yesteryear actress Raveena Tandon.

Getting the hot and happening Bips to be part of the show is going to add on to the Viewer ship and the world will see another face of the stunning dusky lady.

Spicezee Bureau Mumbai, Aug 28: After grabbing headlines for his much talked about spat with SRK, supposed break up with Katrina, and the alleged tiff with Akshay, Salman has just got lucky with a dream come true experience. According to reports, Salman recently shot Bollywood’s most expensive song ever for his upcoming flick, ‘Veer’ which was recorded with a budget of Rs 3.5 crore. Salman, who plays the lead in the film, is also the movie’s script writer. ‘Veer’ stars a newcomer actress whose name has been kept a secret by the makers of the film. The flick also stars the very talented Mithun, along with actor Sohail Khan. An industry insider reveals, “Salman, Sohail, Mithun and the new glamdoll chipped in for shooting an 11 day long schedule for this particular song in a Mumbai studio earlier this month. The song has around 600 junior artists dancing along with the main stars.” Salman has reportedly contributed a lot to the song, right from its conceptualisation to helping execute it all. Salman personally got involved in all the discussions with the creative team of the film and the choreographer before the shooting for the song began. Sources reveal that the actor was present on all 11 days even when his part was not being shot. Salman has been so passionate and excited about this particular song that he thinks it shall be the film’s biggest highlight. The song has become Bollywood’s costliest ever, taking over the song ‘Shehenshah’ form Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, which was shot with a budget crossing Rs 3 crore.

Spicezee Bureau New Delhi, Aug 15: Yash Raj Film’s (YRF’s) latest offering ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, which was expected to revive their fortune, proves to be a dampner but it may work thanks to the three-day holiday. Bachna… is YRF’s second release this year after the debacle of ‘Tashan’. The film peeps into the life of Raj Sharma (Ranbir Kapoor), a girl crazy boy of sorts. The film covers his life from 18 till he turns 30 years old. Raj, at 18 is a young boy from Punjab who has just passed out from school and the only thing he can think about is girls! The guy heads to Switzerland for a trip with friends just to have fun (did I say DDLJ?), with other things on the backburner ad he bumps into Mahi (Minissha Lamba) who hails from Amritsar. Things happen but Raj moves on. Though, Minissha tries hard to replicate Preity Zinta, but she fails visibly. What’s worse is her soggy chemistry with the Kapoor lad. End of episode one. Then enters Radhika played by Bipasha Basu. Thankfully, this one is a little better than the first one. Bipasha manages a decent performance despite an obvious age gap between her and Ranbir. Raj, the non-serious womaniser moves on yet again as he is in a hurry to climb the ladder and is an escapist when it comes to commitment. But he leaves behind two girls whose heart he has broken. End of episode two. Episode three begins and he meets Gayatri (Deepika Padukone) and finally (for gods sake!!) falls truly, madly and deeply for this taxi driver (gimme a break!). But as they say, the path of true love doesn't ever run smoothly and Raj realises the disastrous consequences of his past. All that can be said about this one is – it could’ve been much better, had it been for a better script and a little more of thought gone into it. Who would want to see a tale about women who could never get over their first love in the times, when women dump men as soon as they get a cue of what they have on their minds. Ranbir tries extremely hard to put soul into his character and is quite successful with it as he does full justice to the Raj’s portrayal. But one is disappointed when he hams a little in a few scenes, tries too hard in some and believe it or not actually lisps in some scenes (a put off for sure, after all who would want a guy who calls misunderstanding ‘mishundershtanding’?). Dude, you really need to do something about that before people take it to be your trademark. As for Deepika, she is just fine (no more can be said for her). The music is fairly hummable, thanks to Vishal-Shekhar. The direction is honest but Siddharth Anand should be looking at something else the next time. So in short, it is a stylish looking movie with not much substance but worth a watch. Catch it if you want to travel across Europe for a mere sum of 100 bucks! Two cheers for this one.

Mumbai, Aug 16 (IANS) Akshay Kumar's daredevil stunts and Kareena Kapoor's lip-locking with Hollywoood action star Sylvester Stallone in "Kambakht Ishq" has been widely reported, but Aftab Shivdasani's stunning action scenes have not been written about.

Aftab, who hasn't had any big hits lately, plays Akshay's younger brother and both the actors are cast as stuntmen in Hollywood and have a lot of scenes together where they perform some unbelievable, high-flying scenes.

"I've been shooting for 'Kambakht Ishq' in LA. Yeah, I play Akshay Kumar's sibling. We both play stuntmen. So it kind of runs in the family and it's a family that runs fast. The role requires considerable physical skill and energy," Aftab told IANS on the telephone.

Aftab, whose recently released "Money Hai Toh Honey Hai" flopped, underwent rigorous training to look and feel fit enough to pull off those daring stunts at Universal Studios.

"The stunts are dangerous. But everything is so professional here in Hollywood. Safety while doing action scenes is top priority not just for the lead stars but also for the stuntmen. Otherwise, the experience of working at Universal is no different from the studios back home," he said.

Commenting upon his tryst with the Hollywood star, Aftab said: "I've scenes with Sly Stallone. He was a pleasure to work with."

But he refused to comment on reports that he has moved to the second lead in the film.

"I don't know about that. Everyone is entitled to his or her perception," said the actor whose next release is multi-starrer "Acid Factory".

Right now, Aftab has only one film as main lead called "Aloo Chaat" in which he has teamed up with TV actress Amna Sharif. The film is complete.

Like his other colleagues Saif Ali Khan and Dino Morea, Aftab has also turned producer to create an interesting acting opportunity for himself. He will produce and act in a film to be directed by Glen, one-half of the Glen-Ankush duo who directed him in the little-seen sci-fi cloning tale "Jaane Kya Hoga" with Bipasha Basu.

Aftab is also doing Indra Kumar's "Daddy Cool"

New York (PTI): Bollywood super star Amitabh Bachchan, son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Ashwarya Rai ended their tour of five cities of the United States with an energetic mega performance here on Friday.

Bachchan family was also accompanied by actors Preity Zinta, Madhuri Dixit, Ritesh Deshmukh, choreorgrapher Shiamak Davar and other 130 performers on their "unforgettable tour" which began from Toronto on July 19.

Talking to reporters, the star family said, though the tour was hectic, it gave them an opportunity to spend quality time together, something which is hard to find when they are busy shooting for movies.

It was a massive venture, they agreed, saying that each show cost around one million dollar to organise but it ran to full houses.

They shared their happiness of staying together and spending time under one roof during the tour. "It is an experience to spend time together without hectic filming schedules," as Abhisek put it.

He said it provided an opportunity to spend six weeks on the road with the family and "I don't think we have spent this amount of time and such quality time for over 10 years together."

The warm reaction of the audiences, Amitabh Bachchan said, is their reward and incentive.

Abhisek said their success is tribute to the successful film industry and movies which are appreciated everywhere by the audiences.

The bollywood family headed to Europe to hold similar live performances for thier fans.

Indo-Asian News Service

Saturday, February 2, 2008: (Mumbai):

To play a caring, nurturing teacher in Paathshaala

Shahid Kapur has always idolised Aamir Khan. In choreographer-director Ahmed Khan’s first production Paathshaala, Shahid gets to pay tribute to his favourite actor.

The film, directed by Milind Ukey, has the actor play an English and music teacher who comes into the lives of a group of young, troubled students.

The similarities to Taare Zameen Par are delightfully direct.

Ahmed Khan, who is also Shahid’s close friend, says that Taare Zameen Par has made a huge difference to the way we look at movie entertainment and at the parent-child relationship.

Bachcha party

“I’d happily admit that Paathshaala is inspired by Taare Zameen Par, except that it was conceived and written a year ago. It’s about a sensitive, nurturing teacher.

I’ve signed some talented kids like Swini Khara (Cheeni Kum), Ali (Fanaa) and Dwij Yadav (Nanhe Jaisalmer). It’s about time we addressed issues regarding children in a serious but entertaining way.”

Interestingly, Ahmed himself was a child actor who did a role in Shekhar Kapoor’s Mr India. “Shahid too was a child actor. So we’re all putting our minds together to look into the mind of a child and the child within a man.”

Ahmed has directed two other films, the dumb Lakeer and the dumber Fool N Final. About the latter, Ahmed says, “Please don’t blame me for it, blame the producer. For the first time in Paathshaala, I’m doing a film straight from my heart.”

Paathshala’s set representing the school has been erected at Film City. “We even have a basketball court as part of the school set,” says Ahmed.

Saif Ali Khan has solemnised his affections for Kareena Kapoor in an unexpected way. He has got her name tattooed on his arm.

History is being created in Bollywood right now. Shah Rukh is currently shooting the baap of all item songs for Rakesh Roshan's production Krazzy 4 (directed by debutant Raja Sen) while the producer's son Hrithik is getting ready to shoot the same song composed by Hrithik's uncle and choreographed by Ahmed Khan.

Says Hrithik, "Shah Rukh whose association with my dad's banner goes back a long way to King Uncle and Koela, is being the portrait of graciousness.

He's currently shooting an item song for my father's film in Mumbai. In mid-February when my knee is fully recovered and I get back to doing whay I am best—action and dancing—I'll be performing the same item song as Shah Rukh for my Dad's production."

But why the double delight derived from the same source?

"While Shah Rukh's version of the track will be part of the film my version will be used only for promotional purposes.

While I'm doing this for my home production, Shah Rukh is going out of his way for us. It just shows how much solidarity actually exists in the industry."

But Shah Rukh and Hrithik dancing to the same tune…wouldn't that eventuate in unnecessary comparisons between the two superstars?

Hrithik is sure such comparisons can be avoided.

"Though we are dancing to the same song composed by my uncle Rajesh Roshan and dancing to the same choreographer Ahmed Khan's instructions we'll bring our own body language and style into it. Besides, Shah Rukh doesn't need to dance. I do."

Sounding enormously excited about his career's first item song (it would be Shah Rukh's second—he had earlier performed an item song for buddy Karan Johar's Kaal) Hrithik says, "It's composed by my uncle and sung by Vishal (of Vishal-Shekhar).

And it's the best dance track I've ever heard. I'm sure both Shah Rukh and I are going to have huge fun performing this item song."

Broken relationships usually take bitter twist but the newly-parted couple Vikram Bhatt and Amisha Patel seem to have taken it sweetly. Having stayed together for quite a few years, parting would have pained them like never before. However, they have managed to part ways amicably.

It looks like filmmaker Vikram Bhatt just can't stop singing Amisha's praises. He said that she is a beautiful girl with a beautiful heart. He added that she would be a great girl always.

The director seems to have highest regard for his ex-girlfriend. He revealed that they came together while looking for happiness. He admires her fighting spirit and strong character. He added that they would always be the best of friends.

It's official now — the French love Shah Rukh Khan as much as Indians do.

The Bollywood star became the second Indian after author Arundhati Roy to be honoured with the Insignia of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters in Mumbai. He is the first Indian actor to win this accolade.

"I am a kid right now, every honor conferred on me is special. I told my children while leaving home that I am winning another award," says the actor.

And if you are wondering, if Shah Rukh Khan's starpower works in France, well, the French Ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, himself vouches for it.

"I remember during Devdas in 2004, when he was staying at the Luxe, a whole riot began. We thought it was for Tom Cruise but then, it was actually Shah Rukh Khan! it took us by surprise," says Bonnafont.

Ashutosh Gowarikar 's Jodhaa Akbar , starring Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan in the title roles is attracting attention from unwanted quarters.

The leaders of Rajput community in Jaipur are threatening to stall the release of 'Jodhaa Akbar' in Rajasthan alleging distortion of facts. President of Rajput Karni Sena, Lokendra Kalvi said on Tuesday that the Sena apprehended distortion of Rajasthan's historical facts in 'Jodhaa Akbar’, which is based on Jodhpur raj gharana.

The Karni Sena would watch the movie when released, and if required it would not allow it’s screening in the state, Kalvi said.

Earlier, the Rajput Mahasabha had also alleged misinterpretation of historical facts. They maintained that Jodha was Jehangir's wife and not Akbar's as shown in K Asif's 'Mughal-E-Azam' earlier and now in 'Jodhaa Akbar'.

The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a body registered with the Animal Welfare Board of India, had also issued a letter to Gowarikar asking him if had the required permission for using animals in his film.

Over 80 elephants, 100 horses and 55 camels were used in the movie, which has been made at a whopping budget of Rs.400 million.

Touted as one of the biggest releases of this year, 'Jodhaa Akbar' spins a yarn around a glorious chapter of the Mughal era.

Expectations are high since the epic romance is the third big film to come from the Gowarikar stable after the much-acclaimed Lagaan and Swades .

With Hrithik and Ash coming together again after Dhoom 2 , 'Jodhaa Akbar' has managed to grab headlines much before its release that is scheduled on February 15, 2008.

Kareena Kapoor's ex- boyfriend Shahid Kapoor and and Saif Ali Khan's ex-girlfriend Rozza were recently spotted having coffee together in a five star hotel. The two were also seen together instantly after the breakup of Shahid and Kareena. In fact it was Rozzaa who had warned Shahid about the closeness between Saif and Kareena. The two are said to be in touch since then.

Shahid and Kareena chatted for over an hour over cups of coffee. Rozzaa is said to be close to many Bollywood stars and is often seen in the party circuits. There are rumours that the two seem to be extremely comfortable in each others company. Their conversation might be interesting as they have a common interest i.e. Saif and Kareena!

katrina Kaif and Saman Khan are going through a rough patch and Katrina has hooked up with her boss. She is the dream world with her new found love. Well not quite true in real life but in her upcoming movie Race, Katrina is love with her boss Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna. The real love is however not known as it is one of the major plots of the movie.

Katrina is starring in a thriller after doing a series of romantic movies. The last time Kat did a thriller was Boom way back in 2003. She is on a upward slide in her career after featuring in two hits Namestay London and Partner last year. Race a multi by Abbas Mustan also stars Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy. Katrina has a busy year ahead with as many as four releases lined up starting with Race. She will be seen on screen with Akshay Kumar in Singh is Kinng. She will star with Salman Khan in the movie Yuvraaj and also be seen in Hello.

By Subhash K Jha

Strange things keep happening to the unconventional Ayesha Takia. Last year she was meant to play only one role in Anurag Kashyap's No Smoking.

She ended up playing two roles. This year she plays a dubbing artiste in Rohit Shetty's Sunday….and dubs for a baby cheetah in Nikhil Advani's animation film.

"It's all so strange," Ayesha laughs. "When I decided to be part of Sunday I just wanted to have fun after the serious Dor and even more serious No Smoking.

And I did have loads of fun. But initially we hadn't chosen a profession for my character. When Rohit suggested a dubbing artiste I jumped at it. I don't think any heroine in our films has played a dubbing artiste."

Being a natural mimic, Ayesha worked hard on getting her voices right for the role. "I watched a lot of cartoons. But I found the voices very shrill and unnatural.I wanted to bring in a more natural tone to my voice.

A professional dubbing artiste Vikas and the veteran sound recordist Rakesh Ranjan helped me with getting it right for my dubbing artistes' role."

Ayesha had great fun doing a number of voices in Sunday. But even more fun is her role as the baby cheetah in Nikhil Advani's animation film.

"I get to speak for a cub named Yuvraj. Nikhil wanted me to dub in my natural voice. That was more fun than assuming an unnatural pitch.

What added to the fun of this whole experience is that all of us who speak in Nikhil's animation film—Akshaye Khanna, Boman Irani, Govinda and me—sat together worked on our dialogues at reahearsals and then Nikhil designed the film on our voices."

Well it has been a normal affair with the millionaire hotel heiress Paris Hilton and sister Nikki. Both are famous for their jet-setting ways, especially to exotic spa destinations either for rehab or detoxication.

But now even our own stars are following their Hollywood counterparts’ steps. Just imagine starlets like Riya and Raima, are set to do the same!

According to reports, the Sen sisters – Riya and Raima – are flying to Thailand, to join their parents at the Chiva-Som International Health Resort.

Says Riya, “Mom (Moon Moon) and dad are freaking out there. They are simply glowing! They called us to say they’re feeling 10 years younger. We’ve decided to join them, and we’lll be there in 10 days.”

Mummy Moon Moon first learnt of Chiva-Som, a three-hour drive from Bangkok airport, through friends. “Mummy says they cater to every need, from pampering, to weight loss, stress-reduction and relaxation,” says Riya.

“This health resort also has yoga, aqua aerobics, cardio, combo-circuits and many other classes by experts.” -Chandan Das

By Subhash K Jha

Hrithik has found an ideal antidote to the literate periodicity that pervaded his being during Jodhaa Akbar. He has gone straight to the pop-art of advertising biscuits.

On Saturday he was in Goa shooting for an ad with the gifted Navdeep Singh who last year directed that talked-about noire film Manorama 6 Feet Under.

It's one more ad for a biscuit company. The last time Hrithik shot an ad for the same guys it showed him waltzing ethereally with Isha Shravani. This time Hrithik's partner in the ad format is an upcoming model Gunjan Bakshi who has so far done mainly ads for the print medium.

But sad luck, Gunjan! This time Hrithik doesn't dance in the ad.

And that's quite a change for the actor. "I'm aware a majority of the ads expect me to put on my dancing shoes. I can't say I've consciously avoided dancing for this one.

But yes, when you sit down to create something with like-minded people ideas to tend to be tossed freely and feelingly. I did feel the dancing bit in the ads was becoming tedious."

Hrithik doesn't do much dancing in his next release Jodhaa-Akbar. And that isn't because he injured his knee during the shooting.

"That's completely untrue. I didn't get injured during Jodhaa-Akbar. My knee had been suffering for a long time. I just let it be. Until it came to a point where it could take no more."

The plus side of the injury is that Hrithik got to spend more time with his wife and son Hrehaan.

The downside? "Well, here I am in Goa surrounding by the sun and sand. I'm staring at this inviting expanse of beach leading into a stretch of the bluest sea I've ever seen.

And all I want to do is run with the sand and see flapping on my feet and face. But I can't do that.Thanks to my knee. I've to behave myself if I want to again do what I love doing the most, namely action and dance."

Incidentally Hrithik and hhis wife Sussanne are expecting their second child in May. "I don't want to say much about this. But yes, we're both very excited. I thought my excitement level would be lower the second time around. But it's as high."

Would Hrithik like his second child to be a baby brother for Hrehaan?

"No." says Hrithik firmly. "I want a girl this time."

A prominent half-page colour advertisement by Sanjay Dutt and Manyata in a Marathi newspaper Wednesday, greeting Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on his 82nd birthday, indicates that the troubled film star may have tied the knot with his live-in companion, an indication confirmed by Bollywood sources. The advertisement has been released in the 88-page special edition Saamna newspaper. Below a large photograph of a reclining Thackeray is the revealing caption: 'From Sanjay Dutt and Manyata Dutt'. According to Bollywood sources, the duo had a low-profile registered marriage in the presence of a few family members and close friends. Though his sisters Priya, Namrata and other family friends remained unreachable on their mobile phones, sources told that the marriage has been kept under wraps since Dutt has been sentenced to a jail term. He is presently out on bail. 'It would appear inappropriate to celebrate a marriage with him behind bars,' one of his Bollywood friends said. Dutt was always expected to tie the knot with Manyata alias Shehnaaz Shaikh, once an innocuous Bollywood item girl, who has been seen with him during the highs and lows in his personal and professional lives. Ever since the star, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case, was released from his latest jail stint in November last year, Manyata has been constantly seen with him at all public events, including his film shoots. Manyata has reportedly become so possessive of late that not only Dutt's friends, even his sisters cannot walk into his apartment and talk to him without her remaining within earshot. Sources said the couple is now planning to shift out of their Mumbai apartment building Imperial Heights to guard their privacy. Bollywood beauties jump on to action bandwagon Flexing muscles, swinging a sword or jumping from one building to another is no longer the forte of heroes as Bollywood actresses are increasingly embracing action-oriented roles. Be it Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif or Koena Mitra, heroines are no longer content with just dancing around trees or singing in the rain. Instead, they are in a bid to compete with action heroes. 'The trend of more heroines taking up action roles itself shows that with the evolution of the Hindi film industry, women are getting to do more in films than just dance around trees,' Deepika told. Said actor Ajay Devgan: 'Heroines are as strong as heroes. If we can do it, why can't they? It is great to see them opting for action roles and I think they must continue to do action scenes in films.' Deepika is all set to give a heady rush of adrenaline to audiences with action scenes in Nikhil Advani's 'Chandni Chowk To China' opposite Akshay Kumar. Viewers will also soon see Priyanka Chopra doing heavy-duty action in 'Love Story 2050', Aishwarya swinging the sword in the historical epic 'Jodhaa-Akbar' and Koena playing a superwoman in 'Karna'. Prior to these, Seema Biswas wielded revolvers in 'Bandit Queen', a film-based on dacoit Phoolan Devi, Sushmita Sen gave an action packed performance in 'Samay' and Esha Deol's and Aishwarya's racy acts proved a crowd puller for 'Dhoom' and 'Dhoom 2' respectively. Also, Priyanka and Soha Ali Khan had action scenes in 'Krrish' and 'Khoya Khoya Chand' respectively, while Esha, Dia Mirza and Shamita Shetty did some stunts in 'Cash'. Commenting on the trend, Amrita Rao said: 'I would love to do an action flick. In fact I find myself fortunate that I entered the film industry during a phase when actresses are doing so much and have longer terms. 'It gives me hope for a longer innings. And the credit goes to banners for defying the roles set earlier for actresses,' she added. However, in the 1930s and 40s, Bollywood heroines did have important roles in action films. Indian cinema at that time saw Mary Evans, fondly called Fearless Nadia, tossing the myth of the docile heroine into air. Riding a horse with a whip in hand, fencing with villains atop running trains, swinging from chandeliers and doing stunts without resorting to stuntmen, Nadia's films 'Hunterwali', 'Pahadi Kanya', 'Miss Frontier Mail', 'Lutaru Lalna', 'Punjab Mail', 'Diamond Queen', 'Bombaiwali, Jungle Princess' and 'Hunterwali ki Beti' ran houseful. Director and actor Rajat Kapoor said: 'It is nothing new. After every 20 years, trends comes back. According to me, today the trend of actresses doing more action in films is more related to fitness. 'It is no doubt great but as far as the ornamental role of women is concerned I feel no progress is happening'.

At a glittering ceremony for the 'NDTV Indian of the Year' awards held at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, actress Shilpa Shetty missed winning the award, while Rajnikanth, another star hailing from the South, bagged it.

In the year gone by, Rajnikanth achieved huge popularity with his superbly-scripted character in the film 'Sivaji'. On the other hand, Shilpa Shetty received worldwide recognition for the dignity with which she stood up against racial discrimination onslaughts in the British reality show 'Big Brother'. This not only made the actress a household name and an icon in the United Kingdom, but brought immense pride for our country, propelling her as an ambassador of equality across the globe.

"Shilpa has only been an achiever, while Rajnikanth has been a great performer," commented the actresses' publicist Dale Bhagwagar on her losing out to the award. "Shilpa has emerged the most famous Indian in UK. Hopefully, India will reward her for this accomplishment in future," he added.

Apart from Shilpa and Rajnikanth, other nominations in the entertainment category of the 'NDTV Indian of the Year' awards, included Shah Rukh Khan (who was given a 'special award') and Himesh Reshammiya.

Can you believe this? After churning out four hits in a row during 2007, Akshay Kumar is now charging over Rs 20 crore for a film!

Similarly, Akshay hit films during 2007 - the maximum by any actor in Bollywood - include HEYY BABYY, NAMASTE LONDON, BHOOL BHULAIYA and WELCOME. And, according to industry sources, Akshay has hiked his price and signed the next film by Venus Records for a whopping Rs 22 crore.

Although Akshay is far behind Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan as far as status value in the industry, success has not gone to the lad's head and he is neither interested in any competition with Big B or King Khan. On the other hand, sources close to Akshay say that he is inspired by Rajnikanth who has been charging Rs 16 crore per film following the runaway success of 'SHIVAJI - THE BOSS'. And Akki himself says that he is not too interested in past performances, but is working hard to give more hit films this year.

Akshay's consistency in delivering hit films has already earned him the title of 'Hindi Film Hit Machine' in Bollywood circles. If the films Akshay is doing now are any indication, the year ahead will see him doing a lot of action on celluloid. In fact, last year, most of Akki's movies were comedies.

Akshay's next film is Nikhil Advani's big budget adventure flick 'CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA' which depicts a part of the actor's life and is estimated to cost a whopping Rs 100 crore making it one of the most costliest films made so far! We sincerely, hope that the New Year will see Akki rising to greater heights in all regards.

The promos of Ramesh Taurani's ‘RACE’ have created quite a buzz in the industry. Besides the slick and international feel of ‘RACE’ directed by the master of the thriller genre Abbas-Mustan, the industry is abuzz about Bipasha Basu’s hot scenes with Saif Ali Khan.

According to insiders, Bipasha and Saif have shot a steamy song and passionate scenes in the film and both shared such a comfort level during the filming of the scenes that they had no awkward moments during the shooting.

When contacted, Bipasha said, "Right now in Bollywood we can’t feel awkward about doing any scene during shooting as we are informed well in advance about the story and screenplay. I am quite comfortable shooting for sizzling scenes as long as I know what I am supposed to do and am not uncomfortable about the idea.”

“But yes, even if remotely I would sense any discomfort, I will not do it, says the sultry sex bomb from Bengal. She adds, "But then it's not only me, the whole film is sizzling. All the characters have a lot of intimate scenes and it is not just between me and Saif."

Giving her opinion regarding the film, Bipasha says, "’RACE’ is a very sexy and slick film comparable to any international thriller. The film’s plot has a certain levels of intimacy."

Tips Film producer Ramesh Taurani too confirms that there are very many hot and steamy scenes between Bipasha and Saif in 'RACE'.

Elaborating, Taurani says, "’RACE’ has got a very international feel as it has been shot in exotic locales of Durban. There are intimate scenes between the other characters in the film too, but Saif and Bipasha are the hottest.

But there is no kissing scene in the film and both Bipasha and Saif are very professional. There were no awkward moments since both were comfortable with the scenes during the shooting."

What if the critics are mean to him and almost wrote him off with his first movie, the producers seem to love Himesh, the actor. After the surprise success of Aap Kaa Suroor, Himesh is all set to star in the reboot version of 1980s Subash Ghai super hit Karzzz (yes, this isn’t a typo, there are three ‘z’s in the new version).

His scout for a lead lady for Karzzz has ended with him zeroing in on producer Indra Kumar’s daughter debutant Shwetha to be cast opposite him.

Himesh will play the role immortalized by Rishi Kapoor – sans his customary cap – and Shwetha, the role played by Tina Munim. Interestingly, Farah - Shah Rukh team’s recent blockbuster Om Shanti Om is also evidently inspired by Karz. Himesh’s Karzzz will be produced by T-Series and directed by Satish Kaushik. Rest of the cast includes Urmila Matondkar, Gulshan Grover, and Rohini Hattangadi.

Since its release, the Indian Films-Studio 18 released WELCOME has only moved from strength to strength.

In the 2007 round-up in the UK, where the film has done the most business in the overseas market, WELCOME ranks at No.2 after OM SHANTI OM. NAMASTE LONDON, PARTNER and SALAAM-E-ISHQ feature at No.3, 4 and 5 respectively.

It follows that WELCOME is also the biggest of the four Akshay Kumar releases of 2007, and by the end of its fifth weekend, it will have created yet another record by emerging as the biggest UK hit ever of Akshay Kumar's movie career!

WELCOME has grossed nearly $1.8 million in the UK to date.

Post the super success of JAB WE MET, actress Kareena Kapoor is on cloud nine, specially after winning the Screen best actress award. She recently revealed that she was confidant about the success of the Imtiaz Ali directed flick, but did not expect it to become such a big hit. However, the show goes on and so does Kareena aka Bebo.

The lady is now concentrating on her next release, Yash Raj's TASHAN. Kareena is very excited about her role in the film because this will be for the first time that the pretty actress is attempting action, and that too the gun-totting type. Talking about her role, Kareena reveals that she sports a rugged KILL BILL type look, that is quite cool and funky. In fact she is curious to see how the audience reacts to it.

Well, we can assure Kareena that both TASHAN and her role will be lapped up by the audience, if our trade sources and public reactions to the scintillating promos are anything to go by

Well at the PETA event last night at the ITC Grand we had a chat with none other thatn Anu Malik. If that not that interesting then listen to what he had to say “after watching this PETA presentation I think that I will stop eating the little chicken I used to. Its really sad and disheartening to see the way these animals are treated and we never even think about them, they are just taken for granted. I fell that we need more people to watch this presentation and help bring about a change.” Well from the looks of what he said we can say that Anu is now a no chick’s kind of guy.

Don't be too surprised if you see actor Hrithik Roshan with a sword on the streets because that's a gift he's walked away with on Friday night.

Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hritik Roshan unveiled the twin cover edition of a popular film magazine Jodhaa Akbar in Mumbai and instead of doing the usual goody two shoes act on stage, Hrithik decided to indulge in some leg pulling.

He might be a shy guy, but once the clothes are off and you see the reaction, the guy can give Brad Pitt a complex.

The cover in question puts to rest rumors about a tiff between the actors on the sets of the film.

“This katti batti (fighting) is not something we do. We are grown ups and these things are not conducive to working,” said Hrithik.

And while the stars cleared the air, director Ashutosh Gowarikar looked on, clearly not complaining about the publicity his film is getting.

“Jodhaa is a princess, a girl who when in circumstances beyond anyone's control, has the ability to make a choice,” said Gowarikar.

“I’ve lived the lifetime as Jodhaa throughout the making of the film. I’m really glad about this experience and we as a team will treasure it forever,” said Aishwarya.

Like it is said in our good old movies, all’s well that ends well.

A day after Lakshya director Farhan Akhtar's birthday, it's Hrithik Roshan's birthday.
After his drop-dead good looks in Dhoom 2, Hrithik wears a period look in his new film, Jodha Akbar, opposite Aishwarya Rai.

Last year there wasn't any film release from Hrithik, so now everyone's waiting eagerly for Jodha Akbar's release.

Cheers to the good looks and awesome light eyes!

Aamir has lost oodles of weight and is looking dapper in his new look. And we are sure the critical and commercial success of his directorial venture has also added its bit on his health and wealth. And having achieved both commercial and critical appreciation, he had decided to keep the promise he gave to his son Junaid and daughter Aira. “I had promised them that I will quit smoking after my film get release,” he says. And that’s why the first thing he did after his film got release is quit smoking. Hopefully others will follow the no smoking policy as well.

Aamir Khan has got a new fan - and it's none other than senior BJP leader L K Advani. Khan held a special screening of 'Taare Zameen Par' in the capital New Delhi for this special fan.

It was no star-studded evening but still special for the new actor-turned-director Aamir Khan; he had flown in to Delhi from Mumbai for the special screening of 'Taare' for the Leader of Opposition Advani. And the teary-eyed senior BJP leader couldn't hide his emotions after watching the film.

"Both the Director and the Scriptwriter must be coplimented in a very proper manner. After years I have seen such a film. Congratulations to the filmmakers," said a distinctly red-eyed Advani to the press after the screening.

There's no two ways about it: 'Taare Zameen Par' has managed to create quite a buzz with some heart warming performances, and Aamir's effort has been lauded by one and all. Not surprising then, that his directorial debut bagged 6 awards at a recent award ceremony - the Nokia 14th Annual Star Screen Awards on Thursday (January 10) in Mumbai.

Khan shared the best director award for the film with Shimit Amin for 'Chak De! India'. He additionally won awards as Best Supporting Actor and for Best Dialogs. The three other awards won by the film were - Best Story (Amol Gupte), Best Child Actor (Darsheel) and Best Lyricist (Prasoon Joshi).

A suitably overwhelmed Aamir Khan faced the press afterwards where he thanked the jury particularly its chairman Shatrughan Sinha, profusely for bestowing the honours.

"I am standing with the the chairman of the jury. And I have to say that I have the highest regard for Shatruji and the entire jury who was part of the Screen panel. They are my seniors, they are my betters, and people who I have the highest regard for. And I am very touched with the kind of warm words of Shatruji - the generosity I would say, with which he has praised the film and the work,' said a beaming Aamir.

So, can the Best Director and Best story awards convince Aamir Khan to indeed attend award functions that he has been skipping for quite sometime now?

"It's not that important, it's not," was Aamir Khan's reply to a similar question after the awards.

So Aamir Khan's first directorial venture 'Taare Zameen Par' has not only stolen our hearts but has also started winning accolades at various award ceremonies. But unfortunately the awards and the appreciation has not been able to convince the meticulous actor and debutant director to come and attend these award functions.

Amrita Rao received a surprise call from Bollywood hunk Salman Khan. Amrita, who's shooting in Jaisalmer for Anil Kapoor's film, flew to Mumbai to partake in the music launch celebrations of My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves.

Looking radiant, the pretty actress received compliments aplenty during the music launch.

Salman, who was shooting in Hyderabad for Boney Kapoor's film, was watching the music launch on television and promptly called Amrita, showering generous compliments on her.

Amrita's glam look in My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves is surely creating ripples!

Shah Rukh Khan has set a record of sorts by paying an advance tax of a whopping Rs 27 crore in December 2007 putting his income for 2007-08 at around Rs 150 crore.

Its has been a huge jump from the money he made the previous fiscal when he paid a modest Rs 18 crore in tax.

2007 has been a great year for SRK, for he not only had two mega hits under his belt - Chak De India and Om Shanti Om , which he also produced - but also earned Rs 1 crore for every episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Akshay Kumar, who has given four hits in a row this year, is in second place, his advance tax returns amount to Rs seven crore.

The Bachchans are in third, fourth and fifth place. While the Big B has filed returns of Rs 1.8 crore, son Abhishek has submitted 3.7 crore, while Aishwarya's advance tax returns total Rs 1.6 crore.

Hrithik Roshan , who paid Rs 15 crore last year, had no releases in 2007 though his endorsement list has grown longer. Aamir Khan , who paid Rs 6 crore last year, released only one film, Taare Zameen Par , and is known to have taken the distribution rights as part of his remuneration. He has paid advance taxes worth Rs 3 crore.

Mumbai, (UNI) Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor won the Best Actor and Actress trophy respectively at the glittering Screen awards ceremony held here tonight. Shahrukh, popularly known as SRK, was adjudged the Best Actor for his performance as the coach of the women's hockey team in Chak De India, while Kareena bagged the Best Actress trophy for her performance in Imtiaz Ali's flick Jab We Met. Kareena did not attend the function and her award was collected by her elder sister Karishma Kapoor. The three-hour extravaganza was held at the MMRDA grounds in the suburban Bandra-Kurla complex.Taare's child actor Darsheel Safary won the trophy for the Best Child Actor and the jury award for Best Actor. Darsheel was also not present to collect his award. Best Supporting Actress trophy went to the entire women hockey team of Chak De India. The film also won the Best Editing trophy.

Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om) and Ranbir Kapoor (Saawariya) won the Best Debutants award of the year. However, Deepika could not collect her trophy as she was away in Australia for a film shoot.The Jodi No 1 award went to SRK and Deepika. Tabu won the Critics award for her performance in Cheeni Kum. The highlight of the evening was SRK's performance of the hit number 'Dard-e-Disco' from his film Om Shanti Om. The Best Choreographer award went to Farah Khan for her film Om Shanti Om.

For the first time speaking directly about the pain he felt after his highly publicised break-up, Actor Shahid Kapoor explains exactly how difficult it was promoting his film at the time that his relationship was crumbling. CNN-IBN's Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand spoke to the actor about the upside of success and the flip side of heartbreak in this exclusive interview.

Rajeev Masand: Your personal life and your break-up with your girlfriend was much in the spot- light around the time when Jab We Met was being released. So was it difficult for you to be fielding questions constantly about your personal life and the break-up at a time when you were already anxious about a new release?

Shahid Kapoor: Yes, it was a very trying period for me for almost a month, and it was very clearly a question for me of choosing between my personal feelings and my profession.

I had two choices, one was to come back and not talk at all, not go out in the press and not interact with the media— which would save me the pain of answering questions which I am uncomfortable about, or go out there and promote my film which was releasing in three weeks.

I chose to do the latter, because I think it was important for me as a hero to be there for my film and I had great faith in the film. So yes it was difficult and uncomfortable but I accepted that as a part of the way things work out here.

Mallika Sherawat, the bomb shell of Bollywood has off late made news but more for the wrong reasons. As producers queue up for her , Mallika is very specific about her demands and other aspects involving her films. Earlier this month we did hear of Mallika’s rift with Anees Bazmee and the producers of Welcome.

Mallika was clear that she wouldn’t promote the film if the promos carried Malaika Arora Khan’s item number. Thus the producers were forced to succumb to Mallika’s demands and it was much after the release of Welcome that the promos of Hoth Rasile- the Malaika Arora number went on air.

Later came the news that Mallika walked out of Kundan Shah’s much talked about Masquerade due to differences. Her walk out, left Kundan in a fix with the producers too exiting the film. Then it was the rift with Rangita Nandy on the sets of Ugly Aur Pagli that was doing the rounds.

Now sources suggest that Mallika has being creating enough trouble for producer Ravi Walia . Ravi’s Fauj Mein Mauj has been in the making for over a year now.

Firstly the movie has suffered tremendously due to lack of allotment of dates from Mallika’s side and now she wants to reshoot the film which is almost nearing completion. Mallika is pretty unhappy with her look in the film and has insisted Ravi to reshoot. Since any producer wouldn’t want to upset Mallika , Ravi has agreed to reshoot even it means upsetting the likes of Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav.

Actor Salman Khan has often been addressed as the ‘Brat’ of bollywood. But many have been moved by Salman’s acts of kindness and charity.

Salman has often supported his fellow colleagues in the industry at times of crisis, be it the Aman Varma scandal or in supporting Govinda. Salman has also helped several actors, directors and composers get their break in bollywood. One living example of this is our very own Himesh Reshammiya.

Salman has now extended his kindness to 11 –year- old Arvind Jain, a fan who has come all the way from London to meet Salman. Arvind who is physically challenged due to muscle disorder is a big movie buff and has always had the desire to meet his favourite actor Salman Khan. On a short visit to Mumbai , Arvind’s parents expressed their son’s desire to the Khan family who warmly welcomed Arvind over tea.

Salman spent time talking to the young lad who was nervous at first but we all know that Salman shares a great rapport with kids and thus had his way.

The two spoke a lot ,right from movies to Madame Tussaud’s and much more. Salman indeed loves kids and is a great uncle to his nephews. We also recall Salman gifting 2 street kids his bicycle on the sets of Babul and also the order of over 100 burgers from Mc.Donalds that Salman called for while shooting at a school. Salman’s definitely got one big heart.

Abhishek Bachchan has lately been so engrossed with his next film Drona that besides perfection, nothing else seems to matter to Abhi. It is said that Drona is Abhishek’s answer to Hrithik’s Krrish. In the film Abhishek does some death defying action sequences and has been toning up for this role.

The film is being directed by Sonali Bendre’s husband and Abhi’s family friend Goldie Behl. The film also stars Priyanaka Chopra as Drona’s sidekick.

Sources suggest that during the filming of an action sequence last week Abhi wasn’t happy with his performance and insisted on reshooting the entire sequence. Goldie who was already content with the earlier takes reasoned out that it would be quite time consuming and expensive to do so.

Later on Abhi spoke to Big daddy Mr.Bachchan and informed him about the series of events. Goldie was surprised to receive a call from Amitabh who convinced Goldie to reshoot the sequence. Now that’s what we call daddy’s boy.

The new year has brought in some fizzy endorsements for actor Vivek Oberoi.

Taking stock of the lavish sets and high production values for the music video shoot – which will eventually be cut into a thirty second ad-spot for a soft drink, Vivek is clear this ad will be a one-of-its-kind ad when it finally airs.

“When you see the whole set-up with the bikes and the lights and the fact that it’s on a runway, it’s like, it’s a really grand thought. I was really excited,” he says.

Dressed in flashy party wear and sporting a spanking new hair-do, Vivek revealed the real reason behind the change of look.

“The look is for my new film Mission Istanbul. I’m playing a Turkish commando. I tried to do something different for that and created a new look,” he says, with a grin.

Nominated for his performance in Shootout at Lokhandwala, a handful of new brand endorsements, and an interesting-sounding film lined up for release, 2008 has evidently kicked off on a good note for the young actor.

Back in town on Wednesday after her Europe sojourn, Shilpa Shetty, keeping with her newfound image of an ambassador of Indian values and traditions offshore, will soon essay the role of Goddess Sita in an international venture.

Shilpa landed in the tinsel town after her much talked about three-month tour to Europe.

Last seen in Anurag Basu's hit flick Life In a Metro, Shilpa would now feature in an international venture Hanuman being produced by US-based Uru Patel.

She would be portraying Goddess Sita in the film, revealed Dale Bhagwagar, Shilpa's publicist, in a press statement here.

This week, Shilpa also released a fitness DVD called Shilpa's Yoga in Britain and Dubai.

After having launched her perfume S2, Shilpa now plans to release a cookery book, which she has tentatively titled Soul Curry.

"Her perfume topped the sales charts soon after its release in Britain and hopefully her recipes will also turn out to be a bestseller. Everything, that Shilpa does abroad always has an Indian touch and feel to it," said the release.

The launch of a signature clothing line in Europe is also in the pipeline for the actor who shot to international fame after her victory at Britain's reality show Celebrity Big Brother in 2007.

Of late, Shilpa has been busy with her musical play Miss Bollywood. She has staged more than 50 shows spanning 16 cities that included Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain.

"This year, she plans to do more shows of her musical Miss Bollywood and participate in some interesting films in India and abroad. The actress' upcoming projects include Sunny Deol and Neeraj Pathak's, The Man," the statement said.

"The year 2007 catapulted Brand Shilpa to international fame. This year could be as promising."

Towards the end of 2007, Shilpa hogged the limelight for having admitted her relationship with London-based businessman Raj Kundra.

There were no sparks flying when superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan met on the sets of Bhootnath, says the film's producer.

The Bollywood stars, portrayed by the media as locked in a popularity battle, share screen space in the film, which sees Bachchan playing a friendly ghost.

"They bonded big time on the sets and atmosphere was very cordial," says Ravi Chopra. "They spoke regularly during filming and even played Trivial Pursuit together."

In the recent past, the two actors have been pitted against each other with many comparing their acting, star power, fan following and box office fortunes.

Bachchan and Khan have largely avoided commenting but they have occasionally taken subtle digs at each other. But Chopra says reports of a rift are mere speculation.

"People have to see them together. They are very friendly," he said.

Bhootnath, directed by Vivek Sharma, will see the two superstars working together for the first time since Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna in 2006.

“The film is about a beautiful relationship between a child and the grandfather,” Chopra said. “Bachchan plays the grandfather who is also a ghost and Shah Rukh plays the father who triggers the climax.”

The producer said 65-year-old Bachchan is the USP of the film since he hogs maximum screen space.

Bhootnath is set to release on April 11.

To perfect her dialogue delivery and diction in Om Shanti Om, Deepika Padukone underwent formal training from Vinod Tharani for almost a year. During rehearsals, Vinod would imitate SRK's voice and speech pattern so that Deepika could get her diction and pauses right

With the rollicking box-office success of Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om, Deepika Padukone made her spectacular debut on the Indian celluloid. Not only did the model turned actress sweep away with all the accolades for her gorgeous looks and stunning screen-presence, but Deepika's well honed acting credentials impressed critics and audiences alike.Deepika's personal training began two-three months before the shooting for OSO began in full swing. And that's not it. During rehearsals, Vinod would imitate Shahrukh Khan's voice and speech pattern so that Deepika would get her diction and pauses right. When contacted, Vinod confirmed the news and shared his experience of training Deepika for her grand Bollywood innings. "Yes, Farah called me and asked me to train Deepika in acting, dialogue delivery and Hindi diction for almost a year. Because Deepika is from Bangalore, we needed to especially work on her command over Hindi. She spoke Hindi only in upper notes, so it was my duty to acquaint her with lower notes of the language. I also familiarized her with classical Hindi vocabulary, the kind that is spoken in classic epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana. I also recommended a list of Hindi books that I wanted her to read. Soon she was able to pronounce tough words such as antardesi and mahasangram with perfect fluency and flow" says Vinod. But those who've seen the film would find it impossible to believe that her Hindi has been worked on. "Yes, that's because she worked very very hard and was rigorously trained for over three months", quips Vinod

So, is it true that he imitated Shahrukh's speech pattern during rehearsals so that Deepika would perfect her pauses and dialogue delivery. "Yes I would imitate SRK's speech pattern. Shahrukh has a very unique way of delivering dialogues and his pauses during romantic or emotional scenes are periodical and predictable. So I would pause where I thought SRK would pause, so Deepika would know when to deliver her dialogue, when to pause and even when to break into a smile. Deepika would come back extremely excited from her shoots and tell me how SRK paused and spoke exactly the way I'd rehearsed with her. Basically, everything was perfected to the dot" recalls the acting guru.

When quizzed what according to him are Deepika's strengths as an actress, he left no stone unturned in waxing eloquent. "Deepika is a highly intelligent girl. She would grasp and incorporate whatever I would teach her with immediate effect. Her dedication to her work is hundred percent. Her attitude and approach is extremely professional, which I think is a big plus. She has great grasping power and memory too. Even though her diction was slightly problematic at the beginning, she countered it beautifully. The results are for all to see" says Vinod about his pretty student. Seems like Deepika is another perfectionist in the making. Aamir Khan listening?

Himesh Reshammiya started it. Now wearing different hats seems to be the order of, well, Friday. While director Farhan Khan is currently facing the camera for the hardcore rock-musical Rock On, the camera-shy czarina of the home medium, Ekta Kapoor, is all set to do her first acting role. And it’s brother Tusshar Kapoor’s brainchild that she is ready to break tradition and face the camera for. “It’s for our home production. We’re doing this rib-tickling satire on the underworld featuring Anupam Kher, Rajpal Yadav and me. Mithun Chakraborty plays an underworld don. And Ekta fits in the antithetical role in the film like a hand in a glove,” revealed Tusshar. Earlier, Tusshar had coaxed father Jeetendra out of retirement to play his son’s dad in Kucch To Hai. But sister Ekta was a tougher nut to crack. However, he managed to convince her. “Ekta couldn’t say no to me. Besides, the role is tailor-made for her. You see, she plays Ekta Kapoor in the film! And who better than Ekta to play Ekta?” Ekta, meanwhile, is actually delighted to be shaking off her reticence and facing the camera this year. Of her acting debut, the big television producer said, “I’m giving them some time this week to shoot my scenes. It’s a small role and how could I say no to my brother? I don’t turn him down for anything. My scenes are with Mithun Chakraborty. So you can imagine how nervous I am.”