Latest Gossips From The Cinema World
Latest Gossips From The Cinema World

She’s been flitting in and out of airports across Europe, Bangkok and Mumbai. And now she’s finally arrived in hometown. Goa, just in time to celebrate her parents’ 25 th wedding anniversary. “I gifted my mother a persain cat and right now, we’re all  enjoying pampering her,” smiles Ileana D’cruz. The actress is also soaking in the sucess of her latest Telugu flick, Kick, which has been declared a hit. “What’s funny is that Kick started out as an action-entertainer. Midway, it turned it turned into a complete comedy. And we’re glad people are loving it. It’s also my co-star Ravi Teja’s biggest hit till date,” she tells us.

In spite of being considered a top-of-the-line actress,Illeana hasn’t been seen on-screen or featured in gossip columns of late.  Why is she keeping a low  profile? ” I don’t want to be part of gossip columns anyway. As for not doing a film in the past one year, its because after Jalsa and Bale Dongalu, I wanted a really good script. And the directors who signed me weren’t ready with their scripts then. Besides, I also started shooting for Kick last October. So, its not like I’m keping a low profile out of choice,”maintains Illeana.

Does she still charge a crore per film, as was being touted in trade cicrles a while ago? ” How much I charge is nobody’s concern-its between me and my producers. But saying I charge one crore is absurd. It s the media that’s hyped that figure and blown it out of proportion,” she asserts.

The film fraternity has always shared a love-hate relationship with the media.  Of late, however, there seems to be more hate than love, with the media being the industry’s favourite punching bag,even on chat shows like the one  hosted by Karn Johar. The protrayal of the fourth estate in films has been diverse-in some special cases stereotypical, farcial and in a bad light. How else would you explain Aishwarya Rai Bachchan tellling Jackie Shroff  ‘Journalist log to bohut kam sach bolte hai,’ in Albela?

Jackie who plays the journalist says, ” the media is targeted in films, but so are politicians, cops, sportsmen, and film stars. But like every other profession, there are responsible and irresponsible people even in the media. Ash’s character eventually fell in love with me in the film, that says it all.” You might never catch a journalist doing an item number in real life, but Zayed Khan who played a TV reporter in Mission Istanbul, did just that. Also, scribes being snubbed by actors is common in films.

Remember how Abhishek Bachchan abuses a hapless scribe on being asked a personal question in Naach? Or the Big B chasing a journo out in the Last Lear, when he gets a fact wrong? Madhur Bhandarkar’s page 3 is one of the few films that backed the scribe. ” When I was making Page 3, everyone asked me who’d want to be a  sympathetic towards a journalist in India. I met 3 journalists who gave me the inside story. I attended parties in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai as part of my research,” reveals Madhur.

If Madhavan played a gutsy journo in Guru, working under a righteous editor Mithun Chakraborty, Minissha Lamba became the truth seeking reporter in Shaurya. But not all are righteous, maintains Madhur. ” Konkana wans’t one. She was modern, having a boyfriend, drank wine and was fun loving,” says Madhur. From the cranky Seema played by Sridevi in Mr. India, to the fiery Romila Dutt in Lakshya essayed by Priety Zinta, film makers have attached different faces to the profession.

Says Farhan Akthar, who directed Lakshya, ‘ i met war Journalists bwfore shoooting. I was clear that Priety’s character needed to be a responsible journalist who gets the news first handed rather than from  someone else. You have to be sure about what you say to people, particularly in a panic situation.” Why did he adhere to the Kurta-crinkled skirt-jhoola bag stereotype while deciding Priety’s look in Lakshya?  “Indian movies are guilty of stereotyping all professions. But There is some element of truth in them. Priety ’s look in the film was very Delhi,” explains Farhan.

It’s been quite a while since her last Sandalwood release-Milana, the 2007 superhit,Parvathi Menon hasn’t been seen in a Kannada film But that’s not because of the lack of offers, insists the actress. ” I had 7-8 offers since then, but I was being choosy  about what I took up after Milana,” she explains. Eventually, she settled on  Male Barali Manju Erali. “Its a story about a young independent woman and how she gives life her best.  Its very different from what I did in Milana,” says Parvathi.

And it was none other that director Vijayalakshmi who introduced Parvathi to the role. “While I was doing the Tamil film Poo, Vajayalakshmi ma’am narrated the script to me. I had some doubts about the character and wanted to know about the other aspects of the film, such as other characters. she appreciated my feedback, worked on it and got back to me. That’s when I accepted the film,” reveals Parvathi.

And she doesn’t go by the draw a film could potentially have because of the hero. After working with Power star Puneet Rajkumar, she’s now paired opposite Srinagar Kitty and Nag Kiran, whom she describes as director’s actors. She doesn’t go by comaprisions either.  “Film maker Jai Jagadish, who’s working on Male Barali…. said my acting skills reminded him of Suhasini, but I want to carve a niche for myself in the industry,” she maintains.

Parvathi ’s also particular about her education. The English literature student recently took a break from film to sit for her exams. ” I didn’t want to scrape through with just 40% for the sake of getting a degree. So, I sat at home between January and April and studied,” she says. Parvaathi’s now doing a diploma in French and going through several scripts. “I’ve been offered quite a few films, but I’ve said a polite no to them becasue I don’t think these roles will suit me,” she says.

Prem’s Adda? That’s the title of Prem’s forthcoming film, in which he’ll once again don the greasepaint, after teh debacle of his acting debut Preethi Yeke Bhoomi Melide. The actor-director, who’s bus with the relese of his next film, Raj-The Showman, says he’ll get started with Adda as soon as he finished directing Jogi’s sequel Jogayya. ” I won’t  direct Adda, even though I’ve penned its story, but I’ve ensured that  I’ve rectified the mistakes I mad when scripting Preethi…… and I’ve handed over the responsibility of directing Adda to my boys.”

Adda will also be produced by his boys who work as technicians in his team. The film, he says, will be just like an English movie, very real and not like the regular sutff we see in he present films. ” This time, I will be back as a typicla hero, beefed-up body, change of get-up, and a funky hairdo. I did not give much importance to allt his in my debut film, and appeared on screen like a normal guy. So, Adda will have a new approach and i ‘m doing this al only to please my audience,” Prem says.

And while Prem is in favour of a kannada Hudigi as the heroine, people tell him to bring a Mumbai girl.  “This time we are trying to rope in Bipasha Basu, for a song,”says Prem. But why isn’t he directing Adda?  Does he find it tough to call the shots and act as well? ” I hae too many commitments this year, there is Raj, which is up for release, and then I”ll direct Jogayya. Then there’s a Telugu film that I’ve been offered. I’ve two more films with Puneet to direct, and I don’t want to take too much on my hands,” explains Prem.

Reports say that he has taken too long  to wrap up Raj. ” I know, most of my friends ask me the same question, but that’s how long it takes if a film has to be technically and aesthetically sound. othewise, it becomes a mamooli film, and I don’t want to be a mamooli director, ” he says. Now his sole focus is on Raj. He won’t say the film is different, but he definitely agrees it is a complete family entertainer.

Life is proving to be a pitch…. for Akshay and Suniel Shetty, who played their own version of IPL matches on the sets  of De Dhana Dhan. They found an innovative way to make up for losing out on all the IPL excitement, as they were busy shooting in Singapore for De Dhana Dhan, and had several matches of theri own. A unit source said that they divided the unit into two teams and captained each team themselves and played their matches. “The stars went a stpe further by giving theri respective teams actual IPL names,” added the source.

“The names were quite interesting, they would give the teams the names of the IPL teams which were scheduled to play the next day. For instance, if the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders were schedlued to play, Akshay and Suniel  would call their teams by that name. The winning actor’s team would then bet on the same IPL teamfor the next day.

It was surprising that the particular team would always win. The matches not only proved to be fun, but alwso managed to cheer up all the  unit memebrs,particularly those who were unhappy about missing their favourite game. In fact, the circket on the sets turned out to far better than wathcing the game on television. Priyadarshan, dirctor of De…. confirmed the news and said, “Yes, Akshay and Suniel had formed theri own IPL teams and they would play according to the next day’s matches when we were shooting in Singapore.”

A leading Hollywood studio is looking at remaking one of its 2009 releases in Hindi, and a Bollywood producer will help it out. Top actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika PAdukone, Asin and Sonam Kapoor, are being considered for the two leading ladies.  The Hollywood film under consideration is the romantic comedy Romantic Wars. starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. The Hindi remake will be one big fat Punjabi wedding with plenty of colours, song and dance, drama and fireworks.

Shrishti Bhel’s sister Goldie, who produced Drona last year, is the Bollywood film maker who will work on the project. “The days of plagaiarism are over. Official remakes are the way to go, and Bride Wars lends itself beautifully to an Indian adaptation,” Shrishti said. But there is likely to be  a war anong the top six contenders for the two roles in this film. The Hollywood studio, unmindfulof the fact that these  are the biggest names in Bollywood, will conduct a test look to pick out the two actresses.

Its worldwide production head Stanford Pinatch said, “We’re trying to produce local language films all over the world. we’re using the synergy between our distribution operations in all these territories and tying up with the local production divisions. There’s a shift in the market towards the local content.” Bride Wars is about a friendship between two women that goes dangerously bad. It will be interesting to see if real life good friends in B-town team up for the Hindi remake.

There can always be other alternatives, if the permutations and combinations permit. The two-somes that come to mind are Kareena and Katrina, Priyakna and Kareena [Shahid's past and present love interests ] Asin and Katrina [Salman's lady love and his co-star who's currently linked with him ]and Sonam and Deepika [in whose lives the comon factor is Ranbir Kapoor]

Voila!! She’s talking 19 to the 100, hard to believe! Yes it si hard to believe and  even more difficult to relate to this  loquaciously new Deepika.   The Deepika known to her close ones, was not so free or open to talk to.  But it is still there  that she won’t go out of her way to take potshots at anyone, and there is absolutely no question of backbiting, not even against who have targeted her in recent times.  “I don’t need to do it, I haven’t been brought up that way, if others do it, they are welcome to, ” she says calmly.

Of course, she has come a long way from the young fledging actress that she was, her poise is more pronounced now, and her icy manner is only her defense mechanism. As a rule, she won’t bitch about other heroines,  and she has no qualms about extending the olive branch to her so-called rival, like she did with Sonam Kapoor.  She genuinely can’t understand why two heroines can’t be friends.  “You’ll always  find men behaving so nicely with each other, in spite of their personal differences, they won’t show them in public,” she remarks, “It is not true with women, there is really no need to be so cut up with each other, I don’t mind being friendly with any of them.”

Clearly, her friendship with Sonam, Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu is proof of that. If there were rumors about a catfight with Bipasha Basu on the sets of Bachna Ae Haseeno, she chooses to laugh them off.  Now the curiosity remains why she did such an inconsequential role as Bachna…… She says when it comes to movies, she likes to follow her heart. Besides which cinema, she feels, has reached a level where its not about how long your role is  how how effective it is. “people have told me that despite the length  of my role, I have done a good job.”

Next on her list is her refusal to do Rakesh Roshan’s film Kites. But she has her own reasons. “There were a couple of bold scenes,” she admits frankly, “It was very nice on Anurag Basu’s  and Rakeshji’s part to be honest about it from the beginning. They told me it was a slightly bold character, and I was not comfortable with it.”Fair enough, despite the no show of her last movie, the actress is doing rather swimmingly for herself. Her rom com Love Aaj Kal, starring  Saif Ali Khan is up for release in the next few months, besides  which she has Farhan Akthar’s Karthik Calling Karthik and Sajid Nadiadwala’s Huoseful.

As the hype around Hrithik Roshan-Babbara Mori starrer Kites reaches dizzy heights, Kabir Bedi makes a quiet comeback as Kangna Ranaut’s father in the film. But he hasn’t visited Cannes to sell the film to international  buyers. “Only Hrithik and Barbara from the cast have gone there. Its more a sales visit.  I would’ve loved to go, but its something I’d prefer to do on my own steam as is Hrithik’s film,” explains Kabir, who returned to India in November.

Proir to that he was in Italy for a year and a half,  shooting for a televised series. ” When I returned, I wanted to do Bollywood films, and its important now that I do films in India, as I’ve done enough work in Italy. It lets people know that I have comeback and for good. My heart is always in India, and the long periods of staying abroad, and  travelling constantly has got to me,” maintains Kabir. In Kites, he plays the owner of a Las Vegas casino. “He’s a powerful person, flamboyant and almost loud in his choice of clothes. My portion has been entirely in Las Vegas, and Kangna’s my daughter in the film, whom Hrithik falls in love with. I an a very uncool dad and have animosity towards my daughter’s lover,” says Kabir.

But isn’t Hrithik supposed to be in love with Barbara Mori in the film?  “There are many shades of the story, he falls in love with one, and pretends to fall in love with another,” he explains.  As for the couple’s off screen romance that has occupied ample media space, Kabir says, “nobody asked me what the truth is, as co-stars they seemed to have gotten along well, and that’s how it should be.” Kabir’s confident that Kites will make waves. “Kites is a powerful story, very different from the run-of-the-mill Bollywood types,” he says, adding, “Anurag is an extraordinary director and its always a special joy to work with Hrithik ans I have known him since he was a little boy. I have seen him on the sets of Khoon Bhari Maang. I even share screen space with  Barbara, but the interaction is non-verbal.”

He’ll also be seen in a small but pivital role in Blue, and as a part of z gang of rogues who con greedy people in Showman. ” Now, we have some amazing young directors like Anurag in India, who with time, will make some good international projects.What’s lacking here is however, the ability to put together strong stories.  Some real deep thinking should be involved as far as the story is concerned,” maintains Kabir. He himself feels deeply about the volatile situation in Burma, a country he spent past of his childhood. He’s the official ambassador of the Burma Campaign in the UK, and says Burma has his entire support.

How often do you see a guy who is  good looking and funny and extremely religious and homely? All in one? Well, it might sound like someone on a martimony site, but Rajniesh Duggal, is pretty much the sorts you would like to flaunt, even to your parents…  except , he is just too much in love with his wife to give that a thought!!  There is definitely more to him than that handsome face. He made a decent debut in Vikram Bhatt’s 1920…. and has already signed  two more films, which he is pretty hush-hush about.

Those who saw 1920, had no complaints, but Rajnesh felt he could do better. Looks like performing is something that is always on his mind. ” No, it wasn’t always  like that, I started modelling without the though of films, though I never resisted any diversions. I was all set to do my MBA once the modelling glamour fizzled out,” he says. Something that is strange,  because you do not find such principled people very often. Who can leave the glamour world so easily, no matter what, they will try to beat  around the rough waters and make the stay at least a little longer.

” I have a lot of friends from my modelling days, who have effeciently slipped back to normal life. They no longer walk the ramp, but are cued as to what is the in thing, but that doesn’t mean they have not let go. They are pretty much at ease with their lives.  My wife was in London doing her design course… I would have been glad to be there with her. And I did go to London, but only on my shooting schedule,” he insists that he has some karmic connection with London, he always ends up going there, for modelling contests, and even for his first shooting schedule.

It might be his faith in Hanuman that he has nutured right from his childhood, that is behind his  bagging his first film without a screening test. ” I was so shocked when Vikram Bhatt Sir, said that  I  was selected without an audition!! I asked him if he was sure he didn’t want me to do a scene or so. He said he just wanted to see me, as far as acting went, the director had to extract that,” He somehow seemed really content with the flow of his life, the way it was shaping up. Somehow, without the need to get somewhere and get there quickly, people haven’t really managed to so much in this industy. But all the best Rajnesh !!!

Not everyone knows that Sanjay dutt is a pro, but he shows his skills in Goa. Politics’ los is Bolllywood’s gain, and Sanjay Dutt after the Samajawadi Party’s no-show in the recent elections, has returned to acting and with a vengeance. He was caught playing the drums like a rockstar for Rohit Shetty’s All The Best-Fun Begins.  Apparently, Like Saif, Sanjay is fond of music, and is handy with the guitar. But he stunned everybody on the sets when he took to the drums like a pro while shooting in Goa.

A song was required Sajnu Baba to play the drums for that, Rohit had flown down professionals to teach him the art. But Sanjya sent them packing! he did the scene  in one take, impressing everyone.  A startled, but grateful none theless, Rohit admitted, “Till now, I knew he could play the guitar, but the drums came as a surprise. The film, which is a laugh riot, also stars Ajay Devgan,FardeenKhan, Bipasha Basu and Mugdha Godse.