The gods are certainly smiling down on the Bachchans. First, Abhishek Bachchan took a trip to Vaishnodevi to pray for the success of Bunty Aur Babli. After an impressive opening in Mumbai (collecting Rs 253 lakh in the first week), the film has become one of the biggest grossers so far this year (Rs 513.7 l
This Friday starts the second-half of the year with a big bang - Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar is one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year. As Varma protégé Madhur Bhandarkar said: "Everyone wants to see what the film is about and what Ramu has done with the two Bachchans." True. Sarkar rides the waves of tremendous curiosity. Is the film
It seems woman directors never had it so good... or bad. In the past one year gifted women like Revathy (Phir Milenge), Aruna Raje (Tum), Pooja Bhatt (Paap) and Pamela Rooks (Dance Like A Man) have had a chance to have their say without compromise. But now they are struggling to put together their next project or grappling with the cha
Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan have come together to do Raj Kumar Santoshi’s next, tentatively titled London Dreams. The film’s female lead is yet to be finalised. This will be Salman and Ajay’s second film together after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Confirms Santoshi, “It’s true that Salman and Ajay are doing my f
"Sometimes I feel 60 years old!" says TV tycoon Ekta Kapoor who has turned 30 and is planning a sequel to Kya Kool Hai Hum. The sequel, says Ekta, will be her return gift to her brother Tusshar Kapoor. Lucky Tusshar! "Yeah, I love my Tusky," Ekta gets as mushy as one of the women in her soap. "In fact I p
Movie mogul J.P. Dutta has decided to cast Aishwarya Rai in the coveted role of the Lakhnawi temptress in Umrao Jaan. Priyanka Chopra's dream of playing Umrao Jaan will have to remain in the pipeline. How and when did this casting revision happen? Revealed Dutta: "Somehow Priyanka was just not working out because of her clogged
Rituparno Ghosh wants Kareena Kapoor to be in his Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam but doubts if she will oblige as Priyanka Chopra is playing the main lead. In fact, Ghosh's biggest problem right now is a new adaptation of Bimal Mitra's Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, which he is committed to doing for Pritish Nandy Communications. With Priyanka be
Amitabh Bachchan is slated to appear as himself in three new films — Mahesh Manjrekar’s Struggler (starring the director), Sanjay Daima’s comedy Ramji Londonwale (starring R Madhavan) and Kannada film Amrit Dhare. Wah, wah Ramji! “I play a Bachchan fan in Ramji Londonwale; He’s Ramji’s lucky
The new Don, in the remake of the Amitabh Bachchan classic, will be gadget-friendly, but the gizmos won't be overdone, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar says. "My Don will be gadget-friendly for sure, though I won't overdo the gizmos. We've to keep in mind the technological advancement since (the original) Don was released. For instance, mobile phon
She almost pinches herself, and then stops. “I really can’t take credit for the impact of my performance in Parineeta. If someone as awesome as Mr. Amitabh Bachchan thinks I’m a face to watch, I feel I’ve gone way beyond everyone’s expectations, including mine.” That’s Vidya Balan. Pe
Swades heroine Gayatri Joshi is getting engaged next Thursday. “Yes,” says Gayatri, busy making arrangements for her sagai, “I am getting engaged to Vikas Oberoi on June 23.” Vikas (or Vicky, as he is better known) confirms the news. “Gayatri and I are getting engaged at the end of this month; please don’t
Even as he celebrates the success of Parineeta, Saif Ali Khan is facing a family crisis — his father, India’s former cricket captain Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pautadi, is in serious trouble with the law regarding a deer-poaching incident in Haryana. Belongs to the old school “As his son, I’m really concerned,
Actress Karisma Kapoor's marriage to Delhi-based industrialist Sanjay Kapur is on the rocks. The actress who had moved to Delhi after her marriage has been in Mumbai since she gave birth to her daughter at the Breach Candy Hospital in March. Sources reveal that Karisma has no intentions of returning to Delhi as she has be
From a female "Gabbar Singh" to a doctor to an anti-terror agent, Shilpa Shetty plays them all in her three new films releasing next month. Shilpa stars in two Hindi films - Fareb and Dus - and her third is a Kannada movie, Auto Shankar, with well-known southern actor Upendra. "Yes, it's a very weird title," Shilpa tells about Auto Sh
Get ready for two ladies' films this week. Though Khalid Mohamed's sonorous-sounding Silsilay has Rahul Bose, Jimmy Shergil and Ashmit Patel as the male leads, the ladies - Tabu, Bhoomika Chawla, Celina Jaitley and Riya Sen - clearly take the front seat in journalist-turned-director Khalid Mohamed's third
Priyanka Chopra has replaced Aishwarya Rai in Rohan Sippy’s Bluff Master, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh. And it seems Ash hasn’t been informed that she is being dropped from the film — on Friday, she told the press in Amsterdam (where she was attending the IIFA events) that she needed to get back to M
It was a memorable tea party. The ethereal Gayatri Devi, the stunning Aishwarya Rai and the intense filmmaker JP Dutta all together for a very special tete-a-tete. The meeting took place in London last month to shake hands on JP's proposed biopic on the life of Gayatri Devi, the wife of Man Singh, the last ruler of Jaipur. The
Actress Rani Mukherjee calls herself a whacky person and says her latest release Bunty Aur Babli has given the audience a chance to see the "mad side" of her personality. "I am totally whacked out, freaky and fun-loving. (The character of) Babli is hysterically funny, and so am I. I hope people find me funny (in the film)," Rani told IANS in
Bollywood superstars Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee, walked away with the Best Actor and Actress trophies as Yashraj Film's 'Veer-Zaara' bagged six awards at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards ceremony here. 'Veer-Zaara', directed by veteran director Yash Chopra, bagged awards for Best Picture, Direction, Actor
Day 2: Thursday, June 10, 2005. The I.I.F.A. weekend is packed with exciting activities and Day 2 was no exception. I.I.F.A. has always believed in infotainment and the day witnessed diverse events such as the F.I.C.C.I seminar, a cricket match between SRK and Hrithik Roshan as also the coming together of A.B. Corp. Ltd. and UTV. 'DUS
After appearing on the cover of Time, Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai, adjudged one of the most beautiful women in the world, was honoured by The Netherlands, which on Thursday named a special variety of the tulip flower after her. The special tulips were named 'Aishwarya Rai' after the former Miss World during a press conference on the
Day 1: Thursday, June 9, 2005. Amsterdam is where the action is. The crème de la crème of the entertainment industry have started descending on Amsterdam to be a part of the most looked forward to event of the year: The I.I.F.A. weekend, from June 9 to 11. The traffic has virtually come to a standstill at The Grand, with
Though Sonu Nigam is in seventh heaven as far as his professional life is concerned, his personal life is a shambles — the five-year-old Sonu-Madhurima marriage is on the rocks. We asked Sonu about the trouble in his marriage and he admitted to it. “Madhurima and I need space; both
Last year’s Temptation 2004 show (featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra and Rani Mukerji), organised by Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies event management company and promoted by Farhath Hussain, was a huge success. But Temptation 2005, held in Birmingham on May 29 and Wembley, London on May 30, which fea
This cine god is associated with good cinema or shall we say, is another name for good cinema itself. Amitabh Bachchan likes Vidhu Vinod Chopra but what he likes even better is what Vidhu has done…Parineeta. The superstar, who has lent the film a voice-over, takes us on nostalgia trip with Parineeta where he touches upon his Bengali re-connect
As he ventures into making television soaps and even creating content for mobile phones and personal computers, filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya says he will always keep his production house firm on advocating what he calls "good Indian family values". "Good family values are the core of everything we do," the soft-spoken, gentle mannered filmmaker of
Leading Bollywood personalities on Wednesday flayed the Centre's decision to ban smoking scenes in films and television from August this year saying it made no sense. Director Shyam Benegal said, "Banning scenes of cigarette smoking makes no sense to me. Yes, the Government should be concerned with the health consequences of smoking by t
As mark of a tribute to Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, a 'wall of fame' was dedicated to him at a function here on Friday. The wall, erected as part of the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) function scheduled to be held at Amsterdam next week, was inagurated by cine actor and Bachchan's wife Jaya Bachchan at the Fame
The Kapoor clan is gearing up for a mega celebration next year — Neetu and Rishi Kapoor’s daughter Riddhima is set to wed a Delhi businessman early next year. We quiz the charming Neetu Kapoor on the news; she doesn’t deny it but isn’t willing to reveal too much. “It’s true. God willing, Riddh