Well, well, look who’s the forgiving and forgetting sort. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Just last year, the entire Bachchan parivar had blacklisted a certain media group’s publications and related events after the publication wrongly reported that Aishwarya was suffering from a certain illness.
Despite subsequent apologies by the publication, the First Family of Bollywood was in no mood to let the issue pass. They even boycotted events organised by the publication for the entire year.
However, Aishwarya now seems to want to let bygones be bygones. The actress was recently spotted at a pre-bash, red carpet event for that same publication as though nothing had ever happened. Rumour has it that the actress may even be performing at the awards ceremony organised by the publication.
Looks like it’s all water under the bridge for Ash, but what brought about the change of heart? Was it all the critical acclaim heaped on her post-Guzaarish that has put Ash in a better frame of mind? We can only wonder.
Karan Johar is a happy man these days, especially since the third season of his talk show has turned out to be its best ever. From the Deepika-Sonam Ranbir-bashing episode to Shahid and Priyanka’s joint appearance and Shah Rukh Khan’s highly emotional one, the show has become a talking point among Bollywood watchers and fans. Karan has also managed to get personalities like Vidya Balan, Kangna Ranaut and Mahesh Bhupati to make their first appearances on his show. But what has Karan even more excited is the line-up for the coming episodes, with Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit scheduled to make an appearance.
A source says, “Karan hasn’t been able to make a film with Madhuri, however he is a huge fan of her work. He is very excited about having her on the show again, and this time, he plans to have Sridevi as the second guest. It’s a known fact that the two divas were rivals at one point of time and their coming together on Koffee With Karan should make for an interesting watch.”
Whether the former leading beauties of Bollywood will be utterly diplomatic and utterly boring, or spice up the small screen by subtly baring their claws is anyone’s guess.
Will the Singam remake starring Ajay Devgn mark the debut of Anushka Shetty in B’wood? Buzz has it that Rohit Shetty is all set to launch Anushka in a big way. Our source says, “The Tamil version of Singam has Anushka play the female lead. Since she had already done a fabulous job in the original, Rohit Shetty felt that it would be apt to cast her in the Hindi version too.”
When contacted Rohit did not deny the news. “Yes, it is true that I am in talks with Anushka, but a concrete decision will be made only by this week,” he says. For those not in the loop, this top Telugu actress is in no way related to Rohit Shetty.
Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra has followed the Yana Gupta style for getting some cheap popularity. Here’s what so called the most easy way to gain popularity….GO PANTYLESS in PARTY and GET CAPTURED IN CAMERAS. She did exactly in one of the party…..
But Neetu Chandra has rubbished the reports that she has appeared panty-less in an event. Her representative has clarified that it was misreported and they have got apology from the website, which claimed about her panty stunt.
Sanjay Dutt who’s become a proud father of twins Ikra and Shahran says that life looks more positive now. “I am much more at peace. Life has fallen into place and things are looking good. I was always a patient man but the patience has stemmed from all that time I have spent in jail. It has made me more patient,” says Dutt.
He says that fatherhood has changed him in many ways and brought an immense amount of joy. Though he couldn’t really experience it with the birth of his daughter Trishala, the birth of his twins has given him a chance to enjoy the process of being a father. “My life has changed completely ever since they were born,” he says. The other good news is that the birth of his twins Ikra and Shahran has helped him foster better relations with sisters Priya and Namrata.
“Yes, that was the most beautiful thing to happen. Not that we were completely cut off from each other, but we are together again. When my children were born, I was in Dubai. It was Priya who took care of Manyata and took her to the hospital” he says.
Water woes for Shruti
What could have been just another shoot on the beach turned out to be overtly exciting for Shruti Hassan when she landed in Pattaya to film a song sequence for her next film Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji. Not just was her ride to the location adventure-filled, even her stint at the beach had its own rough moments. It all began with an interesting boat ride to the location in Pattaya.
“While we were on our way, it began to pour and since it was a water trip we couldn’t help but get thoroughly drenched,” recalls the actress. And the return journey didn’t spare any horrors either, with a turbulent sea. “At that moment you feel like throwing up,” says Shruti, adding, “Today, in retrospect it seems exciting but at that time it was way too uncomfortable.” And thanks to the bumpy ride, the shooting on location wasn’t a very pleasant experience for her either.
“The high tide was hitting me real hard,” says Shruti, who was shooting a song with co-star Emraan Hashmi. “I didn’t realise how strong these waves could be till I was standing in the middle of them, trying my best to stay still. And since the tides were unrelenting, I feared I would be knocked over and pulled under. It was one wet experience for sure,” she says. Well, as long as director Madhur Bhandarkar got his perfect shot, no one would have really complained.
South sensation Ileana D’cruz is the latest entrant in Bollywood. Ever since Asin made her debut with Ghajini, filmmakers in Bollywood are trying to rope in Ileana to make her Bollywood debut. She has now been finalised for Prabhu Deva’s next film with Akshay Kumar, which is being produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
She has also been signed on to play the lead opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Anurag Basu’s Barfee which was earlier titled Silence. And if rumours are to be believed, she is all set to sign Vishal Bharadwaj’s next film opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Our source said, “She is definitely one of the biggest names to make her debut in the coming year and has already signed films opposite big stars. Vishal who is making the screen adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller 2 States with Shah Rukh Khan, is making inquiries about her.
Sunny Deol seems to have completely shed his shy image for the promotions of his forthcoming film Yamla Pagla Deewana. Quiz him about this side of his, and the actor says, “I can’t sell myself through gimmicks and controversies. I prefer expressing through the characters I play. But I’ve also realised that these days promotions play an important part in the success of a film and all the big stars like Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman are going all out to promote their films.”
The actor also admits to have gone through a low phase last year. “But I don’t want my banner to repeat the old mistakes. We Deols are emotional people who don’t know how to handle their finances properly, which usually lands us into trouble. And I want to change all that now,” he says. The Deol sounds content with the positive responses the promos have fetched so far. “The promotions started in Diwali and later on we released the trailers on Youtube. We got a lot of fan mail and positive feedback. But I must add that all that has doubled the pressure as well,” says Sunny.
He was initially in two minds about venturing into a brand new genre. “My father has done films like Chupke Chupke and Bobby too has dabbled in comedy. So I was apprehensive at first, but their confidence soon calmed me down,” says Sunny, claiming that the audience is in for a surprise. There will be a different side to the dhaai kilo ka haath this time. “Like dad says, people have seen dark comedies and various other kinds of comedies. Ours will be a muscle comedy,” he laughs.
After tying the knot with his long-time love Avantika, Imran Khan drove her home in a black Porche with a white flag on which were inscribed the words “newly wed”. But little was he prepared for the surprise mamu Aamir had in store for him.
At the gate itself the groom was halted by about six sisters for the Naake ceremony, who refused to let him in before he coughed out some cash. They demanded a sum of `10 lakhs initially, but it was Aamir who egged them on to raise the stakes. The senior Khan said on a jovial note, “Imran was not ready to part with his money but I asked the girls not to spare him today. He is the number two superstar as I am still number one. But, jokes apart, we are very happy for the couple and they have our blessings.”
Incidentally, Imran ended up shelling out a little more than `6 lakhs from his pocket. “Yes, I conceded to pay one lakh, eleven thousand rupees to each of them,” he laughed.
“But everything has been so beautifully arranged by Avantika’s family. We will of course miss my nana-nani and Avantika’s grandfather. But we have the blessings of the entire family. We had a lot of fun today,” he added.
When prodded on his honeymoon plans, he said, “We have no concrete plans as of now as I need to get back to shooting and earn back all the money I spent on my wedding.”
However, sources say that the couple is on their way to Phuket and the family will soon follow, including Aamir and Kiran, who will be promoting Dhobi Ghat.
Trust Vidya Balan’s friendly and warm nature to endear her to all and sundry. The actress has finished the filming of Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahani, but the unit members still fondly remember Vidya.
A unit source reveals, “The crew just loved Vidya. They could all relate to her very well. Everybody found her to be sensitive and caring, so much so that her mere presence would bring a smile on their faces. They were in fact so happy with her that they coined a new name for her, ‘Sunshine’.”
Interestingly enough, on the last day of the shoot, it had begun raining heavily. Everybody was teasing her about it saying, “It’s started to rain because sunshine is going.” “And even today, Vidya is a favourite with them. Despite the fact that the film is over, they all still keep in touch,” the source added.