Indian Celebrities

Noted Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit has been signed up to play Indira Gandhi in Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story. The Variety magazine reported that the film will hit the marquee in 2011.

The former beauty queen, who recently completed the shooting of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, has moved on to the sets of Guzarish where she will be sharing the screen space with Hrithik Roshan. Guzarish is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhasali.

Salman Khan, his brother Sohail Khan and a bunch of other tinsel town folks including Sushmita Sen, Riya Sen, Raima Sen, Shibani Kashyap and the musician brothers Aman and Ayal Ali Khan were enjoying themselves at a party after a fashion show by Sanjana Jon when a girl named Monika, apparently drunk and out of control, tried to barge in the party.

According to reports, she was a builder’s daughter and she raved and ranted about her connections when not allowed to enter the party. In fact, she even used foul language against some Bollywood celebrities present there. When Salman Khan tried to intervene and reason out with her, guess what the bratty gal did…. She slapped him.

Talking to a popular news daily, Sanjana confirmed the news and said, "Yes, Mani Ratnam and his wife will be a part of my fashion show. We are figuring out how the show will fit in their schedule. My last show for ‘Save the Girl Child’ was in Delhi and now the next one is in Chennai. I am in talks with some Bollywood stars too. Besides, since the show is in Chennai, we have several South Indian actors too. Hrithik Roshan might also walk for the campaign."

Asked whether the Chennai show would feature Salman and Sushmita, who earlier were part of Delhi show, Sanjana added, "There was great support from them in Delhi. It would be a pleasure if they make it for the Chennai fashion week too." Hrithik Roshan is rumoured to have agreed to walk the ramp.

Katrina also walked the ramp as the showstopper for the "All Doll'd Up" special show dedicated to Barbie at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai earlier this year. She sported a small pink dress designed by well-known designer Neeta Lulla's daughter Nishka. The 'Katrina Barbie' will be wearing the same design.

"I've been a part of the entire process of doll making and it's been quite fascinating. Since, I've been travelling out of Mumbai for the promotions of my movies; unfortunately I've not been able to see it yet. I'm really looking forward to see the doll as soon as I get back," Katrina said in a statement.

A product of Mattel Toys, the Katrina Barbie - a commemorative product - is not for sale.

 
Initially, Katrina was only supposed to be part of the music video but now after watching her progress at the box-office, Katrina has been asked to sing a few songs in the album. It was initially suggested that Katrina sing Rahman's compositions in English but now she will be seen singing in Hindi. This despite the fact that she has a heavy British accent and is just beginning to learn Hindi.

Katrina said that she's always game for new challenges. Singing in itself was a challenge because she has never sung professionally. Singing in English would have been a convenient challenge. But she'd rather take the uncomfortable route. She added that somewhere down the line, she got tired of people commenting on her Hindi. She guesses she's been working hard on it.

She was on a shopping spree for the new member at a well-known store in Linking Road, Bandra. Sush was spotted in blue jeans and grey tee-shirt with her friend, Neelam. Recently, she visited an adoption center with her staff and doctor. A source says, "She became particularly fond of a newborn but then it was found that the baby was too young."

Over the years, rumor buzzed that Sushmita will adopt another child and finally she is in the process. The source adds, "Sush wants to complete her family with another child, preferably female. She has already made inquiries and begun visiting such centres. The actress is keen that she adopts another baby soon."

Sushmita adopted her first child Renee in 2000 and hold the tag of being a single mom.

Imran is even happier because this is the first time his father will be part of any important event of Imran’s life. Imran will be getting engaged to longtime girlfriend Avantika Malik in the third week of January.

Imran and Avantika got exchanged rings a few months ago in a close family ceremony but his father was absent then. So now that Imran is hosting a grand party, his father is one of the primary guests.

The young actor is very close to his father; having moved to California to live with him and studied there till his high school.

His father visits Imran and his mother, Nuzhat, everytime he is in India. He shares a friendly relationship with Nuzhat and is waiting to be a part of his son’s engagement. He likes Avantika a lot.

The news was confirmed by Imran’s spokesperson.

The news came to us by the stars’ blog posts. On Sunday, Big B wrote, “Aamir comes over tomorrow at my initiative to discuss a few promotional points for our respective films…Let’s see how things go.” While Aamir’s Facebook post on Monday morning said, “Pucca Idiott is very keen to see Paa.”

So, was it all for publicity as Amitabh is set to revive his company with ‘Paa’ and Aamir is quite a pro in planning marketing gimmicks for his films? However, on Tuesday, Big B blogged about the meeting and didn’t mention anything significant about the publicity strategy.

“Aamir dropped by yesterday (Monday) in the morning at my invitation and it was lovely to spend time with him, discuss the film, show him the promo, receive his appreciation, talk about his own film and invite him for the premiere (of ‘Paa’),” he wrote.

Skeptics however claim that this meeting was just eyewash for getting publicity ahead of both the releases. But trade analyst Taran Adarsh tells a daily, “They won’t stoop to this level merely for publicity. But it’s good that stars are coming together. It will help build a better industry”.

Sure, it’s nice to see the two stalwarts bonding over business.

Priyanka is with Ranbir Kapoor to shoot for producer Sajid Nadiadwala’s romantic film Anjaana Anjaani, while Shahid has been filming Yashraj’s next flick opposite Anushka Sharma of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi fame for about a week.

Incidentally, when Priyanka arrived in Bangkok, she checked into the same hotel where Shahid was staying - the Grand Sukhumvit Hotel.

It’s not known whether the former lovers have interacted with each other during their stay, but their respective professional commitments are keeping them busy for most of the hours during the day.

On top of it, rumours trickling out of the sets of the Yashraj film speak of a budding dosti between Shahid and Anushka.

We wonder how PC is taking it all.

For instance, in the musical film, Shahid’s character has to face a lot of rejection during his struggling days. The same was also true for the actor who had many doors slammed on his face before he got the much-sought break in Ishq Vishk.

Another similarity is that in the film Shahid’s character drives a run-down car and even lives in it. The same was the case with Shahid as well when he used to drive an old car (though he never lived in it) during his struggling days in the industry. In fact, an instance from Shahid’s life when he played a tree in a school play as been recreated as it is in the film.

But the most striking similarity is the love for dance that Shahid’s character has in the film. It’s no secret that Shahid himself has been a terrific dancer from the start of his career and dancing is a no less passion for him than acting.

In ‘Chance Pe Dance’, Shahid plays a struggler who participates in a reality show, and slowly emerges as a dancing superstar. The film has Genelia D'Souza as his ladylove.

Rahul Verma of the NGO Uday Foundation, which holds story-telling sessions for children in various hospitals across Delhi, was surprised when Ranbir volunteered to do the same for them in Mumbai. “His mother told him to be part of it, so Ranbir came and spent time with the children. Since there were around 300 children, we made groups of 15 each and Ranbir stood among them and posed for pictures too,” told Rahul.

Lyricist Jaideep Sahni also sang and played the guitar for the children there. “Ekta Kapoor sent chocolates because she didn’t have the heart to face these children. Even Aditya Thackeray sent crayons and colour books for them. Imtiaz Ali, too, wanted to be part of it, but he had to attend his own kid’s school function,” as Rahul told.

The pretty lass is learnt to have taken a fancy to the Hollywood rom-com ‘What Happens in Vegas’ and is keen to acquire the remake rights of the film. It’s the story of a young girl who goes on a debauched trip after being dumped by her boyfriend and ends up marrying a man after just a few meetings only to seek divorce. It’s a love-hate tale set around the battle of the sexes.

Katrina wants to play the role enacted by blonde beauty Cameron Diaz in the film. The role would have enough scope for Kat to show her wild side.

“I know I have a fun side which is rarely seen in my films. I want to get on a bar table and do a drunken dance,” Katrina is quoted as saying by a news daily.

Meanwhile, Katrina is happy that her latest film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is doing great at the box-office. The number of hit movies in her filmography keeps increasing.

According to sources, Shahid wasn’t as committed to the relationship as Priyanka was and his reserved nature was clashing with Priyanka’s flamboyant character, which led to fights. The entire situation has affected the suave actress so much that quite often she fell sick in recent months. The pressure was too much for her and the relationship wasn’t going well.

Now Priyanka’s friends are helping her get over the break up and she was recently seen offering prayers in Ajmer Sharif. Praying for Mr. Right perhaps?

Saakshi Bhayana from the fame of Splitsvilla will be entering as the daughter of Elesh and Rakhi in the show. “Her entry is going to be dhamakedar in the show as the janta will see her throwing her weight around in front of Rakhi,” utters our khabroo.

“Saakshi just entered the house and messed up everything from kitchen to the bedroom. She threw all the clothes of Rakhi from the wardrobe and just pushes her stuffs inside. This does irritate the drama queen but she takes it very calmingly where as Elesh could not handle the situation. He just ordered Saakshi to get out of the house,” adds the source.

Rakhi was cool and trying to solve problems between Elesh and Saaskhi. “Rakhi was playing the mediator between the two and at the end she was successful too. Finally she stopped Saaskshi from leaving the house and also made Elesh understood about their responsibilities,” concludes the source.

There is lot more in the coming week as these jodi gears up to fight with their toughest phase of the journey in the show. Let’s see who comes out with flying colours.

Now, Pankaj Kapoor is in a fix regarding the female lead for his directorial venture and has decided to go for an international hunt for the female lead of the film. Also, Pankaj couldn’t get a producer for a long time. Finally, Religare Vistaar Entertainment stepped in to produce the film.

When Kareena came to know about the entire episode, she said that if the script and the role was good, she had no problems working with Shahid and the makers of the film should approach her. She added that she separates her professional life from her personal one. Shahid had always maintained that he had no qualms about starring with Kareena.

However, when Pankaj was asked about his intentions to cast Kareena for the film, she seemed surprised and said, “Who told you this? I am still writing the script. How can I think of casting actors before I have completed my script? I will further talk when we are ready to roll.”

With Kareena and Shahid expressing their willingness to work together, the admirers of this jodi may get to see the magic of ‘Jab We Met’ again.

Deepika was chosen after Ashutosh considered Sonam Kapoor and Genelia D’Souza for the role. Asin left the film citing date issues but in reality, she is getting choosy about films since her last film, London Dreams flopped.

The news about Deepika being a part of the film was confirmed by Ashutosh’s wife, Sunita.

Like a true professional Trisha hadn’t hid the fact from both Priyadarshan and Akki that she isn’t very fluent in Hindi, though she studied the language in her school. But when the movie’s shoot began in a village a 100 kilometres away from Pune, Trisha took everyone by surprise.

“Trisha is turning out to be the surprise package. Before the shoot, she had informed us that she couldn’t converse in Hindi…But she took all of us by surprise when she spoke fluently in Hindi. I could see the smile on Akki’s face as he was delighted with her performance,” Priyadarshan is quoted as saying by a news daily.

Priyan went on to reveal that Trisha has a pivotal role in the film. She plays two characters in different time periods. The director also clarifies that it’s not a double role, but he promises that Trisha will get more footage in ‘Khatta Meetha’ than any actress has got in his previous films.

Sources have it that Vishal Bhardwaj is gearing up to bring a remake of Academy Award winning movie, ‘The Departed’. Hrithik will be playing the character played by Leonardo Di Caprio in the English version. Said a source, “Vishal has got Hrithik’s dates from June after the actor finishes shooting for Sanjay Bhansali’s ‘Guzaarish’. So far only he has been cast. He plays Leo’s role and so he will have to hone his martial arts skills and gun-totting abilities by taking special classes from professionals.”

The untitled movie will be set in Mumbai and Vishal Bhardwaj is said to be maintaining the original storyline. Hrithik will be featured as a rough-tough undercover cop in this one. The actor is currently recovering from a knee injury and on doctor’s advice, is keeping away from risky actions. Once he is fit, Hrithik will be taking the professional training to try out the stunts in the movie.

Rub your palms, people! We’ll wait for this one!!

The actress remained on stage to avoid mingling with the frenzied fans, but then, to her shock, the stage started to shake. It seemed the stage would collapse.

“It was the most terrifying moment of my life - the stage crashing down in front of the fans and I getting swallowed by the crowd,” Katrina is quoted by a Mumbai tabloid.

Thankfully, a sturdy and hugely built security guard came to her rescue. He shielded Katrina from the mob and made way for her to get out of the crowded mall. He even accompanied the actress to the hotel.

Meanwhile, the Kat-struck fans were not cowed down. They hopped on their motor-bikes and chased the actress to the hotel.

Some of the fans tried to enter the hotel, but the sturdy guard who earlier saved Katrina from the mob did not let any fan enter the lobby.

He was Katrina’s saviour that day.

She has reportedly opted out from Ashutosh Gowarikar’s period drama ‘Khelenge Hum Jee Jaan Se’ citing date problems. The film is about Chittagong uprising and has Abhishek Bachchan playing the main lead. The movie could have been another plum project in her kitty but Asin is not willing to star in it. Is unavailability of dates the only reason for her no?

According to sources, she was excited to work with Ashutosh but after hearing the script, she couldn’t make up her mind and politely declined it. Asin’s role was not properly fleshed out and that was the reason for her refusal. However, Ashu hasn’t said anything on this matter.

Overtly cautious, the actress seems worried about her career decisions as Ashu’s last film What’s Your Raashee? was not-so-successful at the box office. And she doesn’t want to take risks after the dud ‘London Dreams’. So, on what basis is Asin going to select films? Directors? Scripts? Big banner? Or may be what her father suggests?

“My Name is Khan” features Shah Rukh as Rizvan Khan, an unconventional hero who embarks on a journey across America to win back the love of his life. It shows how, along the way, his unique personality touches the lives of many and inspires a nation.

“I keep setting out to do something different with my films, but the one constant that remains is my desire to continue to explore the many ways in which two people can fall in love and stay in love regardless of any or every challenge against them,” said Karan.

The film also marks a re-teaming of Johar and Shah Rukh after three years — their last outing together was “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna”.

Johar has made his film in association with Fox STAR Studios, 20th Century Fox International and Fox Searchlight Pictures.

While Fox STAR Studios will market and distribute the film in India, Fox Searchlight Pictures will release it in the US. The distribution of the movie outside India and the US will be taken care of by Twentieth Century Fox International.

According to Vijay Singh, CEO Fox Star Studios, the film is drawing a “hugely positive response from exhibitors across the world” for the “coming together of Shah Rukh, Karan and Kajol”.

“It is a big event for Bollywood audiences across the world and their fan base is eagerly awaiting the release. But what makes ‘My Name is Khan’ a special film is that it brings together the finest Indian talent with a powerful story that has relevance for audiences everywhere,” added Singh.

In Guzaarish, Hrithik plays a paraplegic suffering from impairments of the motor and sensory functions of the lower limbs. Aishwarya Rai plays his nurse in the movie. Given the kind of sparking chemistry displayed by Hrithik-Ash jodi in “dhoom 2’ and ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, this one seems to be the one to watch out for!!

Later, she rested at home on her birthday. When she came home on Sunday evening, her parents had done up the entire house with balloons, like they used to when she was younger. The night was spent with close friends who came over to dinner after which they made her cut the cake at midnight. She also spent some part of her day with children from her building.

However, the plot for the film resembles Hema Malini’s previous directorial venture– ‘Dil Aashna Hai’ to a great extent. Mayur Puri says that both films are about a quest and the plot was chosen by Hema Malini after he narrated three to four ideas to her.

What Hema’s sincere efforts do to Esha’s sliding career, let us wait and watch!

It cane out that the lady had a knee injury in August while working out and the knee is still in the healing process. While working out, Ameesha was spinning excessively and damaged her knees. Currently, the actress is been undergoing physiotherapy and in order to refrain from putting pressure on her knees, she is not doing cardio and lower body workouts.

Ameesha’s trainer, Khushru Cooper says, “She is recovering. These are joints of the body which are used at every movement of yours, may be while walking or sitting. Thus it is a slow and careful recovery. Her physiotherapy is on and will be fine soon.”

Get well soon, Ameesha!