Asin spends a quiet birthday

Asin Thottumkal, whose back-to-back promotional campaigns for London Dreams left her exhausted, ushered in her birthday quietly with a few friends and family members. She says it was the most “peaceful and happy birthday” of her life.

“Actually I hadn’t slept at all. I had been working non-stop for London Dreams for the last one week with just three-four hours of sleep. Anyway I’m making up for the exhausting week with the most peaceful and happy birthday of my life,” said Asin, who turned 24 on Monday.

Asin brought in her birthday with a quiet dinner on Sunday night with her close friends. “It was eight of my closest friends at dinner. We had a ball. At midnight they made me cut a cake. I felt 12 years old again.”

Earlier during the evening Asin arrived home to a big surprise.

“When I opened the door the entire house was done up with balloons by my parents, just like they used to do for my birthdays when I was a child. I had to burst quite a few balloons because there was no room to even walk. I’ve never felt happier,” she said.

On her birthday the actress gorged on food and has regained all the weight that she had to lose for her role in London Dreams.

“I had to be much thinner for my character. Now in 24 hours I think I’ve regained all the weight that I lost for London Dreams I’ve been gorging non-stop on chocolates and chocolate cake. And there’s still so much left,” said Asin.

The second—half of the day was devoted to the kids in her high-rise apartment. They all love their Asin didi and wouldn’t miss her birthday for the world.

“Fortunately, there was enough cake and chocolates to go around. So it was great fun. This is the best birthday I had. I woke up to god knows how many SMSes and missed calls. I can’t believe so many people remembered my birthday and cared about it,” she said.

But by far the best part of her birthday was provided by her parents. “When I saw the trouble they had taken over decorating my place, I decided then and there that I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”

Negative stories about Salman are all cooked up: Asin

Asin Thottumkal was told horror stories about Salman Khan when she signed 'London Dreams' opposite him. But all the misgivings were sorted out once she started shooting with him, Asin says and stresses that all negative stories about the superstar are 'cooked up'.
'Really, it was all so strange because even before reporting for the film's shoot, there was this particular notion being built in my mind around Salman.
'See, we all know about Aamir Khan being so disciplined. So once I signed 'London Dreams' with Salman, various kinds of stories started coming my way. People commented that 'Aah, you have worked with Aamir; now see what it is to be with Salman',' Asin said.
But the actress didn't face any problems throughout the making of 'London Dreams'.
'It is nothing less than a case study of its own. I can slice and dice a dozen-odd instances when it was proved time and again that Salman was nothing like he was being made out to be.
'I have absolutely no clue how negative stories about him keep emerging out of nowhere. As I look at them today, I believe these are all someone's cooked up imaginations,' said Asin.
Other than the fact that Salman contributed to the scheduled completion of the film, he too didn't allow his personal problems to come in the way of 'London Dreams'.
'Let me begin with the misconception of Salman being not punctual. Our first schedule took place abroad and it was wrapped up many days in advance. This means that it was a disciplined shoot and everyone including Salman was punctual. There was absolutely no tardiness on his part and he was always on time,' she said.
She also narrated the incident when Salman's dog died.
'Everyone knows that Salman is so close to his dog. Even when his dog died, he didn't call to cancel the shoot for that day. Instead, he turned up for the shoot in Karjat. It would have been even more difficult since he had to shoot for a happy and rejoicing song,' Asin said.
Even in front of the camera, she didn't face any issues working with Salman. Just like Aamir, Salman too just went ahead with his part and didn't interfere in the way Asin wanted to approach her scenes.
'Whether it was Aamir in 'Ghajini' or Salman in 'London Dreams', I didn't have to make any changes to adapt to their working style. They made me feel really comfortable. I was free to do things the way I wanted to because Aamir is very chilled out and he goes about his own job without interfering.
'Same is true with Salman. He doesn't come to you and tell you how you should be approaching your character. That is why it was so cool working in 'London Dreams'. I am still surprised at why people have negative things to say about Salman,' Asin said.
Releasing Oct 30, 'London Dreams' is about a band comprising Salman, Ajay Devgan, Asin, Rannvijay Singh and Adithya Roy Kapoor. Asin plays the role of a dancer in the film.