I'm talking to Hrithik for my next film: Vishal Bhardwaj

He carved a niche for himself in filmdom with non-starrers like “Makdee” and “Maqbool”. But composer filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj now says star presence is extremely important for a film’s box office success and that he is trying to rope in Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan for his next movie.

“I think stars are very important to reach out to the people. Along with that they are good actors as well. I think Shah Rukh (Khan) is a very fine actor, so is Aamir (Khan), Hrithik (Roshan), Saif (Ali Khan) and even Shahid (Kapoor),” Bhardwaj said.

“If the audiences love them and they don’t mind coming to the cinema halls to see their faces and their costumes, then that’s good because we can tell a story through them,” added the director who teamed up with big stars for “Omkara” and “Kaminey”.

He made his directorial debut “Makdee” (2002) with Makrand Deshpande, Shweta Prasad and Alaap Mazgaonkar. The only big name in the cast was Shabana Azmi.

Two years later, Bhardwaj came out with his highly acclaimed movie “Maqbool”, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play “Macbeth”. It didn't boast of a star line up either -- Pankaj Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and Tabu formed the cast.

But his next directorial venture “Omkara”, again based on Shakespeare’s play “Othello”, was bejwelled with big names like Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Vivek Oberoi.

His latest hit “Kaminey” too had Bollywood stars Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

Now Bhardwaj is trying to sign Hrithik and Priyanka for his next venture. “I am in talks with Hrithik for a film but nothing is confirmed at the moment. However, Priyanka is confirmed for that project,” he informed.

The 49-year-old started his Bollwyood innings as a composer for Gulzar’s “Maachis” (1996) followed by movies like “Satya” (1998) and “Chachi 420” (1998) before taking on the director’s mantle. He has proved his versatility as a music composer, singer, writer and filmmaker.

When asked what among these gives him maximum creative satisfaction and enjoyment, Bhardwaj said: “Enjoyment keeps changing. When you are making a song and it turns out to be very good, then you enjoy that process and that gives you creative satisfaction.

“Similarly, when you are making a film, you keep struggling on it for seven-eight months to set it right and finally when you see the result then that too gives you creative satisfaction and enjoyment. Satisfaction, happiness, enjoyment are all very momentary. They keep changing,” he said.

Bhardwaj was in the capital to attend the 11th Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival and said that such festivals are imperative so that movie aficionados can see entire films without any censorship.

“People need to see the entire films. Normally, the censor board cuts half of the film; at least there is some place where we can see the film without censorship,” he said.

He also feels that censorship should be a personalised thing. “We should be our own censor boards. It should not be imposed on us. This censor board came from the British because they didn’t want the Indian movement and Indian struggle to be seen by others, but somehow laws in our country don’t change,” he rued.

Sridevi mesmerises audience at India Couture Week

The moment she stepped on the ramp, the main show area was filled with cheers as the audience couldn't stop looking at Bollywood actress Sridevi. The actress looked stunning in a black gown as she walked the ramp for jewellery designer Queenie Dhody at the inaugural jewellery show of HDIL India Couture Week here late Monday.
'She is looking so stunning. Just look at her, she is so beautiful,' said a mesmerised member of the audience.
As soon as she started walking the ramp, some one from the audience shouted: 'Come on Sridevi, you are the best.'
It was not just the audience, even Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan, Dimple Kapadia, Boney Kapoor, Twinkle Khanna, Sanjay Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan and Karan Johar clapped relentlessly till she left the ramp.
'She looked like a diva. Just look at her, it seems that she is getting younger day by day. The way she has maintained herself is amazing,' Raveena Tandon said after the show.
This is the first time that HDIL-ICW had a high-end jewellery show that featured four jewellery designers - Devaunshi Mehta, Farah Khan, Queenie Dhody and Maheep Kapoor - who came out with their dazzling collections.
Talking about her jewellery line Dhody said that high-end jewellery had become very popular among people.
'People now want to own a piece of jewellery that is exclusive. This exquisite line of hand-made jewellery has both precious and semi-precious stones with fine craftsmanship that makes it very exclusive and everyone should at least own one piece,' she said.

From the catwalk, Suzanne blows kisses at Hrithik Roshan

Together they make a picture perfect couple and are very much in love. This was proved when Suzanne Khan blew kisses at Hrithik Roshan while she sashayed down the ramp at the inaugural show of HDIL India Couture Week for her sister and jewellery designer Farah Khan.
The show kicked off here late Monday night.
Contrary to recent rumours that talked about the couple's split because of Hrithik's equation with his co-star Barbara Mori in the upcoming film 'Kites', the duo looked very much together.
Dressed in an off-shoulder black gown by designer duo Gauri-Nainika, Suzanne's entry on the ramp was acknowledged by hooting and clapping by an array of Bollywood stars including her hubby and her brother Zayed Khan.
While Hrithik kept looking at her and clapped continuously while she was on the ramp, Suzanne acknowledged him by blowing a kiss and turning her head towards him till she finished the walk.
The surprise element of the show was Bollywood actress Genelia D'Souza who walked the ramp for Farah Khan.
The front row had several Bollywood stars such as Dimple Kapadia, Boney Kapoor, Twinkle Khanna, Sanjay Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan and Karan Johar.
This is the first time that HDIL-ICW had a high-end jewellery show that featured four jewellery designers - Devaunshi Mehta, Farah Khan, Queenie Dhody and Maheep Kapoor - who came out with their dazzling collections.
After the show Zayed Khan said that it was a wonderful feeling to have both his sisters walk the ramp.
'It feels good when you watch your sisters walk hand in hand on the ramp. Looking at Farah's collection, all I can say is that she is the best,' he said.

Hrithik kisses wife in public

Industrywallahs are sniggering at Hrithik’s desperate PDA attempts with his wife Suzzane. The couple who is currently holidaying in the US was spotted lip locking in full public view in LA’s plush Hollywood area. The snaps are all over the Internet and sources claim that this is all part of the pre-publicity campaign for Kites.
Now that his film is geared up for release next month, Hirthik is desperate to wipe out all the negative publicity his film received thanks to his alleged fling with Barbara Mori. Hrithik is more than determined to prove to the world that all his well in his marital paradise. So what better way to do so than kiss his wife of nine years in public. It’s a pity though that nobody is impressed with his tactics, although we are sure his wife is one relieved lady.

Roshan family visits WOC

Oneness, a center for learning, wellness and individual growth has become the favorite destination for scores of big Bollywood celebrities. Bollywood super star Hrithik Roshan, his father and Actor/Director Rakesh Roshan and their family members were at the World Oneness Centre on Sunday, for a glimpse of the Oneness experience.

Both Hrithik Roshan & Rakesh Roshan went through a one-day process during their visit on last Sunday.

Last month Pinky and Sunaina Roshan (mother and sister of Hrithik Roshan) visited the World Oneness Centre at Tada and their experience inspired the entire family to pay a visit to the World Oneness Centre to understand the Oneness process. Incidentally Sunday was Rakesh Roshan’s 60th Birthday and he celebrated his birthday at the World Oneness Centre.

Hrithik along with his entire family had an interaction with Sri Bhagavan, the Visionary Founder of Oneness and sought Bhagavan’s blessings for their wellness.

After the meeting, Rakesh Roshan says “During my last visit I promised Bhagavan that I’ll bring my entire family next time. Sept 6th is my Birthday and I felt like celebrating it here at Oneness and get Bhagavan’s blessings. So we are back here today. Bhagavan blessed me with oneness in the family.”

Recently Shilpa Shetty (a long time regular at WOC) was in Oneness to complete her Level Two course, which is a deepening process at the Oneness. The oneness process has different levels and she has already completed Level One, which helps discover love and joy in relationships. Shilpa has attended the earlier level with Sister Shamita Shetty last year and accompanying her this year is beau Raj Kundra.

Manisha Koirala has also been involved with Oneness for the past 2 years now.

Sri Samadarshiniji, Director, Oneness says, “Every soul has a unique destiny and we all have a vital role in nurturing and fulfilling our personal destiny. This journey of self-discovery will help an individual function from an awakened state of being in fulfilling our daily chores. Oneness is a facilitator / a medium / a bridge in the search for your inner truth. We help and assist the individual peel layers off his personality and unveil his / her personal or individual truth”.

Oneness has been conducting different programs since 1989 to further individual growth, and has impacted over 100 million people from across 126 countries.

Hrithik’s hi-tech chair for Guzaarish

Hrithik Roshan, who plays a paraplegic in director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish, will be seen on a wheel chair in the film. Buzz is that the actor is shooting with a specially made to order remote-controlled modernized wheel chair. Shernaaz Patel plays his doctor in the film.

Unit sources inform that an old lavish Haveli has been erected for this purpose and Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai have been shooting emotionally intense scenes for the movie and were quite comfortable in each other’s company. Since they have worked together in Dhoom II and Jodhaa Akbar earlier, this will be their third film together and they share a good rapport with each other.

Bhansali who is known for his detailing in his film has been extremely careful about the entire set and the look of the film. The entire unit has been shooting behind closed doors. Apparently, Bhansali has booked the studio till January 2010. Portions of the movie will be shot on the outdoor locales of Goa, later next month.

No Hrithik or Abhishek yet for ‘Agneepath’ remake: Karan Johar

There have been speculations about who will play the male lead in the remake of the 1990 hit “Agneepath”. While the names of Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan popped up, filmmaker Karan Johar clarifies that no one has been finalised to play the part Amitabh Bachchan immortalised in the original.

“I haven’t made any statement whatsoever around the man who would eventually be playing the role of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan that was made iconic by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. All I have said is that, yes, we are going ahead with a remake of ‘Agneepath’ and that’s about it,” Johar said.

Whether it is Hrithik, Abhishek or someone else, Johar must be having a wish list?

“Well, the wish list is to get the screenplay right. For the moment nothing else is more important than that,” he said.

Even though the film is being produced under the banner of Dharma Productions, Johar won’t be going behind the camera for the movie.

“True, I would be stepping aside and the film would be directed by Karan Malhotra, who has assisted me on ‘My Name Is Khan’. That’s the only thing which has been finalised… everything else you hear is mere speculation. We will finalise the cast once the script is locked. Currently, it is still in the process of being written,” he added.

Malhotra is not really a novice when it comes to filmmaking. He has earlier worked as an assistant director with Ashutosh Gowariker on “Jodhaa Akbar”, Farah Khan on “Main Hoon Na”, Farhan Akhtar on “Lakshya” and Raj Kumar Santoshi “Lajja and Pukar” amongst others.

Since it is close to two decades since the release of “Agneepath”, would the remake have a different milieu to it?

“Certainly! We are adapting the film from the original, but ours would be a new age version that would fit in well with today’s time. We really hope that we are able to do justice to the original and make the remake exciting for today’s generation,” Johar said.

Dharma Productions, meanwhile, has as many as seven films that are in different stages of production. These are “My Name Is Khan”, “Wake Up Sid”, “Kurbaan”, “Koochie Koochie Hota Hai”, remakes of Hollywood flick “Stepmom” and “Agneepath” and “I Hate Love Stories”.

How is he managing it all?

“Believe me, it’s not difficult at all. All you have to do is to follow a three-point mantra - delegation, outsourcing and trust. Along with that, if you have the right vision and infrastructure in place, which we do have in Dharma Productions, it isn’t difficult to crack it all.

“That’s the way you manage things and I have been fortunate enough to have a team with which it has become possible to helm a number of projects at the same time,” said Johar.

Among the seven films, three are ready to hit the screens.

“‘Wake Up Sid’ is all set to arrive on Oct 2. ‘Kurbaan’ will come in late November. Other than that, we are looking at an early 2010 release for ‘My Name Is Khan’. Yes, these have been busy and really exciting times,” the filmmaker said.

Hrithik’s hi-tech chair for Guzaarish

Hrithik Roshan, who plays a paraplegic in director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish, will be seen on a wheel chair in the film. Buzz is that the actor is shooting with a specially made to order remote-controlled modernized wheel chair. Shernaaz Patel plays his doctor in the film.

Unit sources inform that an old lavish Haveli has been erected for this purpose and Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai have been shooting emotionally intense scenes for the movie and were quite comfortable in each other’s company. Since they have worked together in Dhoom II and Jodhaa Akbar earlier, this will be their third film together and they share a good rapport with each other.

Bhansali who is known for his detailing in his film has been extremely careful about the entire set and the look of the film. The entire unit has been shooting behind closed doors. Apparently, Bhansali has booked the studio till January 2010. Portions of the movie will be shot on the outdoor locales of Goa, later next month.

Hrithik Roshan unveils his philanthropic side!

Few people know that Hrithik Roshan- the suave, charismatic actor with looks that can kill is extremely soft hearted, sensitive and generous as a person.

The actor who has been supporting several causes recently had a life-changing experience while preparing for his role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish.

Hrithik is playing a paraplegic in the film and in order to get into the character, he has been doing thorough research on the disorder to make sure he looks absolutely convincing.

Says a source close to the actor, “Hrithik is taking his role very seriously and has been reading up on paraplegia and watching videos to understand and study their mannerisms and behavior. In fact, he even visited several people affected by the disease to get a first hand account of their experiences.”

But while the process helped him hone his acting skills, it has also left a deep impact on his mind. So much so, that Hrithik is now actively taking part in helping people affected with paraplegia.

“The sensitive person that he is, the intensive study and frequent interactions with persons suffering from the disorder has moved Hrithik to a great extent. He came across some young, talented people who were left incapacitated due to paraplegia and immediately decided to his bit to help them.”

Pledging his solidarity to the cause, Hrithik has decided to help the affected persons monetarily as well as through any other means possible.

Now here’s one great actor who is also a great philanthropist!

My childhood days were like hell- Hrithik Roshan

Hrithik Roshan aka Duggu is a very shy person when it comes to talking about his personal life. But on the show Tere Mere Beach Main, he revealed his dark side to the host and dost Farah Khan, which was quite shocking. The actor had a stammering problem, and he talked about how he overcame his disability.

Since when did you discover this stammering problem?

I was 6-year-old when I discovered that I have started to stammer. I don’t exactly remember what was the fear or the phobia, but it developed. Even today, I feel that there’s no proper definition of why and when this happens, but there is certainly a way out of it. Once I could not speak, but today I have found a way.

Were you ever teased for this in schools?

Yes, I was teased a lot for stammering. I use to feel like one of those handicaps, on whom people laughed, but I cannot blame them, as it was funny. I remember during my oral test exams, I use to bunk by giving reasons such as stomach ache or fever, as it was quite horrifying. My childhood days can be termed as hell.

Was it difficult for your parents to understand you?

They wanted to help, but didn’t know how. Sometimes you need to have knowledge. It was like after a certain point, I use to hear from my near and dear one that “Why can’t you do it…’ It was more pressurizing, but it’s not their fault. One needs to know how to deal with it, and then things will become easy.

Do you remember any embarrassing moment during your hard times?

It was when; I could not even tell that I want to become an actor, as I use to stammer a lot. That was the point when I felt that why doesn’t this ground cracks open and I go inside it.

How did you manage to over come this disability?

Basically its all about co-ordination of your jaw moves, lips, and your breath etc. I had to start from scratch, like A to Z. I use to keep repeating these alphabets and make sentences getting all you tongue and pallets in co-ordination. It was like an exercise for me doing it everyday. When I was 15, I realized that things are working with my tongue exercise. Till date, I do practice speech therapy for an hour in the night to get confidence.

How did you fall in love with Sussanne when you were a shy person during your college days?

The first time I met her was during the worst stage of the struggle in my life. I remember, once we went to Hotel Leela for a date and I had to order something, but I could not even utter a word. Though Sussanne understood, and she ordered for the both of us. It was the moment I fell for her, as she was the first girl in my life who made me feel comfortable at that point.

Hrithik had stammering problem; along side he developed back problem and recently knee problem… How did you get the strength to overshadow everything and yet stand tall?

I believe no experience is life is bad. You have one life, so aren’t you going to do something about it. Due to my back problem, I was bed ridden for a year, but then I realized that I don’t want to live like this and stood up. Life is all about sunrise to sunset, as you have to deal with a new set of problems every day. The one who is able to achieve what he or she thinks will be satisfied at the end of the day.

Also, I have recently opened an institute for speech therapy, where I am taking an initiative, and will do my best to help others facing the same problem.

Hrithik declares love with Tattoo

After Saif Ali Khan tattooed the name of lady love Kareena on his arm, it’s time for another declaration of love, sealed with a tattoo The newest celeb to join the tattoo bandwagon is Hrithik Roshan, who recently tattooed his wife Suzanne’s name on his wrist.
As per our sources, “There were many speculation on Hrithik-Barbara’s rapport with the film Kites. Media has been talking about it to the death. They even reported that Suzanne-Hrithik are splitting. Duggu was tired of all this speculations and thus, he decided to tattoo his wife’s name and prove to the world that they are still very much in love.”
In a recent interview to a newspaper, Hrithik’s sister Sunaina gave a statement that, “My brother may be a big flirt, but there is only one lady in his life and that’s Suzanne bhabhi. They love each other and there is no problem between the two.”
Rightly said “No pain no gain’… Hope this formulae works for you Duggu.

Barbara Mori feels at home with the Roshans

Barbara Mori has put to rest all rumors regarding her relationship with the senior Roshan by saying Rakesh Roshan always welcomed her with open arms at his house and that she was invited for family dinners and parties at the Roshan’s place.

Probably speaking up for the first time on all the controversy surrounding her alleged relationship with her Kites co-star Hrithik Roshan, Barbara admitted that she was emotionally disturbed not because of Hrithik but because of the end of her two year long love affair with Mexican actor Jose Maria Torre.

Making no qualms about her love life Barbara felt her heartbreak happens because she gets easily infatuated and feels that she is in love. But she added that she is “trying not to fall in love this time,” which makes us wonder whom she is referring to. But soon she added that she is learning to be with herself as India has been healing her spiritually form the negative phase of her life.

Feeling that Kites came to her at the perfect time, Mori observes that she is on a spiritual break to know her-self better and repurpose her life.

Well as the actress is claiming to behave, err… learn to be with herself and is “trying to not fall in love”, we can be assured trouble won’t knock anytime soon on Roshan Jr. paradise!