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.

1 lakh for used towel! Welcome to online celebrity bidding

Imagine shelling out Rs.100,000 for a used towel! A lot of people might, if the towel belonged to a celebrity. From clothes to cricket bats - Indians are fast opening up to the idea of bidding for celebrity memorabilia online.
"People have started buying such merchandise nowadays. And there are various reasons to it - some buy them for the resale value of an item, some go for it because they are a fan of the celebrity or some just want to give for charity," Deepa Thomas, senior manager (Pop Culture) at eBay, said.
Thomas says the craze among people for celebrity memorabilia started around 2005. A Salman fan paid as much as Rs.100,000 for his used towel. Thomas says her company decided to cash in on the demand in 2005 only and the trend is now scaling high.
"The money people are ready to shell out for such memorabilia's depends on how rare the item is and also on the brand power of the celebrity. Between 2005 -2008, ebay has earned Rs.1.8 crore through sale of personalised celebrity auctions," added Thomas.
Kolkata-based Riddhi Nair decided to bid for Olympic gold-medalist Vijender Singh's boxing gloves auctioned on choreographer-director Farah Khan's chat show "Tere Mere Beach Mein" because she was moved by the way his mother brought him up.
She spent Rs.17,800 for the item and says she will treasure it like "heirloom" forever. "I happened to see the repeat telecast of 'Tere Mere Beach Mein' where Vijender's mother spoke about how she never bought a new sari for herself for a long time so that she doesn't have to compromise on her son's training. It left me very emotional.
"I was touched to see his rising - from a remote village to being a world champion. It's very thought provoking. It is the perfect example for my daughter that she must always do something big in life," said Nair, a 33-year-old housewife.
Another motivation for Nair to bid was that the money will be transferred to Mumbai-based NGO Sneha, which works towards quality nutrition, education and health care of women and children. Nitin Jain, a 39-year-old investor, bid for Priyanka Chopra's autographed Gavin Maguel designer dress auctioned on Farah's show. He paid Rs.50,000 for the outfit.
Jain says he often bids for items if the proceeds go for charity, but also had a special eye on Priyanka's dress as his 15-year-old daughter is a huge fan of the actress. "Recently, there were several items that were auctioned on 'Tere Mere Beach Mein' - the chat show on STAR Plus. We had bid for many of them and were, in fact, the second highest bidders for Bipasha Basu's shoes. But my daughter is a Priyanka Chopra fan - so she also wanted it," said Jain, who is based in New Delhi.
Other items sold through the show include Shahid Kapoor's cap for Rs.28,500, Kareena Kapoor's blue dress for Rs.22,300, Yusuf Khan's cricket bat for Rs.60,750, et al. Selling celebrity memorabilia also makes business sense for celebrities themselves at times, says small screen actor Sachin Sharma, who launched a web portal called sbuy two months ago. TV and movie stars can auction their items through the site.
"There are many celebrities in India who don't get their due. And when they land in tough times and need money, they can turn to such auctions. I had a friend from the industry who wanted to sell his car but wasn't getting the right price from the dealer. But he struck a much better deal with a fan," said Sharma, who was seen in "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii".
Sharma's website has already had 300,000 hits in two months, he claims it is evidence to the demand of such items nowadays.

Shah Rukh will always be my idol: Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra has thousands of fans, but who is the actress’s all-time idol? The man she admires most is adored by millions across the globe as well… who else but superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

“Shah Rukh Khan is my idol and has always been. He has been a favourite actor of course, but I really look up to him also as a person . Looking at where he came from and how he became who he is today, I find it extremely fascinating,” Priyanka said in an interview.

“He started with theatre, did plays, got a break in TV - he turned from a regular college kid to a mega superstar… and all that completely on his own with no help from anybody in the film industry. I admire a lot about him and I think it’s just fantastic,” said the actress who has bagged the youth award icon for entertainment.

In the past, Priyanka has teamed up with Shah Rukh for Farhan Akhtar’s “Don” and did a cameo in a song with him in Farah Khan’s “Om Shanti Om” and also in “Billu”.

Priyanka and Hrithik Roshan bagged the youth icon awards in the entertainment field at the inaugural edition of the India Youth Icon Awards at an awards ceremony in Gurgaon Friday.

The actress is currently on cloud nine after getting rave reviews for essaying 12 roles in Ashutosh Gowariker’s “What’s Your Rashee?”, which also stars Hurman Baweja.

“It’s been great feedback so far. People are enjoying the film…I had an author-backed role which included playing 12 different characters - very difficult to do. And it feels fantastic to be encouraged and be told that I pulled it off well,” she said.

The 27-year-old actor said she was extremely nervous before the film’s release Friday.

“My biggest worry was - ‘Oh God! Will I ever be able to pull this off or not?’. Since most people who get to play multiple roles in a movie get it after a lot of experience, I was nervous. I have spent a short span to do roles as difficult as the one in ‘What’s Your Rashee’, but as an actor all I can say is that I do my work with as much honesty as possible and the rest is destiny,” she said.

If “What’s Your Rashee?” hits the jackpot at the box office, it will be her fourth consecutive hit in a row after “Fashion”, “Dostana” and “Kaminey”.

But she is unmoved. “Hits and flops are a part of the business, isn’t it?” she said.

Asked how she handles success at a young age, the former Miss World said: “I have always been grounded. I have an incredible passion for what I do (acting). I don’t know how to do anything else, I don’t want to do anything else and I love what I do. There’s nothing else that affects me.”

What about growing expectations from audiences and critics?

“It scares me when my films release. I wonder if people will like it or not. That for me is the most important thing. But at the same time I think: what’s the point of living a life without any expectations? You will just stagnate, become complacent - that’s not the kind of person I am. I like striving, I like things that challenge me; I take up difficult films and difficult roles to challenge myself,” Priyanka said.

“I like it when people say things like ‘Fashion’ was a female-centric movie and yet it was successful and that ‘Kaminey’ was an all-boys film, still my part was really appreciated, and ‘Dostana’ was majorly on gay guys, and it ended so well. I enjoy that - I like the fact that I can take up different scripts.

“It’s just that I like to take up challenges,” she added.

Priyanka’s next will see her paired with Uday Chopra in Yash Raj Films’ “Pyaar Impossible”, where she will play the beauty and the latter a geek.

12 Different ‘Hair Bounce’ Created For Priyanka In Raashee

By now it’s common knowledge that Priyanka Chopra plays 12 roles in Ashutosh Gowariker’s “What’s Your Raashee’. And that each one has been styled differently.
But the attention that Ashutosh Gowariker has paid to the hair styling for each of the 12 Priyankas’ takes our breath away.
Explains the diligent director, “You can tell a girl’s personality not only by her clothes and hair but also by the way the hair bounces.”
A different bounce had to be created by non-film stylist Asha Harirahan for every Priyanka.
Priyanka has assumed a different skin tone, complexion and playback voices, each suited to the individual character in terms of personality and body/spoken language
Confirming this Ashutosh Gowariker says, “I knew Priyanka could pull off all 12 parts. I’ve seen how nuanced her performances are right from the time she made her debut in The Hero. When we decided to have the same actress playing all 12 parts we decided to give every character a totally different personally in terms of dress, skin tone and even hair style.”
Non-film hair stylist Asha Hariharan was brought in to do Priyanka Chopra’s hair for the 12 characters.
Explains Ashutosh, “While Neeta Lulla has done all of Priyanka’s clothes for the 12 characters Asha Hariharan was brought in because I didn’t only want only a different hair cut or style for all the 12 Priyankas I also wanted a different fall and bounce for every girl’s hair. For that I needed an expert beyond the expertise offered by the Bollywood names.”
Rajesh Patil was roped in to do Priyanka’s 12 skin tones. “They’re very subtle differences. But nonetheless the skin shades determine a major part of every girl’s personality.”
Priyanka being dusky in complexion had a particularly tough time playing the more gora avatars.
As for her voices Ashutosh sifted through innumerable voices with composer Sohail Sen before selecting the 11 voices (the 12th girl doesn’t sing). “It wasn’t like an audition. But yes, my music director Sohail Sen and I went through the voices to select the ones that suited Priyanka’s every avatar.”
Adds Ashutosh, “If I made the film 20 years ago, Lataji would sung for all the 12 Priyankas and she would’ve made sure each avatar had a distinct personality.”

Priyanka Chopra follows in her mum’s footsteps!

Playing dozen of characters in Ashutosh Gowariker’s “What’s Your Rashee’ gave Piggy Chops stressful moments all the time, while shooting for the film, but one such character that she easily picked was Sanjana.

The character in the film is of a Virgo girl who is a medico. Having a doc at home in her mother made it easier for her to portray the character. “Dr. Pooja Goradia is a doctor, and as my mother is also a doctor I have tried to fashion out her mannerism in the film. I remember when I was a child my mother use to dress up in shalwaar-kurta, wear bindi and kohl hurriedly in car, as she was married, so it was comparatively easier,” she shares.

So finally, Mrs. Chopra will have the delight to see herself in her daughter!

Capricorn girl’s role in ‘…Rashee’ was toughest: Priyanka

Priyanka Chopra, who is eyeing a Guinness record by playing 12 brides-in-waiting in Ashutosh Gowariker’s “What’s Your Rashee?”, says this is one feat she would love to tell her grandchildren about. The actress revealed that playing the Capricorn teenager was the most difficult of all the roles.

In “What’s Your Rashee?”, which is based on Madhu Rye’s Gujarati novel “Kimball Ravenswood”, Priyanka plays the roles of 12 girls who meet bride-hunting NRI Yogesh Patel played by Hurman Baweja.

“The role of the Capricorn girl was toughest for me,” said the actress, who walked the red carpet at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival here Saturday with co-star Hurman and Gowariker.

In the film, the Capricorn girl is named Jhankhana who is just 15 years old.

“To play a 15-year-ol girl without make-up or special effects to make me look younger was the most challenging role for me. I had to look 15 years old just through my body language. I didn’t want any of the l2 girls to be caricatures or not look real,” Priyanka said.

The former Miss World said she had to make subtle variationS in her walk, talk and mannerisms to portray each of the 12 characters. “I used a lot of voice variations, but at the same time I didn’t want to sound fake.

“The only thing I could change was clothes, hair, the body language and the way I speak,” she said.

The Bollywood actress, who is set to enter the Guinness Book of Records for playing 12 female roles in a film, laughed and said: “It is not official yet. Yes, it is great even to be considered that I am the first female actor in the world to have played that many parts. It is fantastic…it is something that I would like to tell my grandkids.”

Priyanka said playing multiple roles in the movie was “one of the greatest six months of my life. It was the most daunting task of my life so far”.

But she added she was lucky to get multiple roles very early in her career.

“Usually, the actors who have played multiple roles have been very experienced. For me, this is a huge honour.”

Priyanka said she now believes in sun sign compatibility in her real life as well.

“Before this movie, I used to read horoscopes in the morning just out of curiosity and to get some fun. However, my logical mind refused to believe how everyone in the entire world can be clubbed into just 12 groups.”

But once she started doing this movie and researching on the characteristics of each sun sign, she said, she started believing that human beings under same sun signs have some common traits.

“I am a Cancerian born in July…I have met so many people from across the world under this sun sign. Uncannily, they have similar characteristics like me - being emotional, homely. There is something about it (sun signs) for sure,” Priyanka said.

Problematic Fans and Security galore for Piggy Chops!

Priyanka Chopra recently had a case of bad security when a fan girl walked past the guard right into her building, Raj Classic in Versova. The girl gave the guards some excuse and ran past them. She clicked pictures of the door to Priyanka’s house. The guards, who are used to people coming to meet actors and actresses, then, realized that they had been tricked and rushed to catch her and get her out of the complex. When Priyanka heard about this, she wasn’t very happy. She has also told the watchmen to stay alert.

Nationalism is my religion, says Salman Khan

Bollywood actor Salman Khan showed his patriotic side Wednesday when he encouraged Delhiites to unite and work towards the betterment of the country.

“I am an Indian. Nationalism is my religion. We want responsible citizens who think about India first,” said Salman while addressing a gathering at Vijay Chowk at an event organised by Zee News as part of their India First campaign.

“We should unite and do everything for the betterment of our country,” added the actor who has three releases lined up. He will be first seen in “Wanted”, followed by “Main Aur Mrs. Khanna” and “London Dreams”.

India First campaign has also garnered support from noted personalities like Baichung Bhutia, Priyanka Chopra, Shahid Kapoor, Suniel Shetty and many more in the past.

Feature: Hot Bolly Divas in Bikini rule Box Office!

Skin show has always been a selling element for B-town filmmakers. Indian culture may boast of sati-savitri Bhartiya nari, or crib about the adaptation of western culture in recent times, but the truth is- our film fraternity has been modern and contemporary in its thoughts and ways since the 60’s. Remember the sensuous Sharmila Tagore of An evening in Paris in the 60’s. An icing on the cake was when she donned a bikini on the cover page of a renowned magazine. The unmatchable oomph-factor of another diva Parveen Babi ruled the roost in 70’s, with her amazing style quotient in bikini. Then, came the voluptuous, yet sexy, Bikini-clad Zeenat Aman in her films such as Qurbani, Pukaar and Dostana.

The trend of bikini somehow got lost, until some super-sexy divas yet again set the B-town lanes on fire on the cover pages of magazines, films and music albums. Let’s begin with divas with enormous sensuality that got the trend of bikini back in tinsel town. But most importantly, we look back at how this two-piece is now a major tool to get the audience attention all the way to the Box-office. Today bikini has become a tool for most of the filmmakers to fill their pockets with uncountable money.

Shilpa Shetty- She made every head turn to notice her ultra-sexy perfect figure. This diva easily slipped into two-piece with an unmatchable grace in Dostana. However, a point to be noted here, director Tarun Mansukhani showcased Shilpa Shetty in an item song, which became one of the high points of the film, raking in audience and moolah on box-office.

Priyanka Chopra- The ever-graceful former Miss World and extremely celebrated female actor today, Priyanka Chopra gave another reason to cine-goers to watch Dostana. She, though a main-lead, donned a golden bikini with umpteen grace, which yet again gave an extra edge to the director to woo his audience in the midst of many contenders floating simultaneously near the box-office ticket window.

Mallika Sherawat- This sexy-siren does not need any introduction. With oodles of sex appeal she made many a men drool over for just a peek at her skimpy beachwear, in her much talked about film- Murder. The director never kept any stones unturned to make his money-minting machine look most ravishing thing on planet earth.

Bipasha Basu- This dusky-beauty, also the IFFA female style icon of 2009 not only got into the bikini with the never-ever seen grace, but also, manage to stand at par with world-class beauty Aishwarya Rai. Her multi-colored bikini got her loads of praises all over, and also to the filmmaker associated with Dhoom 2.

Sushmita Sen- This bong-beauty’s claims to have shared the most sensuous chemistry with King Khan till date came true with Main Hoon Na. Farah Khan made this diva look like an angel in a swimsuit.

Kareena Kapoor- The deep-blue eyed Kareena Kapoor wore the ultra-sexy attire twice. Her size zero-figure had become the talk of the town. With a sizzling hot bikini in Tashan she showcased her sexy avatar, which made many a hearts go flutter, including our Chote Nawab who can’t withhold ravishing about his ladylove. Again in Kamabakht Ishq, she gave her fans a glimpse of her ever super–toned body.

Deepika Padukone- Might have left her fans in gloom, for they still haven’t got a chance to have a look at her in a bikini on silver screen. However, looking at the trend of bikini-wearers making waves, Deepika is not taking any chances to be left behind and thus to stay in the Bikini cat-race, Deepika donned a two-piece swimsuit for Kingfisher calendar.

Shruti Haasan- This star-child got her hands on a bikini in the very first film of her career. Luck, might not have clicked with the audience, but Shruti in bikini did. Looking smoldering hot, Shruti in a bikini overshadowed the film’s publicity. Soham Shah played his cards right in Luck with getting his actor with right attire at a right time, though unfortunately not the right script.

Rani Mukherjee- is the latest entrant to the bikini club. This bundle of talent will be wearing a bikini for the very first time in her long spanning career, for her forthcoming film Dil Bole Hadippa, opposite Shahid Kapoor. Rani’s sardarji look in the film is also a much talked about affair. However, it would be interesting to see whether her fans are inclined to her cute sardaji look, or the hot bikini avatar.

Comparing me to Rahman not fair: Sohail Sen

After teaming up with music maestro A.R. Rahman in hits like “Lagaan” and “Jodhaa Akbar”, director Ashutosh Gowariker has roped in budding composer Sohail Sen for “What’s Your Raashee?” and the young musician says drawing comparisons between him and the Oscar-winning genius wouldn’t be fair.

“I never had in mind that I will be compared to Rahman. That shouldn’t happen at all. He has been in the industry for so long and I’m just a beginner; so any comparison with him would not be fair,” Sen, who has composed 13 tracks for “What’s Your Raashee?”, said.

“I’m a great fan of Rahman. I have been listening to his music over the years and he is just like an idol for me. He is an encyclopaedia of music,” Sen added.

The 25-year-old has got music in legacy from his father Sameer Sen, a well-known name in the field of music in Hindi films, but says creating songs for the Priyanka Chopra, Hurman Baweja-starrer was not a cakewalk.

“Creating 13 different songs, each for one particular zodiac sign, was a difficult task. We had to maintain distinctiveness. Initially I was nervous. But when Ashutosh-ji and Javed (Akhtar)-saab briefed me and we started working on them, it became better.

“But we did our homework too before starting on the work. We worked on the album for more than one and a half years,” said Sen, who had earlier composed music for the 2008 movie “Sirf”.

Asked which was the most difficult number to create, he said: “‘Chehra jo dekhe hain’ was the most difficult song. We had themes for every song, but in this song we had to collaborate and merge every theme… it was a big task, but we managed,” said Sen, who has also lent his voice to a few songs in the album.

“What’s Your Raashee?” is about a young man who is told to find his dreamgirl within 10 days to save his family from utter ruin. He meets two girls from each sun sign every day so that he will get 12 chances to fall in love, three days to make his final decision and tie the knot on the 10th day.

Priyanka plays 12 different characters, depicting the 12 zodiac signs in the movie set to release Sep 25.

Most films have four-five songs these days — won’t it be a minus point to have 13 songs in the film?

“I don’t think that having 13 songs in one album in a time like today will be a minus point because every song is essential for the film. The songs and the script go hand-in-hand.

“I don’t think the audience will have a problem. As far as I am concerned, it was a plus point for me since I got a chance to showcase my talent and create music in so many different genres in one album itself,” said Sen.

So do you consider this a landmark film for yourself?

“Absolutely. It was a dream to work with a filmmaker like Ashutosh Gowariker,” Sen said.

Shahid promises “Kaminey”is a movie for all age group

Shahid assures who is playing double role in Vishal Bharadwaj movie`Kaminey` has been given an `A` certificate it is not a film that will make viewers uncomfortable. The young actor also says that the film provides intelligent fare to the audience.

Shahid says”Normally filmmakers ask viewers to leave their brain at home when they come to see their movies, but here I am advising them to bring their minds along. It is not a run of the mill movie, it actually stands out,” .

According to information given by sources `Kaminey` is releasing Friday with 1,100 prints despite an `A` certificate.Shahid adds”It is given `A` certificate but it is a movie for all age group… it`s not a film that would make you uncomfortable while watching. `Kaminey` will be my widest released movie so far. Till date my biggest hit `Jab we met` was released in 927 prints but `Kaminey` is releasing with 1,100 prints,”

Shahid with promising note says new things in the movie and present here to promote movie”`Kaminey` is certainly an important film for me as I have tried many new things in it. For the first time I am playing a double role and I am trying something different from a love story. In fact, this is also the first commercial film of Vishal Bharadwaj,” .

Shahid co-star is priyanka choptra in the movie”I have seen the movie and also shown it to my family members. The movie has really come out well and we are getting good reactions,”.

Explains his role briefly says “I am playing the role of Charlie and Guddu – two brothers – in the movie. They are entirely different characters and do not even match with my real life, therefore it was a challenging task for me to play the role to perfection.”

One of the characters he plays stammers and to prepare for the role Shahid met many ENT doctors, speech therapists and people with stammering problems.He said”As the protagonist in the movie has some speech disorder, I met many experts as we did not want to make a caricature out of the characters. We have portrayed them very seriously and sensibly,” .

Shahid comments about tittle are “When Vishal told me the title then I actually stood up in surprise. Even Priyanka and other star-cast were equally surprised. But when Vishal explained to us the plot, we realised that it is the most appropriate title as he wanted to communicate something that was really different.”

Shahid, who has six-pack abs in the film, says he is more concerned about building physical strength.

“I`m purely vegetarian and crazy about my fitness. My main aim is to increase my physical strength and not the body size. I do an amalgamation of cardio-vascular exercises, free hand and weight training for four-five days in a week,” he said.

Eye infection leaves Priyanka ‘distressed’

Actress Priyanka Chopra is “distressed” as she has been nursing an eye infection for the past few days but did not let it come in the way of shooting for Yash Raj Films’ “Pyaar Impossible”.

“Distressed today.. have a mad red eye! It sucks…,” read Priyanka’s post on Twitter.

Her eye has become “fully red” now, sources close to the actress said.

“She (Priyanka) went to show her eye to the doctor and she has been prescribed some eyedrops, which she is using now,” said the source.

Apart from being busy shooting “Pyaar Impossible”, in which she is starring alongside Uday Chopra, Priyanka has finished shooting for Ashutosh Gowariker’s “What’s Your Rashee?” and is awaiting the release of Shahid Kapur-starrer “Kaminey”.