Busy Aishwarya turns down reality show offer

Actress Aishwarya Rai, who was supposed to feature on Sony TV’s reality show Dance Premier League, couldn’t accept the offer due to her packed schedule and not on account of money issues, her publicist said.

“A recent news story issued by a channel suggested Aishwarya Rai was ousted by Madhuri Dixit for one of their reality shows, citing money as an issue. We would wish to clarify that this is an act of fiction, fact being that Aishwarya, who is known to be a thorough professional, had to refuse the show on account of her commitment to films,” her publicist said in a press statement.

The show is now being judged by Rani Mukerji along with dance guru Shiamak Davar.

Aishwarya is currently busy shooting Sanjay Leela’s Guzaarish.

“Her movies like Endhiran, Action Replay and Ravana are all nearing completion, so the subject of money and costing never did arise as discussions did not go beyond schedules and dates.

“The proposal had come to Aishwarya through the Moranis (the show producers) and even Shiamak pushed Aishwarya to do the show, but the dates could just not be worked out,” said the publicist.

I can’t afford an IPL team: Rani Mukerji

She took tips from Shah Rukh Khan to understand cricket for her role in “Dil Bole Hadippa”, but Rani Mukerji has no intention of following her good friend’s footsteps by bidding for an Indian Premier League (IPL) team.

“I can’t afford it… I don’t have so much money. There is no chance that I can buy an IPL team,” Rani told IANS in an interview here.

“Right now I don’t even think that I can take up so much responsibility because everything of that sort (owning a team, etc) means more responsibilities. I am quite happy doing what I am doing right now,” she added.

IPL is quite popular among Bollywood stars — while Shah Rukh owns Kolkata Knight Riders along with Juhi Chawla, Preity Zinta has Kings XI Punjab and Shilpa Shetty bought stakes in Rajasthan Royals along with boyfriend Raj Kundra.

Salman Khan too is reportedly going to bid for a team this year.

Leave alone IPL, Rani says a big “no-no” to venturing into other facets of filmmaking, such as production or direction, like some of her superstar colleagues.

“Again with production comes a very big responsibility and so is with direction and I don’t think I am ready for that as of now,” she said.

What’s on her mind right now is having a blast during the ongoing Durga Puja.

“I am just hoping I can have a great time with my family and celebrate Durga Puja as I used to celebrate it as a kid. This time luckily I have kept no commitments during that time; so I am just hoping that this year I’ll have a blast,” Rani said.

Asked if she had any plans of visiting Kolkata for pandal hopping, the actress said: “I’ll be in Mumbai… I always celebrate Durga Pujo in Mumbai only.”

Unlike other A-list actresses, Rani is not brand conscious when it comes to her wardrobe. And she has no brand preferences either.

“There’s nothing special…basically I love wearing good clothes. I walk into a shop and I buy anything I feel I’ll look good in. In any case, having a toned body always feels great.”

Her latest outing “Dil Bole Hadippa!” may have got mixed responses from both audiences and critics, but that has not deterred the actress’s confidence.

“I have always done different things. I’ve done a ‘Black’ that somebody would think twice before doing and now this (’…Hadippa!)… I take up challenging roles as that really excites me as an actor.

“For me it’s very integral that I choose a character which is special for the audience as well as me,” Rani said.

‘Dil Bole Hadippa!’ a huge let down

Film: “Dil Bole Hadippa!”

Cast: Rani Mukerji, Shahid Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Poonam Dhillon, Rakhi Sawant, Sheryln Chopra; Director: Anuraag Singh

Somewhere down the line in this mish-mash of “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi”, “Chak De” and what have you, Shahid Kapoor, looking as intense as a man who has just discovered he has acute molar ache, scowls at Rani and says, “You should be an actress in films”.

Actress she is. And a highly competent one. Rani has worked really hard on getting the Sardar-ji’s act together. At times she’s quite funny and poignant. But her attempts go waste in a film that seems to move in a rudderless stupor.

Rani is sorely let down in her made-to-order vehicle by a script that’s as phony and pasted-on as the moustache she pastes on to infiltrate the all-boy’s cricket team helmed by a Britain-returned dude from a broken family.

Shahid’s dad Anupam Kher lives in Amritsar, while his mom, Poonam Dhillon, lives in London.

Backgrounds are not very high in the list of this messy and annoying mishmash about cross-dressing and sporting spirit. While Shahid’s character we know is from a broken home, only god and the scripwriter know where Rani’s character Veera/Veer comes from.

While Hillary Swank, as a girl dressed as a guy, got the Oscar for “Boys Don’t Cry”, Rani misses her award-winning turn by a wide margin, thanks to a script that meanders like a bumbling bumblebee which doesn’t know whom to sting.

The story of the spirited girl’s sprint into a men’s game and into the coach’s heart lacks bite and humour. The dialogues are ultra-pedestrian, some of the exchanges between the rustic Rani and the posh Shahid shamelessly taken from “Jab We Met”.

What were the makers of this film thinking? Not much, as we can easily see in the slithering progression of the material and dismaying lack of motivation. After the interval, the wobbly narration just collapses in a tired heap, with scenes in a nautanki featuring Rakhi Sawant plunging to the bottom-most rung of mediocrity.

The climactic cricket match between India and Pakistan is as exciting as watching “Kaminey” with the soundtrack turned off. In “Dil Bole Hadippa!”, the soundtrack is so loud it drowns any finer point that the narration may possess.

Don’t waste your time looking for silver linings in this dreadful cricket film. Someone said cricket is a game played by 12 fools and watched by 12,000 fools. No we know what he meant.

I am over the moon: ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ director

Dil Bole Hadippa”, which stars Shahid Kapur and Rani Mukerji, became the first Bollywood film to premiere at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) before its release in India. And debutant director Anurag Singh just can’t contain his excitement.

“I am over the moon at this privilege given to ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ to be the first-ever Bollywood film to be premiered at the Toronto festival before its release in India,” Anurag, son of producer K.P. Singh, said.

“It is a family entertainment masala which will appeal to anyone. Its rip-roaring music will be a hit, I guess,” he said.

Set wholly in rural Punjab, the Yash Raj Films production also stars Sherlyn Chopra, Anupam Kher, Dalip Tahil and Rakhi Sawant. Singh said they chose the Punjabi-sounding title and Punjab for the shooting because of the north Indian state’s cultural vibrancy and its global appeal.

“Another unique thing about this film-cum-comedy is that there is no trace of any city or skyscrapers in it. We did all our shooting in villages outside Chandigarh, Ludhiana, and Amritsar over 80 days,” he said.

Asked why he chose Rani and Shahid for the lead role, he said: “I wanted to bring in a pair which had never worked together before. There is some sort of freshness about Rani and Shahid working together. There was instant chemistry between the two. For Shahid, it is an entirely different role after ‘Kaminey’.”

Singh, who has assisted Rakesh Roshan in five films, said he was asked to direct “Dil Bole Hadippa” by Aditya Chopra, his childhood friend. And it was while writing the script that Singh visualised Rani and Shahid as the lead pair.

“When Aditya and I were working on the script, we had only Rani and Shahid in mind. The two agreed to the role the moment we sat with them with the script,” Singh said.

“Aditya, Hrithik Roshan and I grew up together. In fact, Aditya and I watched every single movie every Friday for 20 years. So doing ‘Dil Bole…’ is kind of a home production for me. And it was Hrithik who asked me to work with his dad. I have learnt my art from Rakesh Roshan,” he said.

The film is set for release in India and 20-odd countries Sep 18.

Singh, who has a three-film contract with Yash Raj Films, said he looked forward to a break before starting on his next venture.

“I will take a month’s break and then think about the next film,” said the director who also co-produced films like “Hum To Mohabbat Karega” and “Jurm”.

“What’s your Rashee?” is another Bollywood film being premiered next week at the festival that is on till Sep 19.

Ask Aditya for Rani’s marriage plans!

Rani Mukerji put Salman Khan’s patience to test by taking a long time to answer his question on his show, 10 Ka Dum. The actress, apparently, took so long to answer that Salman went and sat on the sofa. He also told her to tell him when she was ready with the answer and remarked that she was taking longer than even Aamir Khan to answer. Only when she was done would he return to the show.

Recently, a TV channel interviewed her and asked her about her marriage plans. She has apparently got tired of the media asking her that again and again, and has now asked them to question Aditya Chopra (who is her alleged boyfriend) about it.

Rani’s passion for perfecting her cricketing skills

It’s now known by all that Rani Mukerji plays the role of a male cricketer in Dil Bole Hadippa. But not many are aware about Rani’s aim for perfecting the art of playing the game of cricket. It is learnt that she trained really hard for the game before beginning work on the film.

Our unit source revealed, “Rani actually started practicing the game a good six months before the film even went on the floors. The person who trained Rani to master the game is a well-known Indian cricket player, but her name is being kept under wraps since she doesn’t want people to know about her involvement in the film. The coach monitored Rani throughout her practice, and made sure that she perfected her shots well. Rani has been practicing the game wherever she traveled and has practiced on the grounds in Delhi and Punjab too.”

Well, whether Rani mastered her fours and sixes will be known only after the film releases. But for now, Rani’s current svelte figure is testimony enough that she has run across the pitch!

The film also stars Shahid Kapoor and Anupam Kher, with special appearances by Rakhi Sawant and Sherlyn Chopra.

Bad luck Rani

We all know Rani Mukerji has been going through a rough phase for two years now. All her films that released in that time period, from Laaga Chunari Mein Daag to Ta Ra Rum Pum to Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, flopped. Maybe her stars are behind this, you never know. Therefore, unwilling to take any chances is director Aditya Chopra who has decided to release Dil Bole Hadippa only after September 9, which is when Rani’s bad phase will end.

Right now, Rani will only be seen in Dil Bole Hadippa, working only with Yash Raj Films, which is why her career depends on it. According to sources, she has been going through an unlucky period for two years and it will end on September 9. Aditya Chopra originally wanted to release the film by the end of August or the first week of September but has now postponed it to a later date. He doesn’t want to spoil Yash Raj Films’ newly resurrected state (after New York) and is therefore taking Rani’s stars into consideration. Maybe, things will work out for the best after the wait.