Daddy Cool audio launch

Producer Indra Kumar is all geared up with his yet another comedy Daddy Cool. And the entire cast of the film along with the director K Murali Mohan Rao teamed up again at the music launch of the film.
Everyone featured in the film spoke about their respective characters and claimed it to be one roller-coaster ride. Daddy Cool boasts of the long talented list of actors such as Sunil Shetty, Aarti Chhabria, Ashish Chowdhry, Tulip Joshi, Aftab Shivdasani, Javed Jaffrey, Kim Sharma, Sophie Choudry, Rajpal Yadav and Chunky Pandey.
The film is slated to release on August 28 and everyone associated with the film is engrossed in promoting it.

Katrina, sisters live it up in Spain with one ‘handsome guy’

British-born actress Katrina Kaif had a whale of time in exotic Marbella city in Andalusia, Spain along with her sisters. The six Kaif sisters let their hair down with their only brother Michael being the lone man in tow.

“It was quite a glamorous sight, if I say so myself, to see six similar-looking women accompanied by one 30-year-old handsome guy (my brother Michael) in restaurants in Spain. We formed a secret society that quite comfortable excluded everyone around. We were just happy being one big family,” Katrina, whose last release “New York” got rave reviews, told from London.

The downside of this cosy family reunion in Marbella was that all the Spanish guys just stayed away.

“I think they got intimidated seeing six girls accompanied by one man. They couldn’t make out what the man’s connection with all these women was,” said Katrina.

Only the eldest sister from the Kaif family got some male attention in Marbella.

“That’s because she speaks fluent Spanish. She had a Mexican boyfriend. So my eldest sister interacted with the local population in Marbella. All the sisters just stuck together having a ball with an invisible ‘No Trespassers Allowed’ board stuck to us,” said Katrina.

Now back in London, Katrina wants to get back to Mumbai. “I’m not used to being fussed over. My mother is constantly inquiring about my food. That gets to me because basically I’m a loner,” said the actress who turned 25 July 16.

Speaking about her birthday, she said: “This has to be the best birthday of my life. I had the time of my life. It’s quite a sight to see all us sisters and our protective brother walking together. I must say all my sisters are better looking than I am.”

It’d be a while before Katrina gets back to Mumbai.

She will fly to Chicago and Atlanta to take part in the Independence Day carnival in Chicago before heading home. The South Asian organization is putting together Zee Carnival on Aug 15 and 16 to be held in Chicago.

“I’m participating with Shah Rukh Khan. We’ve been to events together,” she said.

Chitrangada Singh endorses Frito-Lay’s new snack

After Kareena Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, Frito-Lay India has roped in critically acclaimed Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh as the brand ambassador of its new snack - Aliva.
“I am extremely excited to be a part of the new communication campaign for Aliva. This product has really great spicy flavours and the delightful part is that it’s baked with wheat and daal. It is a perfect product for people like me and makes for a great tea time snack,” said Chitrangada — who wowed the critics and audiences alike with her powerful performance in “Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi” — in a press statement.

Frito-Lay India is food division of beverage major PepsiCo India and as part of the new campaign, Chitrangada will feature in a TV commercial that will go on air next week.

With this association, she has joined the likes of celebrities Saif Ali Khan, Juhi Chawla, Kareena Kapoor and M.S. Dhoni who are also part of the Frito Lay family.

Shahid Priyanka-the confused duo

On Monday night, Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka were seen watching Love Aaj Kal together. The duo were spotted for the night show at a suburban multiplex and seemed like they were having a great time together. They walked into the theatre 15 minutes prior to the show and had booked not two but four seats in the last row. All through the movie they were seen holding hands sitting cozily and giggling away.
Obvious reasons for Shahid watching the film were figured out as to be- first, he trying to judge whether Imtiaz Ali had managed to recreate the Jab We Met magic, where he was opposite Kareena Kapoor and the second reason was to check out how well Kareena’s boyfriend Saif has performed in his home production.
All said and done this confused couple who are still unaware of their relationship status seem to have always ended up having a good time together.

Akshay sponsors Karate championship

In a sincere effort to encourage and promote martial arts among Indian youths, Our Action King of Bollywood Akshay Kumar has kick-started the first open invitational championship in India. A source said, “Shihan Mehul Vora, who has been a martial arts teacher for the last 27 years and an international teacher for the last 15 years, always wanted to promote martial arts in the country. His dream would have remained unfulfilled had not Akshay stepped into the picture.”
Akshay Kumar has backed Shihan Vora’s idea to promote martial arts through an open invitation. And appeased by the actor’s support, Shihan has decided to dedicate the event to Akshay Kumar calling Akshay Kumar Invitational Open.
The source added, “Over 2000 martial students from across the country will get a chance to participate in this event. Shihan will look into the technical details; while also present will be martial art grandmasters from Japan, Holland and Italy.”
Akshay Kumar, who has been learning martial arts, right since his early days as a child, feels that every parent should encourage their children to take it up, as it is the right art to discipline the body, mind and soul.
It may be known that Akshay had hosted a program called the Seven Deadly Arts for an international channel, where the actor displayed to the viewers various martial art forms like Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo, Akido, Muay Thai, Capoeira and Kalaripayattu.

Salman’s Gym-house for his dogs

Salman’s pet dogs are seen more often in his gym these days; not that they are working out there, but they seem to have got cozy in the Gym! Salman who is said to have a fully equipped personal gym in his Galaxy Apartments is still a regular member at a popular gym near his residence, the reason being that he has given away his gym to his dogs to get comfortable in.
Since Salman lost his dearly loved pet dog Myson, he adopted two more dogs. As there was less space in his house he let them in his gym. According to sources, soon the dogs settled down and got comfortable in his gym. As Salman is known for loving his pets a lot, he did not want to trouble them and shift them elsewhere, so he let them stay in the gym.
It is also said that Salman sees to it that the gym is kept clean and he avoids going in there for his workout, as dogs are staying in there.
So finally, the reason for Salman going to a regular gym and not working out in his house is known to all.

Parvathy in United-6

After spending some time with the recently earned fame, Miss World Runner up Parvathy Omanakuttan is finally turning to films. She has already agreed to do the prominent role in the movie titled ‘United -6’, directed by Aryan Singh. The actress will be one of the five fresh faces on celluloid, presented through this film. The makers are planning to hold the shooting in a single schedule extending to 50 days at Bangkok.

Parvathy Omanakkuttan has been getting much offers from Tamil am Telugu film industry after her prestigious fare at the Miss world pageant, but she was also instrumental in turning down all the projects that came her way. ''This is not at all my dream, since I am aiming to make an opening in Hollywood'' says the Keralite beauty with brains.

Now Rakhi is Mrs Parunjanwala- Elesh

What is the reason for the delay in marriage?
Elesh- I would like to know Rakhi off the camera and want to give her the time to understand my lifestyle in Toronto too. For now, definitely I will be in Mumbai for at-least 2-3 years.
Rakhi- I would also like to know him and this is the moment when we will get quality time together with no camera, no makeup etc.
Elesh- I have mentioned to her from the day 1 that I need time as my world is in Toronto and I need to show her that, as there is lot more than my family and friends. I want her to know my lifestyle.
Rakhi- If my groom needs time, so I should give him that and wait for his proposal for marriage again.
Is this Swayamvar for real? Why did you go for such a reality show?
Rakhi- It needs guts for a woman to do a swayamvar on national television. I like Elesh from the heart and it is for true, as we have got engaged and I have arranged this swayamvar for you people (media). I have seen in the wedding of big celebs, the behavior towards you people (Media) is bad and thus I decided to get married in front of media and the whole world. Main media ki beti jo hoon…
Elesh when you have a business in Mumbai, why did you choose to come in Swayamvar?
Elesh- Yes I have a film academy, which was set up by my partner, and me last November, but my decision of coming to swayamvar was to know Rakhi up close. I have known her as an actress, but have discovered her new side in this show and I feel great to be chosen as her better half.
Aren’t you jealous of her star status?
Elesh- I don’t have any fear, now that she has chosen me, why should I be jealous of her status. I feel proud of what she is doing, as Rakhi is one independent woman.
Elesh had 7 girlfriends in Toronto and he is flying back soon there. What do you have to say if someone is still waiting for him?
Rakhi- Elesh has told me the truth about his past and this is why I choose him as my groom. Well as far as talks about someone waiting for him is concerned; it entirely depends in Elesh’s hand of how he will be handling the situation. All I know is that, I trust him and that’s why I chose him.
When did you feel that you were in love with each other?
Rakhi- I did not love him in the swayamvar but our journey has started now, after the engagement. I like his talks, his behavior and the way he has taken care of me during the show. This is what I admire about him and thus, wish to be with him.
Elesh- I realized my feeling towards Rakhi when she was away meeting the families of the other would be grooms all over India. At the same time there was the news of MJ’s sudden death. This was the time I felt that Rakhi should have been with me. I started missing her and realized my feelings for her.
Will you leave Mumbai after marriage?
Rakhi- I am a girl of Mumbai and will never leave this place. I am a workaholic and will keep working. Initially, I have told about this to Elesh that he will not stop me from working.
Elesh- Now that our family is in Mumbai, Toronto will be our holiday destination.
What will you be called after marriage? Will it be Rakhi Sawant or Rakhi Sawant Parujanwala?
Elesh- Title is not the concern, as she will be known as Mrs. Parujanwala.
Rakhi- I will be called as Rakhi Parujanwala
Elesh from whom are you planning to take lessons in Hindi?
Elesh- Even you can help me in that; well Ravi Kissan had already said that. I am very keen to learn Hindi.
Rakhi- He needs to learn Hindi or else we will be fighting a lot on that. Sometimes he speaks so fast that it takes me hours to understand that.
Elesh would you like to meet the family of Rakhi?
Elesh- No comments on that. Rakhi will you be friends to other 15 contenders who had come to marry you?
Rakhi- Of course I will be a friend to them, as I don’t want to ignore them.

This is a good period for Bollywood: Boman Irani

Bollywood actor Boman Irani, remembered for his roles in films like “Munnabhai M.B.B.S.” and “Khosla Ka Ghosla”, says this is Hindi film industry’s best phase as a lot of experimentation is taking place.

“I think this is a good period in the industry. There is an attempt to make different cinema. However at the same time it is not that commercial cinema is not being made. That is being done too.

“But along with that there is space for different topics as well. Different styles and all kind of films are important otherwise there will be no growth,” said the 46-year-old actor.

Boman will be next seen in Rajkumar Hirani’s “Three Idiots”, Ravi Chopra’s “Banda Yeh Bindas Hai”, Shyam Benegal’s “Well Done Abba” and Farhan Akhtar’s “Karthik Calling Karthik”, among others.

Shilpa Shetty touched by Sushmita Sen’s gesture

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who recently launched her spa in Mumbai, was really touched when Sushmita Sen attended the event to pass on her best wishes.

“Sushmita came and was so gracious and warm. It’s very rare to see actresses being non-competitive and encouraging. She not only came to wish me, but genuinely felt happy for me. I was very touched by her gesture. God bless her for that, it’s such a beautiful quality to have,” Shilpa posted on her blog shilpashettylive.com.

The actress has launched her spa Iosis in collaboration with entrepreneur Kiran Bawa who is known in the beauty and wellness industry.

Ghai denies making Kishore Kumar biopic

Subhash Ghai denies reports that he is making a biopic on legendary singer Kishore Kumar with director Nagesh Kukunoor.
“Nagesh and Mukta Arts are no more in contract with each other. So I do not have any knowledge of such a project. He has not met me since the launch of ‘Bombay To Bangkok’,” Ghai told IANS.

Aug 4 was Kishore Kumar’s 80th birth anniversary.

Akshay Kumar and Vipul Shah Sue Copycat Bengali Producers!

This one comes straight from Ripley’s believe-it-or-not books of blatant copyright infringement.
Co-producers, business partners and fast friends Akshay Kumar and Vipul Shah discovered to their amused horror that a new Bengali blockbuster Poran Jay Joliya Re (PJJR) has blatantly lifted the plot, scenes, even frames and costumes from Namaste London, without a by-your-leave from the producers.
Says Vipul, “I had no clue about this Bengali film until; I read an interview with the film’s producers blatantly admitting to the fact that, there were similarities between their Bengali film and our Namaste London. I took into confidence a large number of friends and advisers in Kolkata who saw the film repeatedly and made a report on the similarities. The copied scenes ran into 5-6 pages in the report!”
Now Vipul flies to Kolkata on Sunday (today) to initiate legal action. “Our legal advisers in Kolkata are confident that we’ve ample evidence of the Bengali film being copied from Namaste London. Even the Bengali hero (Dev) makes his entry wearing a kurta and kadha. You tell me why a film set in Bengal has its hero in a Punjabi get-up like Namaste London.”
The film is strewn with what Vipul sees as blatant examples of plagiarism, enough to initiate legal action against the Bengali producers Sri Venkatesh Films early this week.
Says Vipul, “We don’t want monetary compensation. The Bengali film is a big blockbuster. It has made huge amounts of money. A compensation of 5-10 lakhs means nothing to them. Other filmmakers would be encouraged to plagiarize knowing all they’ve to do is shell out a small compensation. We want to make an example of this case, so that regional filmmakers would think twice before lifting Hindi films. The penalty should be severe.”
Ironically, Namaste London on release was said to be inspired by Manoj Kumar’s Purab Aur Pachim. “That was not correct. There were no similarities between the two films except for the fact that in both cases the innocent hero goes to England and confronts the cultural Diaspora. Namaste London was inspired by a friend of Akshay’s who underwent a similar experience.”
More recently Vipul Shah’s new under-production film Action Replay is said to be inspired by The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.
Says Vipul, “That was a very irresponsible piece of reporting. It prompted Warner Brothers to issue a statement. But the fact is Action Replay is about going back in time, whereas Benjamin Button is about age reversal. Let them find one similarity between my film and Benjamin Button and we’re ready to face the consequences. I disapprove of plagiarism in any form or language. And by taking on the people who’ve copied my Namaste London in Bengali, I’m actually making sure none of us in Bollywood ever falls for the temptation of taking the easy way out to success by simply borrowing a successful film.”

Rahul Bose Puts Direction Plans On Hold

The bad news on Rahul Bose’s front is that his second directorial venture Moth Smoke (his first directorial film Everybody Says I’m Fine, came 5 years ago) based on Moshin Hamid’s celebrated novel is delayed, because the financiers have pulled out.
“That’s true. The originals funders have backed out. But there’s no dearth of alternative funders. I’ve the rights for four years, of which, only one year has elapsed. So there’s time.”
Though after he broke his nose for the umpteenth time this February Rahul has retired from Indian rugby, he will continue to play the game internationally for as long as they’d have him.
“You really can’t take a rugby player out of the game. It’s hugely addictive. And though cinema is my primary passion, I also remain a rugby player at heart,” says Rahul Bose who turned 42 on Monday without fanfare.
“I never have what you’d call a normal birthday. Last year during my birthday the Ahmedabad bomb blasts happened. This year I was with my six adopted kids at the The Foundation.”
Rahul has six children from the Andamans who were orphaned during the Tsunami. “Spending time with them gives me immense satisfaction. On my birthday I had lunch with my sister and niece, and dinner with author Amitav Ghosh and his wife who are dear friends. Sorry, my Bollywood connection continues to be tenuous.”
So how does it feel to be 42?
“I’m waiting for all my hair to fall off before my first face lift,” Rahul deadpans. “And before you ask, I still have no love life.”
Rahul who dated actress Koel Puri in the past has been single in recent years.
Ends Rahul, “I’m very excited about my new film with Aparna Sen The Japanese Wife. Like English August, Pyar Ke Side Effects and Jhankar Beats I feel The Japanese Wife will be one those films that people will remember me by.”

Mallika Rock-n-Rolls with Rock Stars!

Los Angeles, Mallika Sherawat continues to take Hollywood by storm, recently she was seen hanging out with rock stars at the famed Sunset Strip music venue- The House Of Blues. As a special guest of Donovan Leitch (son of legendary musician Donovan) at his Camp Freddy gig, Mallika met and hobnobbed with Ace Frehely of the band KISS, Duff McKagan of GUNS n ROSES, Dave Navarro of JANES ADDICTION, Billy Duffy of THE CULT and Ozzy Ozbourne.
Accompanied by her Los Angeles entourage, Mallika hung out backstage before the show, then she enjoyed her very first rock concert down front of the stage for the full experience. She “tweeted” throughout the night on her Twitter social networking account, saying to her followers “OMG! Ozzy’s on right now! I have no eardrums left!” and that notorious rake of rock Dave Navarro was “very charming and a perfect gentlemen.”
When asked what she thought of the concert, she replied, “Please speak up, I really can’t hear anything at all.” When the question was loudly repeated, Mallika said she “had great fun. Donovan was the perfect host. For my first rock concert, it couldn’t have been better!”

End of the cold war!

Sunny Deol and Raj Kumar Santoshi have come back together after a long exile of 15 years. The jodi was well known for their super hit films Ghayal, Damini and Ghatak. According to sources, due to a cold war they both parted ways and ended up making Bhagat Singh in their own respective versions. Now it seems they both have left the dead behind and joined hands for a couple of projects together. The first one is an emotional drama and is expected to start off from October or November. The film, is written by Sridhar Raghavan.
The dual is said to be doing a handful of fresh projects and not any remakes.

‘Aaye tum yaad mujhe’: India remembers Kishore on 80th birthday

His fans and music lovers went back in time as radio stations and TV channels played old melodies of Kishore Kumar, the versatile Indian singer-actor-director-composer who would have been 80 Tuesday.
Often called a genius, he held sway over Bollywood playback music for two decades and is remembered to this day for his ability “to create drama through singing”. No one has been able to take his place till date, say many in the industry.

Remembering him on his 80th birth anniversary, ace composer Anu Malek said: “His birthday is a very special day and emotional day for me. I believe that he was made of made of music. I had this great fortune to work with dada when I was growing as a composer. I did many songs with him and that was a great experience.”

Malek said he listened to some of his everlasting songs in the morning and plans to watch any of his best films on DVD.

“He was a great soul…a man who was very romantic, emotional, loveable and adorable to the core. He was just plain honest. I can’t put what he meant to me in words. He was a family man and just like a father to me,” Malek told.

Born in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, he was one of four siblings who included famous actors Ashok Kumar and Anup Kumar.

Despite not having any formal training, Kishore Kumar dominated the Indian film music scene from the 1950s to the 1970s, making people laugh and cry with his performances.

From fun numbers like “Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi”, “Mere samne wali khidki”, “Dekha na hai re” to romantic songs such as “Pal pal dil ke paas rehti ho”, “Ye naina, ye kajal” and “Roop tera mastana” - he sang all kinds of songs.

He was a prolific vocalist and sang in many Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Malayalam and Oriya. He never shied away from experimenting, yoddling being one of the best examples of that.

He also achieved success as a lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter. Kishore famously acted in “Half Ticket”, “Padosan”, “Mr X in Bombay”, “Jhumroo”. He also wielded the megaphone for “Door Gagan Ki Chaon Mein” “Door Ka Rahi”.

“Kishore Kumar had this ability to create drama through his singing. He was one of those very few singers who had a certain amount of acting involved in their singing. With that he could easily create different characters and emotions through his voice, which was great. His singing was so effortless. People called him an Indian star but for me he was a world star,” said lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

“He was plain genious. I wish I had got the fortune of writing a few songs for him. He was so versatile,” he added.

Kishore Da, as he was fondly called, has crooned evergreen songs like “Gata rahe mera dil”, “Ye dil na hota bechara”, “Zindagi kaisi hai paheli”, “Meet na mila re man ka”, “Aap ki ankhon mein”, “Khaike pan banaraswala”, “Pag ghungroo bandh”, “Sagar kinare” and many more. He passed away at the age of 58 on Oct 13, 1987 and is survived by two sons and wife Leena Chandravarkar.

According to singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan, Kishore Kumar was an ardent K.L. Sehgal fan and had a god gifted voice.

“I think the greatest musical talent that the indian film industry had produced ever is Kishore Kumar. His voice itself was a god given asset which did not require to have technical expertise, classical knowledge, etc. Only once in a million years can an artist like him be born,” he said.

Even young and budding singers look up to Kishore Kumar and consider him their inspiration.

“He is an ultimate performer, impeccable singer behind the mike, terrific professional and humour par excellence. A perfect artist with a blessed tone and unmatchable versatility. Nobody can be him. I am so inspired by him,” said singer Akriti Kakkar.

Aishwarya happy with two mega southern projects

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai is elated over bagging the main leads in two mega south Indian projects - Mani Ratnam’s “Ravan” and Shankar’s “Endhiran”.
“Shankar had approached me previously to work with him, but it never materialised. Finally, everything landed in place and here we are working together after 10 years,” said Aishwarya on the sets of “Ravan”.

Tamil superstar Rajinikant, who is playing the male lead in “Endhiran”, was also very keen to work with Aishwarya and had tried to sign her for his earlier ventures - “Padaiyappa” and “Chandramukhi”, but the actress could not spare the dates.

Speaking about Ratnam’s “Ravan”, in which she once again teams up with her husband Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya said: “I don’t want to reveal much about it. Working with Mani is always a delight. He is a man of perfection. I am lucky to act in his movies again and again.”

Aishwarya was earlier seen in Ratnam’s “Iruvar” and “Guru”, in which Abhishek was in the main lead.

While shooting for “Ravan” in the jungles of Kerala, the entire cast and crew had a scary experience when an elephant ran amok and killed 51-year-old mahout Andavan.

The actors including Abhishek, Aishwarya, Vikram, Prabhu and Munna had to take shelter in a guest house.

According to sources, the film personalities spent the night in the forest guest house and survived on bread and eggs. After 12 hours of tension and waiting, the crew returned to their hotel.

Now the cast and crew of “Ravan” has moved to Ooty where the remaining portions of the film will be shot.

RGV says hanging dummy dead bodies was to get noticed

Perhaps Ram Gopal Varma doesn’t need to get noticed any more after he created panic by getting dummy dead bodies hung at 15 locations in Mumbai. And the unapologetic filmmaker says it was merely for more publicity for his supernatural thriller “Agyaat”.
“The whole thing was to create publicity. And this sort of an idea came up to garner publicity which represents the concept and context of the film. Now since ‘Agyaat’ is a scary film - and has people dying - this was a good way to create that sort of an atmosphere,” Varma told.

Varma and the creative team of UTV, which has co-produced the movie, planted the hoardings with the dummy Sunday night.

The dummies apparently had blood-like substance oozing out from their mouth - scaring the onlookers the next morning to no end. People gathered at the locations and even called police. Once policemen brought the dummy down, only then did everyone realise it was Varma’s mischief.

The filmmaker, who has earlier made films like “Bhoot” and “Phoonk”, says this sort of publicity was chosen to stand out from the clutter.

“In today’s time, all people are inundated with thousands of pieces of information - not necessarily film related. Media is constantly hammering the public with information. In that, to be able to stand out and to be noticed, you need to do something really unique. So, this hanging of dummies of dead bodies was part of that exercise,” he said in an unapologetic tone.

Varma said a lot of logistics went behind facilitating this stunt.

“It’s a thought process that the UTV marketing team started discussing. But then there were a lot of logistics to be kept in mind - how to make the bodies, how we would take them up the banners and whether or not they will look real. We even had a trial run for it a week back - it looked real and that’s when we thought of going ahead,” he said.

After narrating the process, Varma quipped: “Did you think I have gone mad?” and added: “Anything you do out of the box garners attention. It’s okay.”

“It would be a bizarre sight for anyone. Imagine you are traveling in a car and suddenly you see dead bodies hanging.”

“Agyaat” tells the story of a film unit on a shoot in a dense forest where the crew members start getting killed one by one under mysterious circumstances by an invisible creature. The film stars actors like Gautam Rode, Priyanka Kothari and Nitin Reddy and will hit theatres Friday.

I shouldn’t have had happy ending for ‘Delhi 6′: Mehra

Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra admits that there were some glitches in his movie “Delhi-6″, but says the film’s selection for Venice Film Festival has washed away all these wrongs in the script.

“I’ve a new beginning and end. This was how I originally intended the film to end with Abhishek Bachchan’s character’s death. I’ve realised there were people who were genuinely confused by some aspects of the film. After much introspection, I discovered where I had gone wrong.

“One thing was about the mirror about looking within oneself, then the ‘Kala Bandar’ metaphor also didn’t work. The joy of being selected for Venice has washed away all these wrongs in the script. I’ve been invited to share the platform with some of the world’s best filmmakers,” Mehra told IANS.

Starring Abhishek and Sonam Kapoor, the film was released Feb 20, but didn’t do well at the box office.

Talking about the changes he has made in the film for the Venice film fest, Mehra said: “I filmed the sequence of Abhishek’s character’s ashes being immersed in the river. The film now begins with his voiceover announcing he’s dead now. So it’s now a dead man’s story. Everything falls into place now. We also understand why Abhishek played the role so quietly, sensitively. It was such a beautiful piece of grammar. I don’t know why I abandoned it for a happy ending.”

Mehra says that the exciting part of this festival journey is that the version of “Delhi 6″ they saw in Venice was radically different from what audiences saw when the film released.

“I sent Venice a new version of ‘Delhi 6′ quite different from the one we saw here. My original script was different. I went and shot another version quite different from the one people saw. I had to do this. Otherwise I wouldn’t have died in peace.”

The director is on cloud nine right now.

“This is quite exhilarating. The Venice film festival is considered as posh as Cannes and Berlin. So it’s great fun. I got the e-mail informing me of ‘Delhi 6′ being selected at the Venice Film Festival Thursday night. They loved the film. It will be screened on either September 2 or 3,” he said.

Mehra had been forced to incorporate a happy ending for the sake of the distributors. He admits he erred with the substitute ending for “Delhi 6″. Now he wants Indian audiences to see “Delhi 6″ with the changed beginning and end.

“It’s the director’s cut, like Francis Coppola’s ‘Apocalypse Now’, which didn’t make sense the first time. Later it went on to make history after the changes. We shouldn’t have been in a hurry to release a film which tries a new grammar and idiom. But the whole experience has been eye-opener. To make the changes in vision and then get selected for such an honour, is such a blessing,” he said.

The director, who hit the jackpot with “Rang De Basanti”, has been missing from the action after “Delhi 6″.

“I just went into a shell, writing. I’ve three subjects now and any of them could be my next film. Yes, I do want to do ‘Mirza Sahibaan’ with Sonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan. The two are like my piece of the art. It’s crazy what we share. I can’t put it in words,” he said.

Mehra and his wife N. Bharati, who edits his films, have just returned from a camping holiday from Leh and Ladakh.

“It was our first holiday since we started ‘Delhi 6′. We left after we shot the new version. I’ve grown wiser now. I’m happy I’ve gone for the sad ending in ‘Delhi 6′. This is a creative correction that has made me sleep easier,” said the director.

Vipul Shah to sue Bengali producers for copying ‘Namaste London’

Co-producers, business partners and fast friends Akshay Kumar and Vipul Shah discovered to their horror that a new Bengali blockbuster “Poran Jay Joliya Re” (PJJR) has blatantly lifted the plot, scenes, even frames and costumes from “Namaste London”, without a by-your-leave from the producers.

Shah said: “I had no clue about this Bengali film until I read an interview with the film’s producers blatantly admitting to the fact that there were similarities between their Bengali film and our ‘Namaste London’. I took into confidence a large number of friends and advisers in Kolkata who saw the film repeatedly and made a report on the similarities. The copied scenes ran into 5-6 pages in the report!”

Now Shah flies to Kolkata on Sunday to initiate legal action.

“Our legal advisers in Kolkata are confident that we’ve ample evidence of the Bengali film being copied from ‘Namaste London’. Even the Bengali hero (Dev) makes his entry wearing a kurta and kadha. You tell me why a film set in Bengal has its hero in a Punjabi get-up like ‘Namaste London’.”

The film is strewn with what Shah sees as blatant examples of plagiarism, enough to initiate legal action against the Bengali producers Sri Venkatesh Films early this week.

Shah said: “We don’t want monetary compensation. The Bengali film is a big blockbuster. It has made huge amounts of money. A compensation of 5-10 lakhs means nothing to them. Other filmmakers would be encouraged to plagriarise knowing all they’ve to do is shell out a small compensation. We want to make an example of this case, so that regional filmmakers would think twice before lifting Hindi films. The penalty should be severe.”

Ironically “Namaste London” on release was said to be inspired by Manoj Kumar’s “Purab Aur Pachim”.

“That was not correct. There were no similarities between the two films except for the fact that in both cases the innocent hero goes to England and confronts the cultural diaspora. ‘Namaste London’ was inspired by a friend of Akshay’s who underwent a similar experience.”

More recently Vipul Shah’s new under-production film “Action Replay” was said to be inspired by “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”.

Shah said: “That was a very irresponsible piece of reporting. It prompted Warner Brothers to issue a statement. But the fact is ‘Action Replay’ is about going back in time whereas ‘Benjamin Button’ is about age reversal. Let them find one similarity between my film and ‘Benjamin Button’ and we’re ready to face the consequences.”

“I disapprove of plagiarism in any form or language. And by taking on the people who’ve copied my ‘Namaste London’ in Bengali I’m actually making sure none of us in Bollywood ever falls for the temptation of taking the easy way out to success by simply borrowing a successful film.”

Stop making scapegoats of celebrities, cries Shilpa Shetty

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is angry for being dragged into a controversy over entering a temple with her shoes on, and says that people have used her name just to get publicity.
“I have no idea why these stories have been concocted and it is obvious that this is the easiest way for some people to seek publicity! This is ridiculous, they have to stop making scapegoats of celebrities. It’s a waste of precious time and energy and there is a huge backlog of important judicial matters that’s pending and needs to be addressed,” Shilpa wrote on her blog www.shilpashettylive.com/blog Saturday.

Shilpa was accused of entering the Gopinath Deb temple of Sakhigopal near Puri, Orissa, Thursday with her shoes on and the temple authorities later filed a complaint with the Satyabadi police station against the actress. She was shooting for a TV reality show.

“It was preposterous! The fact of the matter is that we didn’t even shoot in the temple and the channel obviously took permission to shoot at the footsteps without which we couldn’t have proceeded.”

“So, don’t know what the fuss is all about and I still don’t know why the FIR is in my name because I was hired by the channel to peform. The production wasn’t mine, neither did I seek permissions and above all we didn’t shoot inside the temple,” she wrote.

The 34-year-old further clarified the charges against her by explaining her “spiritual” roots.

“Being born into a spiritual family, I know how to conduct myself. I’ve spent a good part of my life visiting temples all over, so there was report that said I walked into the temple with slippers on! Please stop this uncalled for ‘tamasha’ and misusing the perks of democracy,” she posted.

No serious case was made out against the actress.

Rakhi Sawant choses NRI at Swayamwar

Ending speculations, Rakhi Sawant finally chose before millions of Indian TV viewers her groom in a reality show. As expected, Canada-based Elesh Parujanwala clinched the honour in the first of its kind show on Indian television.

NDTV Imagine presented a unique reality show- Rakhi ka Swayamvar , in which Bollywood’s controversial item girl Rakhi Sawant played a game for the viewers as the show traced the journey of a bride-to-be; from selecting her groom to the marriage ceremony, all captured on television.

“I have been watching Elesh from day one. On and off the camera, he has been the same and has really taken care of me, Rakhi said after choosing her husband at Hotel Leela Kampinsky in Mumbai.

“He is everything I was looking for and I am glad to have found him on the Swayamvar. The swayamvar means finding a jeevan saathi (life partner) and I have found Elesh. ”

After testing 16 young men for five weeks, Rakhi Sawant finally chose thirty-year-old Elesh, who won 78 per cent of audience votes beating the other two finalists.

The other two finalists were Manas Katyal, a 22-year-old event manager from Delhi and Chittiz Jain, a businessman also from Delhi.

There was much suspense as the three suitors, decked in traditional Indian wedding wear, waited for Rakhi to walk up to them, garland in hand, to make her choice known to the world. The now ebullient, now coy Rakhi would not make it so easy and playfully walked across them all with small, mincing steps, before turning back to garland Elesh, reported NDTV.

The crowd gathered broke into spontaneous cheer and blessed the couple with a shower of flower petals.

Just like it in a perfect dramatic ‘swayambar’ Before Rakhi made her choice she prayed to God that she be led to make the right decision.

Rakhi and Elesh exchanged vows of commitment and rings, but explained that they would like to get to know each other better away from the spotlight and attention that has been part of their lives through the show. Romance was in the air as the two said ‘I Love You’ to each other.

Elesh’s family welcomed Rakhi, with his father saying that she would be a daughter in the household taking the place of Elesh’s sister who gets married two weeks later.

Over the duration of the show, the prospective grooms were brought together under one roof and put through a series of challenges that had been created keeping in mind the criteria identified by Rakhi herself. Each week, the grooms were put through tasks that tested their personality, character, physical fitness, talent and also their compatibility with Rakhi.

No plans to act or revive ‘Rockstar’ now’: Imtiaz Ali

His latest venture “Love Aaj Kal” has opened to a favourable response worldwide. And Imtiaz Ali, who is basking in his second success, has no immediate plans of reviving his 2006 project “Rockstar” or facing the camera in the near future.

“No, nothing is yet decided on ‘Rockstar’. After the release of ‘Jab We Met’ in 2007, I immediately moved on to ‘Love Aaj Kal’. Since then it has just been that project and nothing else. I was totally immersed in the film,” Ali told IANS.

A few weeks back it was also reported that UTV Motion Pictures may revive the project. It was also reported that John Abraham, who was earlier approached for the film, has now been apparently replaced by Ranbir Kapoor and that the producers are trying to sign in a big name for the female lead.

Rubbishing the reports, Ali said: “That’s not really true. At the moment it would be too early to talk about the direction in which ‘Rockstar’ is headed. Actually, let aside the direction, there is no movement on the film either. All I can say is that for now, ‘Rockstar’ continues to be on hold.”

Meanwhile, trade insiders indicate that a couple of prominent filmmakers have approached Ali with lucrative offers for playing the main lead in their films.

“Tell me their names,” smiled Ali. “See, people from both within and outside the industry do keep asking me if I am ready for acting or not. Since I have acted in college and theatre as well as done a part in Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Black Friday’, I never claim that I won’t or can’t act. Maybe some day I will act as well. However, as of now there isn’t anything happening,” said Ali

He insists that his heart continues to beat for direction rather than acting.

“I don’t want to put my feet into two different boats; that’s definitely not going to help. When I came to Mumbai, I had to decide what I wanted to do. This is when I concluded let me follow what I like doing more. The answer was ‘direction’ and I stuck to it,” said Ali.

Well, in that case one can look forward to him coming behind the camera soon.

If the first movie that he begins working on turns out to be “Rockstar” then it won’t get better than that. After all Oscar winner A.R. Rahman is said to have created some fantastic tunes for the film, and the combination of Ali, Ranbir and Rahman would be something to watch out for.

‘Agyaat’ - Varma’s desi version of Hollywood thrillers

If the year started off on a spooky note with “Raaz - The Mystery Continues”, the first film from Ram Gopal Varma’s stable this year is also an adventure thriller called “Agyaat”. Releasing Friday, the film is inspired by Hollywood thrillers like “Predator”, “Anaconda” and “Alien”.
While Varma’s last was the much-talked about dud “Phoonk - The Black Magic Story” that dealt with evil practices in the contemporary world, “Agyaat” is a thriller and not a horror flick.

“People are perceiving that ‘Agyaat’ is a horror film. I would like to make a point here that it’s not a scary film. It’s an adventure thriller,” Varma had told IANS.

Shot mostly in the Sigiriya jungles of Sri Lanka and the Athirapally forests in Kerala, the film is not only inspired by Hollywood thrillers, but also by real life, eerie incidents that Varma’s unit members experienced while shooting his 2000 movie “Jungle” in the Bandipur reserved forest in Karnataka.

Produced by Varma and Ronnie Screwvala, “Agyaat” tells the story of a film unit on a shoot in a dense forest where the crew members start getting killed one by one under mysterious circumstances by an invisible creature.

“Hollywood has made thousands of such films about people stuck somewhere and getting killed under unknown reasons. I thought what if this time people don’t see what is killing them… the idea was to compel them to use their own imagination as a weapon, which is more lethal,” the filmmaker said.

“Agyaat” has an ensemble cast and includes Telugu actor Nitin Reddy and Priyanka Kothari in the lead.

The actors had a quite an experience shooting for the film - Priyanka had to share room with eight lizards for a month!

“I had to live with eight creepy lizards who used to roam around in my room. I can say that I’m braver now. Earlier, I used to be petrified if I used to see even one lizard in my room… but I had so many in close proximity in the same room in the jungle,” the actress said.

“A lot of things happened with me during the shooting - like my ankle injury, elbow injury, then so many scratches, insect bites, et al. It’s a part and parcel of a film like this,” said the 25-year-old.

“Agyaat” has had its share of controversies too.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asked Varma to re-edit a music track “Jai Shri Shambhu” from the film as it may encourage substance abuse. The track shows leading lady Priyanka puffing a ‘chillum’ (pipe) while she sings “Dum Maro, yeh hai Sahara”.

Varma has snipped the scene for the small-screen audiences.

The music is a tad bit disappointing, but Varma’s flair for good camera angles and impressive background scores might help “Agyaat” live up to the spine-chilling expectations of the audiences.

Tired Saif Backs Away From Premiere Plans

The recent hectic round of production-related activities and marketing culminating in the painful process of pacifying the Sikh federations on the length of his beard, has taken a toll on Saif Ali Khan.
The actor is exhausted and completely not in the mood for any more events related to the film.
The premiere last night was held in Delhi instead of Mumbai. This would be construed as odd behavior considering all of Saif and Kareena’s friends together at a Mumbai premiere would have constituted almost the entire industry. And they were just a phone call away.
Says Saif, “That’s precisely why we decided not to have a premiere in Mumbai. I’d have had to call up everyone personally and ask them to come. It would’ve seemed like asking for a favor. And I don’t want anyone to watch my film out of a sense of generosity.”
The last-minute decision to shift the venue of the premiere to Delhi kept most of Saif’s colleagues out. But it didn’t stop Akshay Kumar from rooting for Love Aaj Kal from London. Akshay prophesied it would be a big hit.
Saif is delighted. “I’m so happy Akshay said that. I wish the industry would show more kindness towards films. When Kareena’s Kambakkht Ishq came there was so much negativity about it. It’s scary.”
It’s this fear of an anticipatory wail that provoked Saif to transfer the premiere venue.
“It wasn’t really a premiere in Delhi. Just a screening for people close to us,” clarifies Saif. “Only the cast and crew and people connected with the film were there. That’s the way we wanted to keep it.”
But Saif and Kareena’s friends in Mumbai are none too pleased. One of his leading ladies with whom he recently did a racy film says, “What’s the point of a premiere in Delhi when the whole industry is in Mumbai? I’d have definitely gone, for Saif and Imtiaz Ali’s sake. I want to see what they’ve done together.”
But Saif isn’t really bothered. It has been a hectic time for him. “Earlier producers like Ramesh Taurani made me do a lot of publicity for their films. Now I totally followed that model for my own production. And I’m exhausted. When I was younger I found publicity boring. Now I know better.”
The experience of producing a film has helped Saif understand the value of economizing. “I used to waste a lot of money and I’m not proud of it. It’s not about cutting corners. It’s an art to respect money. I’ve seen my wealthy friends buying the right air tickets, booking the right room at the best possible prices. We did go a tiny bit over-budget in my first production. Next time it won’t happen.”

Akki gets close to wife after Deepika goes to Delhi

London is currently host to two major film units from Bollywood. Both seem to be facing their own quota of problems.
While Abbas Tyrewala’s 1: 800 Love has been encountering a number of visa-related and location problems, Sajid Khan’s Housefull suffered a setback when its leading lady Deepika Padukone fell ill.
Even before she, and the unit, could recover from this setback, Deepika left London to join Saif Ali Khan and Imtiaz Ali for an event related to her new release Love Aaj Kal in Delhi.
Akshay of course is playing it cool in London and rooting for Love Aaj Kal, since it features his friend Saif in a Sikh’s role.Akshay has been there last year in Singh Is Kinng.
Says Akshay, “My son Aarav goes back to Mumbai tomorrow. His school starts on Monday. I’ve a holiday today (Friday) so I can spend time with him and my wife.”
Twinkle returns to join Akshay in London after a fortnight. She now tries to spend as much time with Akshay as possible wherever he’s shooting.
With Deepika in Delhi, Akshay and Twinkle have been spending all their time together in London.
Says Akshay, “Yesterday we saw Love Aaj Kal here (in London) and loved it. The way Saif has played the Sikh character is just amazing. Who was more convincing as a Sardarji, me in Singh Is Kinng or Saif? I’ll let the audience judge that.”
In the meanwhile, plans for a sequel to Singh Is Kinng have been put on hold considering the sensitivity displayed by the Sikh community over beard lengths.
Apparently Akshay and his producer-friend Vipul Shah now feel that the Singh Is Kinng formula should be allowed to rest until the intolerance level of various communities goes down.
Says Akshay evasively, “Let me first finish what I’ve in plate. Then we’ll see about the sequel.”

Anna does a Boogie Woogie

Aana of Hindi Film Industry, Sunil Shetty makes a TV appearance after a long time. The actor will be soon seen in Sony’s “Boogie Woogie’ promoting his upcoming flick “Daddy Cool’.
As per our sources from the sets, “Sunil was amazed to see the episode where the mothers did a good job, when it comes to dancing. He also congratulated Javed and the team of the show for going strong.”
“While giving interviews to the media, he stated that “Boogie Woogie’ is doing a great job by providing platform to the mommies. Being a house wife they were all busy with their day to day life in the household chores, but today they get the chance to do what they want,” adds the source.
The actor did not talk much about his upcoming flick, but just gave a gist of what the movie is all about. “It’s a comedy and multi starrer film with a story to say. He also said that this will make the audience laugh every minute,” concludes the source.
Well Sunil we do hope for your sake the audience laugh on the film and not you!

Gowarikar follows Mahesh Bhatt?

The stories of Mahesh Bhatt’s over oops super confidence in the people associated with his films is very famous in B-town. Ghost direction or rather phone direction; followed by no hassles on the sets in his absence, says it all. And one can’t ignore the terrific product showcased at the end.
However, lately quite influenced by his style seems to be Ashutosh Gowariker. Javed Ali who recently bagged IFFA and Radio Mirchi’s best playback singer award for “Jashn-E-Bahara’ reveals about this new avatar of Ashutosh.
“Post the success of “Jashn-E-Bahara’ number, Gowariker sahab has generated a kind of confidence in me. The confidence has gone to such a level that he does not find it necessary to explain me the situation. He anticipates about my good performance, before I step into the recording room,” exclaims Javed. On being asked whether same kind of treatment goes for everyone, Javed diplomatically answered, “Well, that question goes to Gowariker sahab.”
We completely agree with you Javed. That question definitely falls in Ashutosh’s kitty. So, what’s your take on that Mr. Gowariker?

Saif refused ‘Dostana’ for Aishwarya, Abhishek

Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan could have been a part of Karan Johar’s hit film “Dostana” but refused as industry heavyweights Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan were expected to be a part of the movie when it was offered to him.
Contrary to popular belief that Saif declined the offer because its theme was homosexuality, the 38-year-old actor says he “didn’t really chicken out” of the role.

“I didn’t really chicken out — I mean I just thought, I think there was Abhishek and Aishwarya in the movie at the time I was being offered it and I was just wondering if I needed to do that and how I would fit in really and I told Karan that,” Saif told CNN-IBN’s entertainment editor Rajeev Masand on his talk show “To Catch A Star”. The episode will be aired at 10.30 p.m. Saturday.

The film, which finally starred Abhishek, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra in key roles, required dollops of gay attitude from the men. But that didn’t make Saif averse to the role.

“The gay thing didn’t scare me off. In fact I don’t think they (Abhishek and John) actually kiss. I would have,” he said.

According to Masand, even Shah Rukh Khan says he would have actually kissed if he was in the film. To which, Saif said: “Yeah and I would have kissed him”.

“…because I think that would have given everyone something to talk about,” added Saif, who says he “enjoyed” the film and that “it was nice”.

Saif’s latest movie “Love Aaj Kal”, which also stars Deepika Padukone, hit the screens Friday and is picking up momentum at the box office. The movie, based on love in different eras, is his first venture as a producer.

Urvashi Sharma comes out of Naqaab

Urvashi Sharma is all geared up to come back, with a bang! Beginning her career with none other than the Kings of suspense-thrillers Abbas-Mustan two years ago, this pretty girl disappeared somewhere behind the Naqaab as she vanished from the scene. “While signing Naqaab I had inked a 3 film deal with the producer Kumar S Taurani. However, I felt I was simply wasting my time after one year, for Taurani sahab could not find a suitable script for me. So, we eventually broke the contract on amicable terms. Meanwhile, I did a Telugu film which was a hit down south. And now, I am flooded with films which are going to release this year,” says Urvashi.
Urvashi wants to experiment with the roles. If Naqaab portrayed her as an ultra-glam girl, her forthcoming film Baarbarr will showcase her in a different light. “I play an extremely crucial role of a messenger to a gangster, who is a very powerful man. Basically, the story revolves around an ambitious youth whose aspirations take an ugly turn, as they are deviated to the world of crime. Crime which never dies, it just changes face. That’s also the punch line of the film,” explains Urvashi.
She further adds, “I got to live in places like extremes of Lucknow and Kanpur, where crime is so prevalent. Places where I never dreamt of visiting, as I was too scared to do that. So, it was an overwhelming experience as we were welcomed by the locals around. Especially, Mithun da, Om Puri sahab who have ruled hearts of many all these years.”
Apart from Baarbarr; Chai Garam and Chassni are two of her other films slated to release this year.

Trade analysis of Love Aaj Kal

The highly talked about Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal has surpassed the expectations of one and all with a terrific beginning across all multiplexes. The film has generated 70 percent to 80 percent business alone from the multiplexes on the first day. Love Aaj Kal boasts of 20-28 shows every day at all renowned multiplexes despite sad opening at single screens.
Tremendous marketing, exceptionally brilliant reviews, a positive word of mouth have worked wonders for the newly turned producer Saif Ali Khan. And the holiday on Raksha Bandhan on Wednesday August 5 comes as a double blessing.
An expenditure of 42 crores with P and A cost on his debut venture is expected to be recuperating the cost of the film. Although Love Aaj Kal banks upon the cost generated in domestic market, but overseas too is not expected to display a dismal show. Pakistan and UAE has already spun the fortune wheel for good. 6,50,000 Dirhams on its first day says it all. As far as US and UK is concerned, everyone is dying to know the response and figures. Overall, the magic of Love Aaj Kal will not fade unless it is overshadowed by something more miraculous in the coming weeks, which is unlikely as Kaminey seemingly the only contender for LAK would be releasing after two weeks.

Piggy Chops-Mallika Sherawat twittering around

Who says two actresses can’t be good friends. After Asin who said that actresses can be friends, we have another new example of great friendship bubbling err twittering in the Film Industry. Well we are talking about the new friends Priyanka Chopra and Mallika Sherawat.
These two gorgeous actresses have been busy twittering updates and exchanging pleasantries on Twitter. Piggy chops chats seems to be more exciting, while Mallika is busy hissing with hers. They are sharing a great rapport on twitter which is for all to see.
Their chats seem to be more causal and laidback, like commenting on each other status message, wishing luck and much more. It seems they are gelling well with each other on this networking site, but we don’t know what’s the mamla, as we haven’t seen both of them together chatting around.
Is it that the two will be working together or its just pure friendship between the vivacious women’s? Well for now that is something very interesting to watch out for.

Rajeev becomes swami for SRK!

Rajeev Bhardwaj has crossed his finger for his forthcoming flick “SRK’ by Warner Brothers. Film also stars Vinay Pathak and Rituparna Sengupta and is due for release by the end of the next month.
He is playing a swami in the film. “Many educated people do take up spirituality and serve in temple. My character is of a swami in the film to which, the protagonist comes in contact for a reason,” he briefs about his role. It’s a lighthearted film directed by Ajay Verma. “There are many comic situations in the film,” he reluctantly divulges.
He has spectacularly created waves with his stints on television all these years and will continue to do so with his forthcoming serial as well as a reality show. So guys here comes another actor whose acting passion sees no boundaries of medium.

Shilpa Shetty temple controversy not serious: Police

No serious case was made out against Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty for apparently breaking the rules while shooting at Orissa’s revered Sakhigopal temple, the police said Saturday, adding they were trying to find out if she had hurt religious sentiments.
Shetty was accused of entering the Gopinath Deb temple of Sakhigopal near Puri Thursday with her shoes on.

The temple authorities later filed a complaint with the Satyabadi police station against the actress.

“The temple executive Sachidananda Das along with some staff members of the temple have filed a complaint against Shilpa Shetty. They have complained that the Bollywood actress has violated the shrine rules,” said officer in-charge of Satyabadi police station Prasanna Kumar Biswal.

“I was present when the actress reached the spot as we had instructions to go there for her protection. The crew had already taken the permission of temple authorities to shoot there. Since the complaint has come we are looking into the matter. No serious case is made out against the actress as per IPC (Indian Penal code),” Biswal said.

“We are trying to find out whether she has hurt the religious sentiments by entering the temple with shoes on. We are also discussing the matter with senior officials before we file a case,” he said.

“Some people seem to have unnecessarily dragged in Shilpa Shetty. However, we are investigating the matter,” Biswal said.

Eros pays Akshay-John to strip on pole

Rohit Dhawan, the son of filmmaker-editor David Dhawan has finally got third time lucky
Rohit was earlier supposed to make his directorial debut with a film titled Come on Pappu. This film was to star Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor and a chimpanzee but its producers Percept Picture Company supposedly backed out due to lack of funds. Then it seems Rohit completely dropped the idea of making this film. He then worked on his own script and prepared his own set up for this film starring Akshay Kumar and John Abraham in the lead. Apparently, he took this project to Studio 18 but they refused to go ahead with it because of Akshay Kumar’s high price demand and John Abraham’s mega fee hike post back to back successes of Dostana and New York.
But finally Rohit got his dream debut project fulfilled when he approached another corporate biggie third time around. Eros International gave nod to his proposal and it will now be made under their banner. This film is a romantic comedy and will feature Akki-John playing pole dancers in a strip club. They had last worked together in 2005’s comic hit Garam Masala.

Saif and Deepika’s clothes sell like hot pakodas

The only topic of discussion aaj kal is nothing but Love Aaj Kal.
Whether it is the film’s lead cast- Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, or its music or the costumes that the stars have worn in the film, there’s tremendous hype surrounding it. So much so that at an event held at Juhu Shopper’s Stop a huge crowd had gathered. They all wanted to have a dekko of Saif Ali Khan who was expected to arrive there to promote the film The clothes that Saif and Deepika have worn in the film were put up for sale.
The costumes vanished from shelf within minutes. The marketing team of Shopper’s Stop never expected this kind of response from fans. A source from the marketing team said, “What appealed to the people was that they could relate to Saif and Deepika’s costumes in the film. They are as casual as the common man wearing it on the street. Plus they are absolutely affordable. No wonder they got sold like hot pakodas on a rainy day.”