Lara furious at the Sets of Aur Devdas

Lara Dutta, we heard, is extremely upset with a production house as they booked her dates for two months but did not shoot for Aur Devdas.

The ambitious project, which also stars Shiney Ahuja and Chitrangada, is a remake of Devdas . However, the project is currently in trouble as Lara refuses to take calls from the production house after they wasted her precious time. For now, Lara, who was to play Chandramukhi in the film, seems to have walked out of the film.

A source from the production house said, “We had taken dates from all the actors including Shiney, Lara and Chitrangada for two months. However, nothing materialised because of which the actors lost a lot of time.”

“Lara is so angry that she isn’t responding to calls from both – the film’s producer and director Sudhir Mishra. She lost out on many projects and a huge amount of money because her dates were booked for Aur Devdas ,” added the source.

Saif retaliates to Rozza's Blames

Saif Ali Khan is pretty well-placed in life now. He just spent quality time with his two kids, his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor has flown down to London to be by his side and his first film as a producer is shaping up steadily.

But Saif grumbles that his happiness is marred by people who insist on talking about his private life. And, for once, he isn’t referring to the media. He’s talking about his ex-girlfriend Rozza Catalano.

Recently, Rozza talked about how Saif had cheated on her. Saif retaliates, “People are feeding off me by selling sob stories. I wish people would stop making a living by talking about me constantly. I’ve never spoken about them. Why are they ceaselessly speaking about me?” Saif says, obviously referring to his ex-girlfriend Rozza Catalano’s outburst against him.

Prod him about Rozza’s salvo about Saif having hidden his children from her when they first met, and Saif is quick to retort, “I’ve never hidden anything from anyone. I’ve never even lied about anything. My children are, by far, my proudest accomplishment. Why would I hide them?”

Meanwhile, Saif is growing increasingly comfortable in current girlfriend Kareena’s space, making an effort to be friendly with all the people who matter to her.

What’s more Kareena has joined him in London. Says Saif, “She’s for all practical purposes our hostess here. She’s fully in charge of the social commitments. She supervises the menu for dinners, makes sure everyone is well looked after.

This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to observe this hospitable nurturing side of her personality. I’ve never felt happier in my life.”

Vidya-Aziz caaught in a Catch22 Situation

Imagine the embarrassment relishing scrumptious hotdogs and realising that you do not have any money on you to pay them?

That too in a foreign country! This embarrassing but funny incident occurred when Vidya Balan and Aziz Mirza were shooting for the movie in Canada.

Hotdogs happen to be one of Vidya’s and Aziz’s favourite delicacies and the duo just decided to have them from one of the vendors on the street.

Vidya ordered her favourite flavour, while Aziz ordered his! The two even initiated a casual conversation with the vendor. The vendor seemed pretty impressed by what Vidya and Aziz had to say about each other.

The duo then reached out for their wallets to pay the vendor. But, hey! there was no moolah to pay the hotdog seller. Vidya did not know where to look, while Aziz smiled in embarrassment. Being a Bollywood fan, he said that it was on the house. Some kismat connection this is!

Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak play on screen parents of Imran Khan

You are always comfortable to act with people you know. No wonder why, Imran found it easy to act in Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. His best friend's (Imaad) parents Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak play his on screen parents.

For the first time in their career, Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah are coming together as husband and wife in the film, Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. Last time we saw them together was in the film, Mirch Masala in 1987 but they were not paired opposite each other.

Ratna Pathak Shah's role has been actually modeled on Nuzhat Khan, Imran's real life mother. The relationship that mother son share is more like friends like in his real life. Interestingly, Imaad and Imran have grown up together sharing birthday cakes and clothes and now they share their parents. Imaad too had recently made his debut in his father's directorial debut film, Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota.

Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah readily agreed to play Imran's parents in his debut film and extended their real life relationship to reel life especially for him.

Shehnaz on the Cover Page of Time Out

She is one woman who is indeed God's gift to mankind. Having done her stint of fame with modeling and VJing, acting was but obvious the next step for this chic. You have got a glimpse of this babe in her debut film Ishq Vishk opposite the Gen Next heart throb Shahid Kapoor. She was indeed the Barbie doll of Ishq Vishk, whom many would be wanting to take home to their mothers. She is indeed Shenaz Treasurywala, who is full of treasure, quite literally!

And the news is that she is back and how! Shenaz is not just hosting the Great Indian Laughter Challenge, but also is the cover-girl of the latest issue of 'Time Out', the magazine that spells out to be a total sell-out, merely due to her cover-presence itself!

She will also be electrifying the silver screen with her dew-drop smile, something that the viewers were being deprived of since Ishq Vishk.

Miss Universe Contestents showing thier skills in Vietnam

Abhishek annoyed by Ash's acts

Aishwarya Rai is known for her giggling. But at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards function in Bangkok earlier this month, she got into much higher spirits, say eye witnesses.

The Bachchans were staying at the plush Dusit Thani hotel in Bangkok. Just before the fashion show, before the award ceremony, Abhishek and Ash were seen coming down the steps of the hotel. The couple were accompanied by actor Kunal Kapoor.

Our source tells us that Ash seemed very high-spirited and was talking loudly. Too loud for the comfort of her husband Abhishek, apparently.

For Abhishek rebuked her for her loudness and asked her to quieten down. Meanwhile, Kunal Kapoor, obviously embarrassed at the turn of events, hurriedly bid goodbye to the couple and walked away.

After that too, Ash was in no mood to listen. Says the eyewitness, "She continued with her extra-loud self-expression, until Abhishek took her to the lobby and made her sit down there, to calm her down.

For a while, things were quiet, until Ash suddenly decided to pipe up all over again.

She continued arguing at the top of her voice, until Abhishek, sensing that the situation was getting embarrassingly out of control, beckoned his personal security guards and asked them to escort his wife to her room."

The guards followed his bidding. And all was well with the Bachchan dignity again.

Harman shocked by Kareena!

Harman is shocked on hearing some reports that he has made uncharitable statements against Kareena’s acting abilities.

“I’d never speak like that about anyone, least of all someone who’s a senior and was gracious enough to work with me when I was just starting out. That she finally opted out of Love Story 2050 doesn’t take away from the fact that we got along really well,” says Harman.

The remarks attributed to him about Kareena being ‘robotic’ in her performances had Harman so upset that he apparently was not seen on the social circuit for a couple of days.

Harman’s agony ended on Wednesday when he was in Delhi for an event for Love Story 2050. On an impulse, he sent a text message to Kareena telling her that he felt awful about the words that people claimed he had spoken against Kareena.

Apparently, Kareena, who is in the US shooting for Sajid Nadiadwala’s Kambhakt Ishq, replied back in a long heartfelt message saying she has been a part of the film industry long enough to know how such things work.

Apparently, she ended the gentle and sensitive message by assuring Harman she had no ill-feelings towards him and was looking forward to seeing his film.

A source close to Harman says, “Harman has never badmouthed anyone. That’s not his upbringing. Kareena is a huge star and a friend.

Who is Harman to talk like that about her? Emotional that he is, Harman was really disturbed. He even told his father, Harry Baweja that if this is the kind of demolition job the rivals and opponents are going to do with him, he’d rather not be a star.”

Harman can’t keep the relief and joy out of his voice. “All I’ll say is, I’d never talk like that about anyone. Kareena is someone I truly admire .And if people want to spoil my relationship with her, let them try. It won’t work,” he says.

Preity meets Dina adia with Open Mouth

Preity says that every time she meets Dina Wadia, she comes away floored. Says Preity, “The first time I met her, I stared at her open mouthed. My goodness, she carries so much history within her! Since then we’ve met over dinner and at other social occasions several times. Each time I’m struck by her gentle demeanour, her classic elegance, and yes, her fragility.”

While speaking about one of her favourite women, Preity’s voice lights up. She continues, “I was also struck by her unmistakable facial resemblance to her illustrious father (Jinnah). I’ve never seen two people who resemble each other so closely.”

Preity says she has met Dina Wadia both in Mumbai and abroad. “She lives in New York. But she visits Mumbai where she has close family. She carries an aura of unmistakable strength. Every time I meet her, there’s so much to imbibe from her. There are some people in this world who just carry an aura about them.

She’s one of them.” The last time when they met, Dina wanted to know about Preity’s IPL matches. “She takes a lot of interest in my life. The last time we met, she wanted to know all about the IPL matches. She’s so important to our times as a woman and a figure in history and yet conveys so much joie de vivre in her attitude. I just want to sit with her and listen to her.”

Miss Reddy turns to serious roles

Well, sexy Sam seems to have turned serious these days. Seriously!

The Reddy girl is busy shooting for a film titled Red Alert. And about what this movie has done to her, it has helped her develop an interest in politics.

Dealing with serious naxal issues, Sameera is now more equipped to discuss topics like naxalite attacks in India, naxal movements and naxal problems prevalent in the country.

Sounds intelligent na? So the dudes interested in chatting up the Reddy babe better spruce themselves up in the Naxal issues department and stay on red alert, because the dumb girl of Race just got smarter!

SRK Back to his field after IPL

Actor Shah Rukh Khan is back shooting for films. In fact while he was busy at the IPL, SRK used to shoot for Priyadarshan's Billoo Barber , too. With just one schedule remaining, we guess the makers of this one are keeping a rather low profile.

It was not very long ago that the shooting schedule of this film was to take place in a village. Shah Rukh who plays a simple, aam aadmi in this movie, had no choice but to travel with the cast and crew to a village in North India – where Viraasat was shot.

Apparently, sources close to us say that the one thing SRK hates is shooting in a village. After all, the actor is used to the lavish luxuries of life, and the close-to-no-facility areas provide much discomfort to him. A unit member informs us, "I don't know much about his likes and dislikes, but Shah Rukh is a sport. He adapted ok and didn't as much as complain even once. He was ready to do whatever it took for him to deliver! Also, he mingled well with one and all and didn't have any prolems. He went out of the way to make the locals there feel special."

Well, here's to the professional, who has returned to the luxuries of his home!

Sexy Southie On The Cover Page of Vogue

Chocolate Mousse is 'a sin'
Chocolate Cake is 'a sin'
Caramel Pastry is 'a sin'
Bollywood's latest IT girl is 'A sin'.

We are indeed talking about Asin, the southern film industry's latest export to Bollywood. She has been in the news for quite some time now, with her debut film Ghajini releasing this year and who has also been signed for London Dreams.

She is also the latest cover girl of the prestigious fashion magazine Vogue, whose Indian editor Priya Tanna says, “Though Vogue India boasts of a bevy of illustrious stylissima's as cover girls, it is equally committed to offering a platform to promising new faces; which is why we have Bollywood's newest entrant Asin as our July cover girl. She exemplifies the fresh, quintessential Indian beauty. There is newness to her and yet, she has an impressive body language to carry off designs from Lanvin to Valentino. And, what makes her an interesting read is that she has Aamir Khan's badge of approval with whom she stars in his next release, Ghajini. His `new leading lady` is clearly an intriguing choice.”

Miss Shy-Katrina Kaif

For what seems to be the first time, Katrina Kaif was recently seen shying away from sporting a dance costume, which she found too short for her comfort.

While shooting for the title track of Singh is Kinng , which is being choreographed for Remo Fernandez, she had dance steps that required her to bend forward several times. And this made Katrina too conscious.

Sensing that she was uncomfortable in that particular outfit, Remo tried to assure her that the steps would not look vulgar on-screen. Remo said, “Yes, Katrina was apprehensive while doing a particular sequence. I had to cajole her into it because it was a beautiful dance step.”

Finally, Remo made one of his female assistants, who was dressed in the same outfit, do the exact steps. After seeing that, Katrina gave it a try and it turned out so well, that she repeated it several times.

Remo added, “Once Katrina was comfortable, she pulled it off really well.”

Ranbir In Shekar Kapoor's Next

After lying in the cans for more than 20 years, Time Machine, Shekhar Kapur's prestigious project will finally see the light of day.

Originally starring Aamir Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Raveena Tandon in lead roles, the film was shelved after the producers ran into financial trouble.

After several rumours about Time Machine going back on the floors, this time Shekhar Kapur has finally picked up the project and has reportedly approached Ranbir Kapoor for the lead role. Adlabs will produce it.

Our source says, “Shekhar has been keen on making a film in India for a long time now. He is working on Time Machine's script with the original writer of the film.

He has already spoken to Ranbir Kapoor, and they are now working out the logistics.

The film is likely to go on the floors by next year, depending on the availability dates of the artistes involved in the film.”

Shekhar Kapur remained unavailable for comment. Incidentally Harman Baweja's debut film Love Story 2050 is also based on the subject of a time machine.

Amrita Rao- Peru's Bollywood Pari

Amrita Rao may have got lucky on her birthday.

Receiving three paintings dedicated to herself by the great artist MF Hussain himself as a birthday gift has not only upped her asset portfolio but also ‘humbled her’.

However, there are other things that make the girl happy, too. Apparently, when she was shooting in Peru, South America, recently, she was taken aback when a group of locals rushed to her for an autograph, and their mobiles went click, click, click.

That’s not all. They insisted that she see the photos that they had of her on their mobiles. “Some even had her picture as their screensaver,” we are told. Now how on earth did this Amrita craze hit Peru?

It was her film Vivaah that did the trick. They loved the movie, and what they loved even more was their Poonam (played by Amu) in it. Wonder if Vivaah co-star Shahid will draw as much fan-following as Peru’s Bollywood pari? Test ho jaye , Shahid?

Shahid's Bollywood Story Till Date

Shahid Kapoor danced his way into hearts with his dashing dancing style in Ken Ghosh’s Ishq Vishq Pyar Vyaar . Back then, his style was compared to veteran actor Shammi Kapoor. Is that the reason why Shahid, who is playing a dancer in Ken Ghosh’s next, wants to name the flick as Yahoo ? There is more to Shahid’s Yahoo story.

According to a unit member there is a lot of confusion about the title of this movie. Shahid plays a dancer in the film for which he will be sporting a new look and he feels the title Yahoo will be apt. He is not happy with the title Star and is keen to replace it with Yahoo . When asked about it Shahid said, “Actually we haven’t fixed the title yet. Yahoo is one of the titles we are considering. We will wait a bit before we take any decision.”

Shahid has his reasons for supporting and suggesting Yahoo as the title, he says, “The title Star has been suggested by UTV, but I don’t think it will be the final title. UTV is coming out with a magazine of their forthcoming project and hence the title. But everyone feels that we should change it, so Star is just a tentative title as of now.”

Yahoo had become synonymous with Shammi Kapoor when he gave a storm of a performance in his super hit film Junglee . The word ‘Yahoo’ turned lucky for Shammi Kapoor and established him as a great actor and dancer in the industry. We hope that Shahid’s Yahoo story turns out to be lucky for him too.

Arshad to host Big Boss-2

Actor Arshad Warsi who turned anchor for the first time for Sony’s Big Boss will be back in the second season too. Sony is gearing up to have the second season of their successful entertaining reality drama on air soon and want to continue the fun with Arshad. It is believed that Arshad has been offered a whopping Rs 5 crore for anchoring the show.

According to an industry insider, this time Arshad will have a co-anchor in the form of the winner of Big Boss 1, Rahul Roy. Sony received extremely good response through this celebrity based reality show. However this time makers of Big Boss are promising to bring in more fun and entertainment.

Undoubtedly, first season was full of entertainment due to the catfights between the sex bombs Rakhi Sawant and Kashmera Shah. Aryan Vaid’s several attempts to woo Anupama Verma entertained audience a lot. Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kissen and supermodel Carol Gracias ever increasing friendship was worth a watch too. With all this and more in the first season, there’s sure going to be more entertainment, excitement and fun in second season too.

An industry insider informs that makers of second season are finding it tough to find a place for filming the second season as Reliance has taken over ND studio and are only looking at Hollywood deals. Thus makers of Big Boss have to find a new setup.

It is also believed that actors like Monoj Tiwari and Sherlyn Chopra will be part of the gang this time. Manoj Bajpai was offered to be part of it but he turned down the offer due to date problems.

Gulshan & Harman Hugging???

Passers by on Sunday night were rather shocked to see two good men one of them dressed in bright orange suite and the other in shiny brown suit hugging right in the center of Haji Ali signal.

On closer look we found it was Gulshan Grover and Harman Baweja. And the reason for them hugging in the middle of the night was the 23 times retake they were giving while shooting for Manmohan Shetty's new film 'Victory' For all those who came in late, Victory is based on cricket and Harman is playing Dhoni while GG is playing a character loosely based on Mark Mascarenhas (cricket star maker). And last Sunday they were filming some celebration scenes in Haji Ali.

And when the scene was perfected, director Ajit Pal was heard joking "We have to get this shot right or we have to call Priyanka Chopra and tell her you are enjoying hugging Gulshan ji more than her". Hopefully Priyanka will take it at the right spirit!

Vivek Oberoi In Love!!!

Viveik Oberoi has recently been linked up with his co actor Shwetta Bharadwaj who makes her debut with Apporva Lakhia’s forthcoming film Mission Istaanbul . It is believed that both met on the sets of MI and became good friends. And according to the gossip mill, Viveik and Shwetta are seeing each other.

However when asked about her link up with Viveik, Shwetta states that she is not in the industry to have relationships with the actors, be it Zayed Khan or Viveik Oberoi. She further explains that in Mission Istaanbul she has a relationship with Vikas Sagar the character not Zayed Khan the actor.

Shwetta informs that she is focused about her career and least bothered about such buzz. Speaking about her character she informs that she is going to be the first Indian girl who will be doing all action in her film Mission Istaanbul like the way Lara Croft does in Hollywood.

Seems Vivek is not lucky this time too.

Vidya balan goes for Shock Treatment

Vidya Balan has finally let go of her inhibitions and turned into an atrocious prankster on the sets of Kismet Konnection . The otherwise shy and serious actress, Vidya has been actually meting out shock treatments to her crew mates with a tiny electric pen!

Apparently, Vidya found herself an electric pen and very wittily, she replaced it with an ordinary pen kept next to the director’s monitor. Every time an unsuspecting soul lifted the pen to jot down shoot details, they would get an instant shock which would make Vidya and those aware of the pranks, burst into fits of laughter.

Talking about it, a giggling Vidya revealed, “It was absolutely hilarious. Though it was meant to be a prank, I never thought it would go so far since soon people would double-check. But interestingly, all I would do is replace the outer cover of the pen and in the middle of the shooting mayhem, no one would realise it till they’d get the shock. Trust me, every single day, my pen found five victims!”

Ask her if co-star Shahid was any inspiration for turning into a prankster and pat comes the reply, “He is way ahead of me when it comes to pranks. Shahid was actually armed with a farting bag on the sets and his favourite target was our trainer Abbas. Everytime he was about to sit, Shahid would place the bag beneath him and it would go puchack! All of us would start staring at him and the poor guy would be so embarrassed, he wouldn’t know where to look.” And if that wasn’t enough, Vidya would make him a laughing stock by adding, “Of course the smell never reaches its source!”

Wait for the Saif Rani Jodi Over.........Finally!!!!!!!!

Our wait to know the title of Kunal Kohli’s forthcoming film starring Saif and Rani for the Yash Raj banner has finally ended! Kunal Kohli’s next film is ‘Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic’,a film that will revolve around Saif - a rich man, four orphan kids and Rani- the angel who comes in their lives to help them get rid of their worries.

I eagerly attended the exclusive screening of the film’s ‘first look’, and was relieved to see that the film didn’t bear any resemblance to Mary Poppins or Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke as was reported by many publications.

The film in fact reveals how four orphan kids are forced to shift to Saif Ali Khan’s mansion in spite of them hating him and vice versa! Saif even makes it clear that if it wasn’t for the court’s orders he too wouldn’t let the kids stay with him! In their troubled lives nothing seems to look positive until Rani, the angel arrives... what she does and what is the actual relationship that Saif shares with the kids is what the film all about...

On declaring the title Kunal said, “When we encounter problems, we feel the need for someone to come and help us! We want a magic to happen. We need an angel! Thus my film is called what it is called. What inspired me to make the film was the fact that families are not made by birth but by love and this is the love that the characters in my film share. Also as you saw in the promo, it is not even loosely inspired by Mary Poppins.”

He further added, “Thoda Pyaar Thhoda Magic’ is not a fairy tale as the family in the film is very real. The kids are not filmy with gel in their hair! In fact three of the four kids have never even faced the camera before! They are like the Mr. India children. I was inspired by Mr. India and it was not a children’s film.”

Talking about his debut as a co-producer, Kunal elaborated, “After a while you want to progress, earn a little more money and you do feel that you should be able to own the product you make. I told Adi about it and he said why not begin with this film?”

Kunal concluded his brief chat to me by saying, “I’ll give you more information when the film releases on 27th June and the music on 23rd May.”

The Saif-Rani banter in Hum Tum hooked us completely and we hope they create some more magic on screen with their awesome chemistry once again!

Vivek and Lakhia Not going too Well

Reportedly, Vivek Oberoi is not too happy with his role in Apoorva Lakhia's upcoming film, Mission Istanbul. The latest is that Oberoi and Lakhia have fallen apart completely.

Now, Oberoi is not on talking terms with Lakhia, who gave him a new lease of life with Shootout At Lokhandwala at a time he most needed.

However, Oberoi has not stopped shooting with Lakhia and is completing the film in all respects. Says a source, "Oberoi is a professional and he is going through the remaining work on the film quite smoothly."

Talking about the equation between Lakhia and Oberoi reaching an all-time low, our says, "The problem started sometime ago when Oberoi suddenly started feeling that Zayed Khan has been given more importance in the film and its publicity, and thus, a cold war ensued.

Lakhia and Oberoi did not mingle much at an awards event held in Bangkok in the first week of June. The two also had a confrontation recently."

So, what exactly overturned the boat completely? Our source reveals, " Oberoi called up Sunil Shetty (co-producer of Mission Istanbul) to complain and that was the last straw.

He complained that he deserved more prominence in the publicity as he is a bigger star than Zayed Khan.

Naturally, Lakhia felt terribly upset at Oberoi's whining."

When contacted, Oberoi said, "I am shooting for my solo song (a follow up on Ae Ganpat song) on Apu's set at the Film City and we are having a blast."

Apparently wanting to safeguard his film, Lakhia was only slightly forthcoming. He said, "Mission Istanbul has two lead actors, and we are publicising it accordingly. Oberoi has not spoken about his discomfort to me yet."

We then contacted Shabbir Boxwalla (Director of Shetty's company, Popcorn Productions) who said that they could have even included Shetty in the publicity campaign since he also has a role in the film.

He said, "But Sunil didn't think that was necessary since his role is not a big one. Mission Istanbul is a film where both Oberoi and Zayed have equally good roles and hence they both are in every frame of the publicity together."

When told that Oberoi had complained to Shetty about his star status being sidelined, Boxwalla shot back, "Everybody is a star. You get to know the real star only on a Friday."

Mission Istanbul is being co-produced by Popcorn Productions and Balaji Telefilms.

Rajshri Production's Next-Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi

Very few producers incorporate inputs from the crew of the film. So we were pleasantly surprised when Barjatya invited the entire cast and crew of his film, Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi, for a special screening, and asked for their opinion on the film.

According to our source, the film was screened at a private theatre in Rajshri Production’s office at Prabhadevi. The entire cast and crew were given a note-pad and a pen to jot down their observations and opinion.

Our source adds, “Before the screening began, it was announced that everyone must note their suggestions, and if they were found suitable, they will be incorporated in the film.”

When contacted, Barjatya said, “Yes, we took our crew’s opinion. We also did a similar exercise once the script of the film was finalised. At Rajshri we believe that it is vital to take everyone’s opinion, be it an assistant or a technician.

As a producer, I should know if the film has touched people’s soul or not. What could be a better way of finding this out? I tell my crew honestly that I want to hear their opinion, and they give me an honest feedback.

If I did not consider my crew’s opinions after asking them for it, then all I will get will be sugar-coated lies. We are all together to make a good film and my crew understands this.”

Speaking about the changes done so far in Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi, Barjatya says, “One editing error was pointed out by a technician, we have now corrected it.

As a result of another technician’s observation, one scene has more background score now. The will be many more changes by the time the film finally releases around October-November.”

Barjatya goes a step further. According to him the families of the cast and crew will also get to watch the film so that “we can gauge how much the film will appeal to the entire family, or to our female audiences.”

Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi is directed by Barjatya's assistant Kaushik Ghatak and stars Sonu Sood and Ishaa Koppikar.

Ranbir Kapoor-quite a prankster

Ranbir Kapoor is quite a prankster and he didn’t even spare girlfriend Deepika when it came to doing so! During their stay in Sydney for the shoot of Bachna Eh Haseeno Ranbir played various pranks on her and his co-star Hiten Paintal, son of veteran comedian Paintal.

Director Siddharth Anand was no different. He too befriended Ranbir and Hiten and made the women suffer!

However Deepika was not the one to fall prey to her beau’s pranks all the time! She played a trick to ensure that Ranbir too gets a taste of his own medicine!

“All three of us - Deepika, me and Ranbir were traveling in a car in Sydney. Ranbir was sitting in the front, Deepika and I were on the back seat. Deepika found an excellent opportunity to get back at Ranbir. She took a paper, rolled it and started to scratch Ranbir’s ear with it. He was half asleep and gave Deepika a warning that she should stop doing that. She acted as if nothing had happened in the first place! She posed as if she was on the phone! Next, I repeated her act and both of took turns to make break Ranbir’s sleep! Everytime Ranbir looked behind to check on us we’d look outside the window or would break into a deep conversation with each other! After a while Ranbir actually started to believe that he was in his dreams and that it was not happening in reality! In fact he still believes that he was just imaging it”, said an excited Hiten as he tried to control his laughter!

Hiten further added, “All three of us - Me, Ranbir and Deepika had a fantastic time in Sydney, Switzerland and Bangkok where we’ve shot the film. In fact all three of us are flying to Bangkok tomorrow to finish the shoot of the film which will be done by next week. My dad and chintuji (Rishi Kapoor) are good friends and am glad Ranbir and I too get along like a house on fire.”

We are dying to see Ranbir’s second film too Hiten!

Is Kangana a Back Stabber?

Bollywood has a long history of men who use women and dump them. Remember Rajesh Khanna and Anju Mahendru? But now the roles seem to have reversed. Now the women seem to be using the men. And one of the murkiest relationships in recent times has been the Aditya Pancholi-Kangana Ranaut relationship.

A while ago Kangana had lodged a complaint with the police claiming Aditya had physically abused her on many occasions. She also denied their relationship saying Aditya was like an older brother to her. Aditya on his part rubbished Kangana's claims but did not indulge in any further mud-slinging.

According to Mumbai Mirror, Aditya Pancholi said, "We have stopped seeing one another for a while now. Sometime back she called me to say she wanted money, about Rs 1 crore, to buy a house. (This, after she had complained against me to the police.) I called up a banker-friend and stood as her guarantor and got her a loan of Rs 50 lakh."

He futher added, "Then, I gave her Rs 55 lakh cash from my pocket. Of this, she has returned Rs 25 lakh. She still owes me Rs 30 lakh. I've also spent Rs 10 lakh on her sister's plastic surgery, after the acid attack. But I'm not asking for that. I paid all the bills. When Mukesh Bhatt asked back for her signing amount of Rs 50,000, I paid that for her too. I've written all that off. But I'd like to have the money that I lent her for her house."

What made Aditya Pancholi suddenly turn hostile towards Kangana? After all, he did lend her the money even after she filed a police complaint. According to sources, the latest twist of events has happened because of the new man in Kangana's life – Adhyayan Suman. Apparently, Kangana was in touch with Shekhar Suman till a few days before the release of Haal-e-dil, Adhyayan's debut film.

So, Aditya Pancholi was in for a shock when he saw Kangana with Shekhar's family at the premiere of Haal-e-dil. But Aditya who has always had a low threshold of tolerance decided it was the last straw.

As Aditya told Mumbai Mirror, he went up to Adhyayan and said, "Welcome to the circus, I hope you are having a good time." And Kangana disappeared from the scene when she saw Adhyayan speaking to Aditya.

Aditya is a much calmer man who has come to terms with the situation. He's more upset about the fact that Kangana has kept him in the dark rather than the fact that he was ditched. But he's taken a firm stand about how he would like to have his money back. And like all philandering husbands who are left in the lurch, he wants to make it up to his wife Zarina Wahab.

As usual, Zarina Wahab has not commented on the matter. But she really is a woman with great determination and strength. Being married to Aditya Pancholi is no laughing matter!

Nikita Goes from being Nice to Naughty

This one has gone from being nice to naughty. Nikita Anand, who played a sweet bubbly college student in 'Dil, Dosti Etc', has decided to turn a new leaf. She's donning shades of grey in Partho Ghosh's next film 'Ek Second – Jo Zindagi Badal De' with established actors like Manisha Koirala and Jackie Shroff giving her company.

Of course, the character's personality doesn't match Nikita's and so it's going to be a challenge for her to do justice to it. "I could identify with the character I played in 'Dil, Dosti Etc' and so it was not too hard for me to do that role. But this one is the opposite of the real me," Nikita reveals.

For a performer, research is everything and Nikita studied the character through books and other films. Now, let's see if her hard work translates into a good performance and establishes her as a versatile actress too.

Piggy Chopps-Miss Proffessional!!!

In an industry where most actors are known for their unprofessional attitude, Priyanka Chopra sticks out like a sore thumb. For the last fortnight, a tiring schedule of a shift and a half every day for Karan Johar’s Dostana, coupled by the promotional campaign for Love Story 2050 has taken a toll on the health of this very fit and healthy heroine.

Shooting in Film City over the weekend, Piggy Chops had a bad attack of asthma. Inspite of her ill health, the actress continued shooting as the schedule was a packed one and on that particular day she was shooting with the entire cast of Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Boman Irani and Kirron Kher. By evening, a concerned boyfriend, Harman Baweja visited the set with a doctor in tow as Priyanka had collapsed. The medico gave her an injection and some medicines and after some time, a very fresh looking Priyanka strolled into the set to give her shot.

Concerned about her, Tarun Mansukhani the director called for an early pack up but not before he canned one steadycam shot with Priyanka. But the day had not ended for Piggy Chops. Since she had called a media unit to shoot an interview for Love Story 2050, she insisted on finishing that before she left Film City in her white Mercedes.

An exasperated Mickey Contractor, who has been doing her make up retorted, “She is not silly, but stupid. Her professional attitude will be the death of her.”

All Priyanka had to say was, “I could not cancel the interview since they had come all the way to shoot and it is not nice to disappoint people.”

No wonder there are so many big banners working with her. With an attitude like that Priyanka Chopra not only won the respect of her colleagues but also of the media people. Something that is really hard to win.

Preity Breaks Up

Cracks are apparently showing in the so far hunky-dory relationship between Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia.

Rumour is that the pert Bollywood actress, who has been dating the suave industrialist son of Maureen and Nusli Wadia for the past few years, is reportedly on the verge of another break-up.

And the reason being given by Bollywood insiders is Preity’s popularity and apparent rise on the social circuit as co-owner of Team Mohali during the recent IPL cricket tournament.

That, plus her seeming fondness for Team Mohali’s casanova skipper Yuvraj Singh appears not to have gone down too well with her reticent beau. Further, Ness’s investment in the IPL also reportedly suffered a beating and what the Wadia scion’s views on this must be is anybody’s guess.

That there are regular spats between the feisty Preity and quiet Ness is known. But as for the recent controversy, the actress who is back to work and dubbing for Jahnu Barua’s film Har Pal in addition to attending rehearsals for the Bachchans’s world tour, said heatedly, “What rumours are you talking about? Which couple doesn’t have its ups and downs? Ness and I are no exception. You don’t go ahead and break-up just because you fight.”

Marriage is not even a talking point in her life currently. “Even my family is not concerned about my marriage. It’s not happening in the near future,” retorted the actress shortly. As for Yuvraj Singh, the industry grapevine suggests a flirtatious liaison between the dashing cricketer and pretty actress did flicker briefly during the IPL but has died down now. Neither will talk about it, of course.

Singh Is Kinng - The Script

This year's eagarly-awaited romantic comedy, Singh is Kinng, revolves around a gang of crooks transformed by a good man and his selfless love for a pretty girl.
Lucky (Sonu Sood) is the 'king' of the Australian underworld. But far away, in his hometown in Punjab, there is someone even more notorious than him -- Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar). The village decides to send him on a long trip, and bring Lucky back to Punjab, as his despicable deeds are maligning their image in Australia.

The village bumpkin embarks on his journey, where he goes through a series of adventures, meets Lucky, and even manages to find time for love when he meets Sonia (Katrina Kaif).

Singh Is Kinng is directed by Anees Bazmee of No Entry and Welcome fame.

Incidentally, the film found its title from the back of a truck!
Apparently, Akshay Kumar was driving through Jaipur when he spotted a truck with the words, Singh is King, printed at the back.

However, the film is not about any specific community.

One of the highlights of the film is Snoop Dogg's number, which is part of the film's soundtrack.
The video will be shot in Los Angeles.

The title track of the film is rendered by Bombay Vikings' Neeraj Shridhar, and composed by Pritam.

Katrina is apparently charmed by Egypt, where she shot a song with Akshay.
"It's among the most beautiful countries I have visited -- the pyramids, the temples and the landscape are exotic. I even enjoyed the barbecue dinner on a boat on the Nile. We shot in a number of places and I've come back with fond memories of my trip," she says.

The song, Jee Karda, was shot at 4 am everyday to capture the light.

The film is also shot in Punjab and Australia.

After her recent flops like Ek Chalis Ki Last Local and Rama Rama Kya Hai Yeh Drama, Neha Dhupia hopes to squeeze in a hit with Singh is Kinng.
She plays Julie in the film, a bold and beautiful girl in a gang of goons, headed by Sonu Sood's Lucky.

Singh Is Kinng will release on August 8.

Ramu's "Phoonk" in Pics

Tulip in a triple role

Tulip Joshi, who received much critical acclaim with Matrubhoomi, is excited about what the future has in store for her.

She is shooting non-stop for Indra Kumar’s film titled Daddy Cool. And when she’s not shooting for the film, Tulip finds herself in the beautiful farms of Punjab, where she is shooting for a movie opposite Harbhajan Mann.

What’s so special about this one? Well, she has a triple role in it. And one of her avatars is that of a blind girl. After Kajol and Rani playing blind in Dushman, Fanaa and Black , we’ll see if Tulip blossoms as much in her role.