Salman Khan Se Mujhe Bachao

As we have seen in golden heydays of Hindi Cinema; the hero fights with a lion and saves the girl to pataofy her, which is then followed by their love track and a happily ever-after. It seems now, that era is revisiting us, as the directors are busy packing old wine in a new bottle to impress the audiences. Well we are talking about the upcoming flick of Salman Khan- Veer, which has been in talks for reasons more than one. The recent buzz is that Sallu will be fighting with a lion in the film! Good Lord save the Lion, where is PETA? Sallu is an animal near animals! “ After fighting with an elephant in the movie, Salman is now all geared up for a fight sequence with a lion, where he saves his girl (Miss UK Universe, Lisa Lazarus) in the ghana jungle, ” adds the source. Sallu Miya, we wonder wassup with all those animals, is Veer a Hindi version of Tarzan or what? Anyhow, the shooting of the same will take place in a wild forest, abroad. “Sallu is well prepared to go ahead with the shoot. He is not at all nervous about it and has been getting the knowledge of how to tackle Lions. The precautionary measures are well taken care of by the team, ” adds the sources. What about the precautionary measures for the Lion? Looks like Sallu Miya’s animal magnetism scared off all the men, so now poor animals have to fight him off; perfect situation of war between beauty and the beast.

Aamir confess wife Kiran made him a Dhobi

Coming straight from the horse’s mouth Finally Aamir Khan has come to light, and talks err, blogs about doing his wife Kiran Rao’s film- Dhobi Ghat. Initially there was just the talk around the town about his presence in the flick, with him furiously refusing to even comment on the same. But now the cat is out from the bag. “I am playing one of the leads in Kiran’s film Dhobi Ghat. The reason we kept this under wraps is that she didn’t want to attract much attention towards her film, ” Aamir states in his blog. “She wanted to make this film on real locations, with a tiny crew in very guerrilla style. So we had to do it very quietly. And for once, we managed to keep a secret from the media, at least until we finished the shoot. Actually I think I spoke about it in an interview right after we finished the shoot, so I'm surprised people are reacting now, ” he adds. Alongside he is very excited about his upcoming film 3 Idiots, but he promises to stay away from smoke till the release. “I am getting butterflies in my stomach already. But this time I will NOT smoke. No matter how nervous I get…” Aamir even if you do reach out for that puff, just have a look at your preggy wife, you don’t need to be informed on how harmful second hand smoke is for baby

My time is coming, you see: Udita Goswami

By Joginder Tuteja Ever since the release of Paap (2004), majority of films starring Udita Goswami have been highly dramatic affairs. However, the actress is now attempting a different genre with her latest film titled Rokk. The film belongs to supernatural genre, the shooting of which is all set to begin this August. "Rokk will be extremely different from anything that I have done so far. It was important that I work on diverse genres. After giving myself a break to ponder over what I really wanted to do, I decided to work on Rokk", says Udita who was seen earlier this year in box office dud Kisse Pyaar Karoon that released several years after lying in the cans. Rokk is about two sisters with Tanushree Dutta playing Udita's sister. As per Udita, the film has no heroes and the narrative is primarily character driven. When an actress is launched in a Bhatt movie opposite none other than John Abraham, she is expected to become a hot property. Udita Goswami too had a good beginning with Pooja Bhatt directed Paap. However, ever since then she has only been seen in Zeher, Aksar, Aggar and Kisse Pyaar Karoon. Any other actress in her place would have gone on a signing spree, so why did she choose to lie low? "Well, I had a certain thought process around signing only those films which had me in a central role. However, this didn't quite work because how many women-centric films are actually made today? Guess, I had to have a change in mindset and thankfully now I have revisited my priorities. Yes, I have become flexible in my choice of roles but am still particular about the banners I sign and people I work with", reasons Udita. Is this the reason why she suddenly finds herself as a part of two Sunny Deol projects? "Yes, I am working in Fox and The Man, both of which are action films with Sunny Deol in the lead. Both films gave me a chance to do something that I haven't done before", reveals Udita. Other than these two films, she would also be seen in Chase and Hello India where she would be seen opposite none other than Akshay Kumar. "My time is coming, you see", smiles Udita, "Just imagine, from one film in a year, I am rolling as many as five. It's good to be occupied and doing some nice work." In the meanwhile, she is all excited to begin work on Rokk which is produced by Ikkon Films and Sumeet Saigal. "The film is directed by this new guy called Rajesh Ranshinge", says Udita, "He is someone who is new to films but has been making some good supernatural thrillers for years on television. He has seen it and done all in TV serials like 'Sssh Koi Hai', 'Aahat' and 'CID'. He is a great guy; someone who is very clear and focused."

I am really lucky to have a sister like Bipasha

Bipasha Basu has had a long shooting stint in Goa of more than a month and a half for All The Best, which was followed by one more shoot in Hyderabad. But now she is back in tinsel town and is seen taking extra time out to help her younger sister Rinnie. A source close to the actress states, “Bipasha is very much elder to Rinnie and she is taking full responsibility of looking after her. Rinnie would often be seen accompanying Bipasha on her shoots in Mumbai since she was studying in a Mumbai college. But now she is planning to go abroad for higher studies. Bipasha is therefore ensuring that before Rinnie leaves in September for UK for her studies, everything required for her falls right in its place. Bips has the experience of staying abroad for a long period when she was on a modeling assignment with the Ford Supermodel Agency. She is using that experience to help Rinnie now. She is, in fact even making a list of things that Rinnie may require in her house there.” After all this, Rinnie must be definitely saying, “I am really lucky to have a sister like Bipasha!”

"Pirated version of Love Aaj Kal songs are not the final version" - Pritam

Piracy has hit the soundtrack of Love Aaj Kal. The songs from this Pritam composed album are freely available on internet. If this wasn't bad enough, the composer is further hurt by the fact that the version available for download is not even the final mix.

"Actually I was surprised to see the songs all over the internet; more so because I was still in the process of mastering. It's one thing for the songs to have made it to the internet and even worse when they are the unfinished versions. I am not sure what would the listeners be making of the songs that they are currently hearing", says a visibly upset Pritam.

Coming together with filmmaker Imtiaz Ali two years after Jab We Met has been a high pressure job for him as well. "Yeah, that's a baggage that we would always have to carry", he sighs, "Jab We Met has been a set benchmark for the listeners and comparisons are bound to happen."

He goes on share a joke that he has been sharing with Imtiaz ever since he started working on the soundtrack of Love Aaj Kal. "We keep telling each other that every review of Love Aaj Kal will start with a standard line - 'After the super success of Jab We Met, Imtiaz, Pritam and Irshad Kamil (the lyricist) reunite with Love Aaj Kal. So does the soundtrack create a similar magic? Does it meet or exceed the expectations? etc. etc.' What we are nervous about it to get the answers to these questions. I hope it is yes, yes and yes!"

Well, the team of Love Aaj Kal will certainly have an answer once the album (most likely) hits the stands this weekend. If the response to 'Twist' is anything to go by, there are no reasons why the team of Love Aaj Kal would actually have much to worry about.

Shweta will never forgive Deepak Qazir and Cezaane Khan

During a game played in the camp, Shweta Tiwari was asked to narrate the toughest decision of her life! Shweta said it was the divorce with husband Raja, but she wouldn’t want to talk about it in the open. She instead spoke about a disgusting incident with co-artists Deepak Qazir (the actor who played Anurag Basu aka Cezaane Khan's father in Kasauti) and Cezzane Khan. It was during the days of her show Kasauti Zindagi Ki with Balaji Telefilms when they had back to back, day and night shooting to complete the episodes. Needless to say it was a rough time for her… as her daughter who was in Meerut with her in laws (Raja Chaudhary’s parents) had fallen severely sick. So Shweta had put in a special request to get some time off the hectic schedule to go look after her ailing daughter. That’s when co-artists Deepak Qazir played dirty and spread the rumour within the production team that Shweta was lying about her daughter’s illness and the real reason for her break was that she was to attend a Navratri function and was getting paid 1 lakh for it. Shweta denied this then and was convincing the crew that it was for real and no excuse, but what disgusted her much more later was when Deepak told her, “Give me Rs 50, 000 from your 1 lakh that you will get from the show, and then I will tell the producer that your daughter is really unwell and needs your attention”. By then Shweta lost her cool and got in touch with producer Shobha Kapoor who granted her just one day leave. When she reached Meerut and met her daughter Palak, she was really happy and requested Shewta not to leave. But since she had to be back in time for shoot, Shweta left in the wee hours of the morning when her daughter was fast asleep to resume work the same day. She said that it was one of the toughest decisions, where she had to prove herself right. Shweta cannot forget the incident so much so that on national television she broke down saying, “I will never forgive you for this Deepak Qazir”

"Arshad has surpassed his previous best role of Circuit" - Anil Kapoor

Given his fame, Anil Kapoor has an unusually sensible attitude. "How are you and what have you been up to?" is what he asks me. "So tell me, are you shuffling between London and Mumbai?" is the next question. I'm sure it was meant to be the other way. Plus, it was an overseas call made from Mumbai to L.A. Nevertheless, he sounds super cool and a dapper dude on the other side. If anyone should know when a party's over, it's Anil Kapoor. In his prime he was a major movie star and pin-up. Today he grows stronger than ever before and the reason is just one lucky film he signed, Slumdog Millionaire. For many people, mostly journalists, the return of Anil Kapoor was simply a convenient excuse to rehash his amazing story. But the difference between then and now is that Anil really is back and reconnected with his passion called films, not just as an actor, but as a committed producer too. His first film Gandhi My Father gathered rave reviews from the world wide Press. Kapoor is someone who tends to get involved. Not getting involved is never an option. The commitment that now fuels his activism has long underpinned his acting and, of late, his producing. He has left behind the jhakas image that lingered for years and is now back in business with some serious production work. UK's Harrow Observer columnist and Bollywood Hungama's London correspondent gets an exclusive ten minutes with the ubercool Kapoor and finds out that he is having the time of his life now because everything that he did before was just a prologue.

After producing a serious film like Gandhi My Father, why back a film like Short Kut which is an out and out comic caper? Is it for commercial reasons?
I'm sure every film is made for a commercial reason. As an actor, I've performed in one of Indian cinema's biggest hits like Mashaal, Karma, Eeshwar, Beta, Lamhe, Kishan Kanhaiya, 1942 A Love Story and Rakhwala. All the films I've mentioned were different from each other. Some were commercial successes and the others were critically acclaimed and some did decent business. So as a producer too I want to be diverse. Short Kut came across to me as a fun film, it had great actors, there was scope for music, comedy, emotions, etc. In fact, there was scope in every department. As a child, I'd love to go and watch a film like this. So why not produce something that is loved by one and all.

As a producer of your film, you have all the rights to be upset with anybody

Brief us about your good friend Akshaye Khanna. After his superlative performance in your debut production, he is seen in your second. Third, fourth, fifth too?
(Laughs) He is a great actor. He is doing a comedy role in Short Kut with so much variety. It's a well rounded performance by him. The good thing about casting Akshaye Khanna is that he is very vulnerable. Short Kut isn't just a normal comic caper for Akshaye which he has done in his past films. You have to be too intense an actor to be funny.

What have you to say about Amrita Rao's makeover in Short Kut and how did you zero her down?
I had seen portions of her film Vivah. I needed a girl who looked like a star, who looked beautiful and had a kind of a personality that she does acting for the passion of it. But she equally gives importance to relationships also. Thus Amrita Rao was the only actor I found who would suit the role. She looks gorgeous in Short Kut and I promise it'll be her best role ever.

Sanjay Dutt is a better dancer than I am

Is there any truth in the rumour that you were upset with Akshaye Khanna for not promoting the film?
As a producer of your film, you have all the rights to be upset with anybody. Sometimes you pamper your actors, someday you are upset with them, sometimes you want to see all the cast work together towards the success of your film and have a good release. I am not upset with him at all. If there is anything Akshaye is not happy about, I'll call him and find out.

How was it to work with Sanjay Dutt again after the last time you were seen with him in Musafir?
It's always fun to meet him. It's like a picnic when you are with Sanjay Dutt. In fact, I told him the very same words, "Let's have a picnic Sanju. Let's do a song together." We had a great time dancing together proving the point, trying to see who is the worst dancer among the two of us and who can come up with the worst ever moves on the dance floor (laughs).

So who's a better dancer then?
You can quote me when I say, "Sanjay Dutt is a better dancer than I am." He is unique and you will soon find out. He is chilled out, looks cool and can carry a music video all by himself. He has done it in the past in Musafir for a track called 'Saki'.

I've just completed four episodes of tele series 24 with Jack Bauer, waiting to for the fifth one

How's Los Angeles keeping you Anil?
Very good I should say. Most of the time I am here now because I am shooting for a tele series called 24 with Jack Bauer. It's an American action / drama serial produced by Fox television and Imagine Entertainment. I've already completed four episodes and currently waiting to get into the fifth one.

Neeraj Vora is known for his wacky sense of humour. Does he surpass himself in Short Kut?
I love Neeraj Vora's sense of humour. He is an extremely talented individual with a diverse caliber in writing and direction. He is India's rare talent who needs to be taken seriously, and that is not funny.

What about Arshad Warsi?
Both Arshad and Akshaye are going to surprise and shock you in Short Kut. He is known all over the world as Circuit. You put them into a serious situation and they will come out making you laugh. Arshad is also a good actor who needs to be taken seriously by our industry. I can surely say this that Arshad has surpassed his previous best role of Circuit.

Are you going to be in India during the release of your film Short Kut?
Currently I am in the United States of America. I will be there in India the day after Short Kut is released, that is the 11th of July. Then again I fly to South Africa on the 12th July to shoot for Anees Bazmee directed film No Problem which is my third Hindi film as a producer.

Any other Hollywood projects you are looking to be a part of now that you are based almost half of the year in the West?
Right now my focus is Short Kut. But yes, I am looking into few Hollywood films and television serials. Bollywood was always big down West but we have changed their perception of the cliché which they had for years and years; that our industry is just about 'song and dance'.