Katrina Kaif steps up and is ready for a crack at the upper crust of Bollywood royalty

(Image courtesy Vogue)

A good indication that a person is successful is when foreign media start courting them for interviews, photo shoots and put them on their cover page. Thats what seems to be happening to Katrina Kaif. She may started with modeling, stepped in to films with a disastrous Boom, but made up with it with her later movies. She was criticized for British accent and her inability to speak good Hindi, but she has worked hard, picked up decent Hindi and is now on the cusp of becoming a major force in Bollywood.

She also starred with Sallu initially but even that didn't work for her. Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya also didn't do too well in the theaters. Sarkar was a little jewel for her but had a small role in it. It took her pairing with the hunk Akshay Kumar to get her kickstarted in Bollywood. Almost all the movies they worked together in have been bit hits if not huge hits. Starting with Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, Namastey London and now Welcome (http://www.welcome-thefilm.com). She also has Partner to her credit.

She has now yet another achievement to her credit. She is on the cover of the latest edition of Vogue India. And it is Jean Paul Gaultier, the world renowned designer, whose outfit she is wearing in the photo.

Way to go. I find her extremely gorgeous and her smile is beautiiiiiiiful. It's her height that gives her an attractive personality and yet she is not scrawny like the other model/actresses of today. She is healthy and bootylicious as some would say.

Taare Zameen Par - the after effects

Its public knowledge that when Aamir's home banner venture, Taare Zameen Par began, it was Amol Gupte who was the director of the film. After a while Aamir Khan took over the direction, as he was not happy with the way things were shaping up. He offered Amole the option of having his movie produced by some other production house, but Amole opted to continue with Aamir.
So Aamir gave the credit of creative director to Amole and took over the mantle of director. The entire story, concept and nitty gritty of the movie is attributed to Amole because he has worked with such children before. So even though he was unhappy with the situation, but still wanted Aamir to be the one to produce the movie because of his long association with him and the fact he trusted Aamir to get his message across. And what we got was another brialliant effort from Aamir. It impacts the viewer very similar like his earlier films like Rang De Basanti, Dil Chahta Hai, Lagaan, Ishq, Akele Hum Akele Tum, Rangeela, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, 1947 Earth, Dil, and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.

Now Aamir has given an interview saying he regrets this incident as it has spoiled his relationship with Amole. He wished all could be back as normal but it will be difficult as Amole will never be able to forget this embarresment and it will always haunt their friendship.

Who is the main lead in Rakeysh Mehra's Delhi 6?

Rakeysh Mehra's Delhi 6 is plagued with uncertainty over his male lead actor. Surprising since with a major and acclaimed hit on his hands - "Rang De Basanti", he should have actors queuing up to sign up.

He would have never predicted that the casting of his next film would become such a big problem. So the actors who were considered and/or approached are Hrithik, Akshay, Abhishek and last week's Hollywood actor. Finally a new name has cropped up. That of Aamir Khan's nephew, Imran Khan. This will mean that it will be his second film after Sanjay Gadhvi's Kidnap.

Delhi 6 is reportedly based on Delhi's monkey man menace that shook the Indian capital, a few years back.

Jodhaa Akbar - Another movie, another controversy....

Another controversy has reared its ugly head with a group from the Rajput community opposing the facts presented in the Jodhaa Akbar movie. They claim that Jodhaa bai was not Akbars wife as shown in the movie and neither was she the daughter of the Amer king. She was according to them Akbars daughter-in-law and was the daughter of a Marwar king.

As far as I have learnt history all through school and at all levels that Jodhaa Bai was Akbar's wife. So if this is no right and history has been distorted then I don't think Ashutosh Gowarikar is the one doing it. He is merely continuing the legend as we know it. I would like to say to this obscure Rajout group, where were you when Mughal-e-Azam was released and if history is wrong then they should get the right facts and evidences and campaign to have it corrected at the right levels. You can neither change nor create history by creating such a fuss. Start a campaign and have these facts proved at the national level.

I sincerely hope that this does not balloon into a major problem as Ashutosh has gone with what is popular peception and would never have gone and tried to fidget with history. And the is group has popped up on the eve of the release. Where were they so far? Banished by Akbar to the hinterlands?

Ranbir Kapoor in a Time Machine?

Shekhar Kapur the reputed Bollywood director gone to Hollywood will reportedly finally make his long-delayed project Time Machine. But the main lead has been changed and instead of Aamir Khan, it will star Ranbir Kapoor.

One unusal fact is that even Ram Gopal Varma had also hoped to make a film called Time Machine with Shah Rukh Khan but that too never took off. That makes the name Time Machine some what of a jinx.

The initial cast also included Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha and Raveena Tandon, and that will obviously change as Raveena has sort of retired and a younger actress would be required opposite Ranbir.

Ranbir will be looking forward to getting a hit under his belt and getting rid of the jinx tag which is given to new comers till they get a hit. Once that is done, film makers are less tensed about signing on the star. He has a quirky Saawariya to his credit so far and will need to do better.

Shekhar Kapoor is the reputed director of a few big Hollywood movies and in an earlier spell in Bollywood had directed Mr. India, Joshilay, and Bandit Queen. He was supposedly working on a prequel to Elizabeth - the Golden Age.

One more child star grows up - and has she grown up...

Another kid who worked in movies has stepped in to puberty and as these kids do nowadays has continued to work in front of the camera. Obviously the lure of Bollywood and the Idiot box is way too strong for them to keep away. Yeah...and the money is pretty good too.

Check out the photo I 'borrowed' from rediff and lets see if you can spot the gal.

Can you? No?

Okay lets give you some hints.

1) It was a big big block buster.

2) She played the daughter of the main star.

3) He is one of the super star Khans.

4) Her name was Anjali in the movie.

5) She is named after the other mail lead in the movie.

If you haven't got the answer so far, you need a good kick on the back side.

The girl is Sana Saeed and she was in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. She played Shah Rukh Anjali in the movie.

So if you didn't get it that means you really don't care for Shah Rukh Khan and also for Yash Johar's movies. No complaints. Even I don't.

Back to the girl. She looks hot. And that to in ethnic clothes. Imagine her going skimpy as in Bollywood roles. Heh heh heh.

She also appeared in a couple of television shows and ads and aftetr paying attention to her studies she's back in the new telly soap, Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na. She also anchored some shows like Fox Kids and Kache Papad Pakka Papad at age thirteen. And was in Badaal (starring Bobby Deol and Rani Mukerji). On her resume also are ads for Sunsilk and Clinic Shampoo, a poster ad for DHL and Lifebuoy soap and a role serial Sati (on Sahara TV) for two months.

So she has been in touch with the glamour world.

For Ajay Devgun, U, me aur Hum is very important as Halla Bol has not set he box office on fire

His next release U me aur Hum is quite important for Ajay Devgun, as Halla Bol has not done too well at the Box office. I had seen the movie and though I quite liked it, it did not have the punch or the tight editing that could have made it a great flick. So it ended up being an ordinary movie. Especially as it was directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi, audiences and critics were expecting a lot more.

An unusual factor is that all the performances have been very good. Ajay has been execellent, Vidya restrained and yet commanding and Pankaj Kapur simply awesome. He is one under utilized talent in the industry. And the rest of the supporting cast were flawless. Anjan Srivastav as Ajay father, his mother (Arya), Vidya's father, his theatre colleagues and rest of the players. No performance seemed phony or out of place. Yet the movie seemed to be missing some thing.

Add to that an entertaining story, good scandalous real life sub-plots, and cheeky and scandalous references to the Bollywood industry, especially to Shahrukh Khan and other arty farty stars.

Now Sunday has been released and the industry is waiting for the results. The reviews so far are average and most expect it to do well (comedy movie na????) but not be any massive hit. So his next movie U me aur Hum with wifey Kajol is very important for him.

Rediff gives a two and a half star rating to movie Sunday

Just read the review of the movie Sunday (Starring Ayesha Takia, Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Irfan Khan, Anjana Sukhani) and they haven't really liked it too much. It has been given a rating of 2.5 stars (5 being the highest). I too was not expecting too much from the movie as it is another one from the factory assembly line of comedy movies. I feel even the audiences will be getting tired of comedies now.

The problem is not with well made comedies, but of those film makers just trying to cash in on the 'trend'. Especially directors who have scored a hit with their previous film. If it is of a particular genre then they will stick to it like glue even if it kills them.

For example look at a successful director like Priyadarshan. He made a string of comedies and now feels that is his domain and only hope to make a hit. So when he attempts a remake of a thriller like Bhool Bhulaiyaa (original is an unpronounceable mallu movie) he goes on to mangle it in to horrors - a comedy movie!! So what can you expect of lesser directors like Rohit Shetty, who got the biggest hot of their careers with Golmaal. They will invariably go for a repeat dose. Not to mention a Golmaal part deux.

If these directors were really competent and confident about their craft, they would be attempting to make good films not hits. They would try to tell a story well, not get a sure fire hot script. They would pick up a great script and make a movie around it. Not ask writers to make a comedy keeping pre-conceived stars in mind and then add silly gags to pad up the film. This is the bane of Hindi cinema. Average movie makers hogging up the attention of the financiers.

Bipasha Basu - scores a Goal in Golf

Looks like after movies Bipasha Basu seems to very interested in sports. After working in a football movie Goal (along with with boyfriend and costar John Abraham) and also being present at the Mumbai Marathon, the actress is now showing an interest in golf.

Bipasha, who has been voted the sexiest Asian, attended the Qatar Masters Golf Tournament in Doha over the weekend. Also present were a host of sports and movie stars such as former US sprinter Carl Lewis, former tennis player Anna Kournikova, Shilpa Shetty, Australian actress Natalie Imbruglia and Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.

Earlier I never liked Bipasha all that much. I mean I knew men drooled over her but she just didn't turn me on. But recently after she has a hair straightened I started finding her gorgeous. I dunno the reason. Now I find her smoking hot. I suppose it has some thing to do with her straight hair and her raunchy desi numbers in Omkara and No Entry. She always had a great figure, but I always ignored her. Remember the skin fit ad she had done for a reputed denim brand? I found it bad. Skinnny legs and an anorexic body. Not very Indian and very Un-Bipasha. Now her great figure seems very appealing. Check out the photo which was published on Rediff. Yes, she is covered up, but she does look edible.

One more Roshan in Bollywood....

Super star Hrithik's sister Sunaina will be making her debut in films. Not in the acting department, but as a producer. The senior Roshan is co-producing Krazzy 4 with her father Rakesh Roshan. That leaves only Hrithiks mother and wife left to join Bollywood. And if you count Suzanne's fashion designing for Hrithik then even that name can be struck off the list.

Krazzy 4 is a comedy-caper starring Arshad Warsi, Irrfan Khan, Rajpal Yadav and Suresh Menon as the whacko characters and Juhi Chawla plays a psychiatrist. Dia Mirza and Rajat Kapoor who is Juhi's husband in the film make up the rest of the star cast.

Hrithik who is having a relaxed year has the much awaited Jodhaa Akbar coming up and he had Dhoom 2 which was released a long time back.

Remember the time? Does Chandrachur Singh ring a bell?

Well if you can't place this name, let me refresh your memory. Chandrachur Singh was a promising actor from the Hindi heartland and I quite liked him. He seemed promising as I liked his diction, his dialogue delivery and his confidence. He was okay looking but seemed good enough to play the lead role thanks to his presentable looks. But it was his good acting and screen prescence that indicated he was here for a long haul.

Let me list his movies. He started with Tere Mere Sapne which was a ABCL presentation. If that isn't enough, Arshad Warsi was his co-star and the movie had a couple of fine numbers and a decent plot and good performances by all the lead actors. It was a hit and he on his way. He later did Maachis, Daag-The Fire (Sanjay Dutt), Kya Kehna and Josh (opposite Aishwarya Rai). So he wasn't a one hit wonder. yet his later roles were awful and he got sucked up in the quagmire of Bollywood and was not heard of later. Nice to know he is around and is keen on a longer innings.

He will star in a movie called Maruti Mera Dost to be produced by his brother Abhimanyu Singh who runs Contiloe Films. The film is a children's film and also stars child artiste from Cheeni Kum - Swini Khara.

Have Sanjay Dutt and Maanyata married secretly?

Sanjay Dutt has been usually very secretive about his love life. Even earlier during his much talked about relationship with Madhuri during the Khalnayak and Saajan days, he never came out in the open about that affair. The same continued for most relationships unless he went the whole hog and married the woman in question. Like Rhea Pillai for example.

So its a bit surprising that he has let it come out in the open that he may have married Maanyata. In an advertisement where he has wished his mentor and protector (remember the tit-for-tat deal between Sunil Dutt and Thackeray) Shiv Sena leader Balasaheb Thackeray on his 82nd birthday a couple of days ago ie Jan 23. At the bottom of the ad he has signed off with Sanjay Dutt and Maanyata Dutt. So we can assume that the star of Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and Lage Raho Munna Bhai has learnt his lessons in life and decided to settle down and they are man and wife.

One more success for Aamir

After the resounding success of his last movie (both critical and commercial) Taare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan has gone and added one more achievement to his list. That is a victory over smoking. He has been writing on his blog for some time now that he is trying to kick the butt but it hasn't happened so far.

But he has finally managed to kick the habit which is really commendable because I know of many friends who have tried umpteen times and have failed. They had tried all techniques, going turkey, reducing slowly, smoking on scheduled days- all ending in failure. In fact some guys ended smoking more than normal.

So it is great that a role model like Aamir has managed to defeat the cigarette. In fact Shahrukh has been in the news for his smoking in public places and for his attempts to give up smoking too. But he has failed and is keen to give it up as he has kids of an impressionable age at home. Also to show his fans and the public that such battles can be won.

Even the health ministry is after the stars as quite a few recent movies have shown stars smoking and this definitely glamorizes the act. So after having a great last two years with a lot of hits (Taare Zameen Par, Fanaa, Dil Chahta Hai) and rare flops (Mangal Pandey - The Rising)

Who is this new Sardarji on the block?

Check out this hunk Sardarji who is starring in Sameer Karnik's latest movie. If you can't recognise him, too bad for your Bollywood knowledge. It's one of the big stars from the Khan club.

Well if you still aren't sure who it is, let me tell you. It's Salman Khan who will be seen playing a Sardar for the first time in his upcoming film Heroes.

The movie Heroes also stars Sohail Khan, Vatsal Seth, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Preity Zinta, Amrita Arora, Riya Sen and Mithun Chakraborty. Whew! That is one compact starcast! Salman plays a military official in this road movie which is reportedly inspired by the cult classic The Motorcycle Diaries.

After Jaan-E-Mann and Salaam-E-Ishq this will be another movie where Salman will be sharing screen presence with quite a few stars.

The photo is just a photoshopped impression of how Salman would like like a Sardar.

Ashutosh's labor of love...Jodhaa Akbar

I was reading about the making of Jodhaa Akbar and I feel vindicated about the vision and meticulousness of Ashutosh Gowariker. Apparently the writer Haidar Ali had researched about the life and times of Akbar quite thoroughly with a Rajasthani historian. In spite of this Ashutosh later had the story checked for factual accuracy and authenticity. So we can be rest assured of seeing a beautiful and accurate movie without extra embellishments to juice up the era.

He is according to me one of the finest directors in our Industry. Not only because of Lagaan but because of Swades. I found Swades (Shahrukh Khan)so much more topical, contemporary and meaningful, if not a wee bit idealistic. But that movie made me a Gowariker fan for life. I am looking forward to Jodhaa Akbar and I will see it, even if the reviews are not too good; because I feel it will be a thoughtful bit of cinema. Bring it on Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai. :-)

Bollywood's lucky streak continues...Welcome and Taare...both big hits

It happened years ago, when Aamir and Sunny Deol went head to head with Dil and Ghayal. The trend was generally to avoid a clash as the hits ratio was as low as it is. But surprisingly both movies went on to become big hits. Later producers went back to the old system and avoided clashes as it was assumed that it would hurt both parties.

It was only rare cases of movies that released together. Aamir and Sunny did it again with Raja Hindustani and Gadar and again they went on to be huge hits. But that isn't the rule and the latest case of two big releases is OSO and Saawariya where OSO did well and Saawariya got a luke warm response. One case I felt where both films sufefred was Don (new- Shahrukh) and Jaanemann, where Jaanemann flopped big time and Don didn't do too well. Shahrukh and camp did manage to pass it off as a hit and even a sequel is being talked of, but the truth is the movie did not do as well as SRK's movies generally do. And if you consider that the music was superb (love Shaan number and the Aaj Ki Raat) and the story was stylishly told and had a unexpected twist and yet it didn't do great business.

Thats why its amazing that Welcome and Taare Zameen Par are both big hits. In fact Welcome got of to a scorcher of a start and has reportedly earned 110 crores so far. TZP was a steady starter and now has got immense word of mouth and great reviews. It is also touted as being possibly ending up as a bigger hit than the hype monster of Shahrukh Khan, Om Shanti Om, and thats some achievement. Bollywood is lucky and may the golden touch continue.

Darsheel new actor in tinseltown - in crackling form in Taare Zameen Par

The child actor Darsheel Safary who stars in Taare Zameen Par has made a confident and likeable attempt at playing the troubles Ishaant Awasthi. The film belongs to him and he is the principal character in the film and even Aamir Khan the big draw of the movie appears only at the half time of the movie. In fact if you take away Aamirs portion in the movie it appers an out and out Darsheel movie.

One never gets bored as the story is engrossing and audiences immediately sympathise with the child as he is impish, fragile and yet brilliant at the same time. But one needed a strong and firm character to play Ram Shankar Nikumbh and Aamir Khan plays it without a false step.

One realy can't be sure who to credit Darsheels acting to - the director, assitant directors, creative directors (Amole Gupte) or to the lad himself. It is a role of a lifetime and one wonders if such a role wil be written again and if it is, will it be enacted so wel again. And there is the factor that Darsheel is from a reputedly well off family, so this might be the last film in some time. We might have to wait till he has goten his studies and graduation out of the way.

Here's wishing him all the success in life and a thanks to him, Aamir and the team of Taare Zameen Par who enteratined us so splendidly.

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To get access to the latest and most popular Bollywood DVDs you can visit the Eros DVD mall. The latest DVD available is Partner the film starring Salman Khan, Govinda, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutta.

After Halla Bol, looking forward to U me aur Hum

After Halla Bol, Ajays next movie in the pipeline is U me aur Hum which also features his wife Kajol. This will be really interesting as they have come together earlier and have had good results to show for it. Pyar toh Hona hi tha and Ishq were big hits while a couple of others didn't do that well especially Raju Chacha.

I really liked Halla Bol as it was a well made movie. Though I think a lot of people including me were expecting a lot more from Raj Kumar Santoshi. The movie is not that gripping or engrossing like say for instance Ghayal or Damini. Not that Ajay is any less of a performer, but its just that the movie had great potential for being a classic.

Funny scenes were inserted in to scenes where the seriousness should have been maintained. For instance the conversations with the powerful politician. His side kick acts silly and this messes up the important scenes.

Even Vidya Balan has a much smaller role than her talent deserved.
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To get access to the latest and most popular Bollywood DVDs you can visit the Eros DVD Store. The latest DVD available is Heyy Babyy the film starring Vidya Balan, Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh and Fardeen Khan.

Ajay Devgun's Halla Bol is a pretty good flick

I watched Halla Bol yesterday and found it to be a pretty decent movie. Ajay has acted competently as usual and the movie is an accurate portrayal of the Hindi film industry also called Bollywood. It shows Ajay as a small town boy moving from the street theatre group of Pankaj Kapur and trying his luck in Bollywood. He strikes it big and then starts his metamorphis. From a middle class morally upright citizen to a weak, money seeking shallow superstar.

Vidya Balan plays his wife and she has a small role which she does competently. I really wanted to see more of her as would many of her fans. She is a beautiful woman in every sense of the word and is a fine actress. So it was kinda disappointing to see that she had a smallish role in the film.

If fact one can say after Ajay, it is Pankaj Kapur who has the meatiest role. In fact he also has a decent amout of the 'hit' dialogues as one calls it. Hats off to Ajay Devgun for doing such a role where unlike in the earlier era, the stars were insecure if a fellow actor got better lines or scenes. He is following the path taken by Akshay Kumar who is working in multi-starrers or ensemble movies and delivering hits due to a superior product being dished out.

I think this movie may cause a lot of controversy as it has taken a few potshots at the reigning biggies like Shahrukh Khan and Aamir. Watch it and find out!

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To get access to the latest and most popular Bollywood DVDs you can visit the Eros DVD Store. The latest DVD available is Manorama Six Feet Under the film starring Abhay Deol.

Rajnikanth to star in Shankar's Robot

It has been made official that Superstar Rajnikant has agreed to play the main role in Robot. The movie is supposed to be directed by hot-shot director Shankar. This is indeed big news as two of the biggest names in tamil cinema have come together and the result will have cine fans licks their chops in anticipation.

Check out this article in rediff for more details.

Shankar has been trying for years to start this project and announcing the casting of this film in the press for years now. He started with Kamal Haasan, but the Tamil star had a box office fiasco in Alavandaan and, also had creative differences with a director who is very firm about what he wants. Later Shahrukh Khan was supposed to do it. and the last star pencilled in was Aamir Khan.

And now finally it has been Rajnikanth who has been finalised, which will be good as the two are both from the same industry and this will help in the smooth production of the movie.

Here's looking for a lively Robot from Shankar and Rajnikanth, the Boss.

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How many guys have seen Johnny Gaddar?

Hey! I was recently watching Johnny Gaddar at home and found it to be quite a good movie. The main lead (or young hero), Neil Mukesh is quite decent, but needs to tighten up on his acting. He is also very fair. Almost alabaster. Go out in the sun dude and get some Vitamin D. Right now you look like you stay cooped up in a freezer all day.

Well the movie was pacy, well shot and interesting. I think multi-star or ensemble casts are here to stay. The producers are ensured that the audience comes in seeing multiple stars for the price of one and the stars are more secure in sharing the blame if the movie flops. Rimi Sen looks hot as usual. I did miss the part of the start and also bits in between (channel surfing is a weakness). So I need to see the entire movie in one go to have a fairer idea of of the movie is in an entirety. Another movie that has got good publicity is Manorama - Six feet Under. And a couple of stories of Dus Kahaniyaan are supposed to be good, especially the Rice Plate.

One disappointing movie is Buddha Mar Gaya which inspite of good stars didn't too that well.

Waiting for Sunday!!!!

The advertising schedules for movies must be longer than earlier now, because I noticed that Sunday the movie has been on air for some time now. But the movie has not been released yet. What I am trying to say is that the producers are releasing their promos and trailers and the rest of the marketing material even earlier than usual.

Of course Om Shanti Om (OSO) and Saawariya were a bit unique due to the cat fight the makers of the two movies got into. But nevertheless it is obvious the marketing cycles of movies have increased drastically and so have the budgets. That means that even though movies are a lucrative business they are forking out that little just to ensure that their movie is in the public eye.

Anyway Sunday is scheduled for Jan 25 according to the official Sunday website. So will watch it and let you guys know. I am also supposed to see Bombay to Bangkok (if I get the tickets...i love freebies), so will give you the dope on that one too. Ciao.

I like the indie films like Bheja Fry coming out, which allow newer fresher stars to shine on the big screen.