Subhash Ghai reveals Mallika Sherawat knows marketing

Mumbai: At Cannes, if you are somebody or not, you are bound to meet a lot of new people with lots of energyand get a lot of invitations for their film screenings or their evening cocktail parties small or big.

(From L to R) Abhishek Bachchan, Subhash Ghai, Vrinda Rai and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

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So my hand is full of invitations from students of various film schools from various countries to see their short films. I love the word ‘student’ and a person who introduces himself as a student of cinema. He is full of slurring confidence and great excitement looking at you with hope.

“Sir, please don’t miss this chance to see my film. You may never it see again!’’

We were at the section of ‘Short Film Corner’ at main Palais du festival. There was a very interesting short film Piano Man made by a British student. Then we moved on to greet our Indian fellows having exhibition stalls.

For the party for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s new movie, I dashed into Carlton hotel crossing through an attractive but violent hoarding of the film and met the actor with the same warmth and affection as we have shared since Taal. I also got a warm hug from Abhishek, though he was in a hurry for his red carpet walk.

At the Indian Pavilion, I met Mallika Sherawat and posed again for photographs for a battery of paparazzi. I admire Malika — she knows marketing to the core. She knows exactly when, with whom and how to be photographed.

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Salman Khan likely to paint Sonakshi

Arbaaz Khan’s Dabanng is in the news with Salman Khan getting injured while shooting a complex action sequence and surviving on painkillers, and with the new girl on the block Sonakshi Sinha, the lovely daughter of Shatrugan Sinha, making her debut with this film. Salman is so much in awe of the actress that he might just paint her on the canvas.

Sources said that Salman and Sonakshi are having agala time shooting together. Salman, who is popularly known to get along with a selected bunch of people in the industry, has this debutante on his list of friends now. It seems that they get along like a house on fire and have a great chemistry off the sets too. Our sources have also found out that Khan had a great time shooting for a rain dance sequence with the pretty lass and is also going all out promoting her on social networking sites.

It is no news that Salman is a good painter, ashis work has got many industry persons let their eyebrow up. He has painted Aamir Khan and Asin Thottumkal in the past and now Sonakshi is said to be the next probability.

Salman must be really fond of this lovely actress to have decided to put her on canvas. Whether genuine or a publicity stunt for the film, it is definitely getting the audiences talking. One of Salman’s painitng fetched him a startling 2.5 crore at an auction, which was for a good cause. But according to him his paintings are special and a prized possession to him which depict his state of mind.
Dabanng will be releasing in September this year and Salman and Sonakshi’s chemistry will be something to look out for.
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Ajay Devgn caught smoking in public

A tobacco watchdog organisation Wednesday asked the health authorities to fine Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn for smoking in public while on the sets of his film " Golmaal 3 " in Goa.

In a complaint to the state tobacco control cell and the union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) general secretary Shekhar Salkar has said that Devgn, who was fined once for smoking in public in Chandigarh, deserved more stringent action as he was becoming a habitual offender of the 'no smoking in public' rule.

"This being the second violation by Ajay Devgn, we feel that the punishment given to such type of habitual law breakers is too meagre. In view of this, we strongly feel that the penalty under section 4 of the COPTA (Control of Tobacco Products Act) law for both one who violates the law and one who allows violating the law should be increased," Salkar said.

Local newspaper flashed photographs of Devgn smoking on the sets of " Golmaal 3 " Tuesday with the film's director Rohit Shetty standing an arm's length away.

The general secretary of NOTE, which has in the past dragged Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to court for directly or indirectly promoting smoking, has also said that habitual violators of the COPTA law should be jailed.

"Fine for the first offence should be Rs.500, for the second it should be raised to Rs.5,000 and for the third offence an imprisonment for a period of 6 months, in addition to a fine of Rs.5,000 should be imposed," Salkar said.

Devgn is the third Bollywood actor to be caught smoking in Goa this month.

Earlier this month, actors Tusshar Kapoor and Arshad Warsi were hauled up by NOTE for smoking during a film shoot in Margao, 35 km from here.
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Indian magic on the international red carpet

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Tanushree Ghosh in Mumbai

Flmmaker Anurag Kashyap remembers the time when he had heard Vikramaditya Motwane's (inset) film script.

"I laughed at him and told him that no one except me would produce his film," says Kashyap. The prolific filmmaker, Kashyap -- whose films are often branded 'unconventional' -- worked with Motwane on Deepa Mehta's film Water.

Kashyap was the dialogue writer while Motwane was the choreographer. Later, when Kashyap was shooting for his film Paanch, he opted for Motwane.

Says Kashyap, "I'd loved the way Vikramaditya had shot the Aankhon ki gustakhiyan song in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and opted for him in my film."

While Kashyap saw potential in Motwane's script, film production company UTV Motion Pictures backed it too. A film about a teenager who returns from his boarding school to Jamshedpur, his hometown, after a hiatus of eight years, Udaan looks at the relationship of this boy with his father. In Motwane's own words, it's about teenage angst and the anguish of a boy who is growing up in an emotional vacuum.

And while Motwane admits that "my biggest challenge has been raising money for this film", Udaan has been grabbing headlines because of its official selection for the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.

"I'm excited and nervous," says Motwane. Udaan, for the record, has been featured in the 'Un Certain Regard' category after 16 years and is the first Hindi film to be officially selected in this category. The first film screened in the same category was Swaham (1994), a Malayalam film.

"The film is for an Indian audience and while we're awaiting its release in India, getting global recognition through film fests is an icing on the cake," adds Motwane.

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Technology will change the way people watch movies: Shammi Kapoor

Mumbai: The day is not far when people, aided by technology, will be able to watch new movies directly at home and avoid visiting a theatre, yesteryear's Bollywood star Shammi Kapoor has said.

The 78-year-old netizen-actor is the founder and chairman of Internet Users Community of India (IUCI) and has played a major role in setting up Internet organisations like Ethical Hackers Association."With technology evolving rapidly, I feel two generations down the line people can see movies directly at home. They can plug into any movie by way of putting some coins over phone, download it and then watch it," Kapoor, one of the leading Internet users in B-town, told PTI here.

The veteran actor, who maintains a website dedicated to the 'Kapoor family', said, it feels great to watch 3D films like Avatar. "It is an excellent movie, the way technology has been used, its mind blowing...superb... excellent."

Sharing his experience with Internet, Kapoor said, "Even before Internet came to India I had made use of it. I knew about e-mails, online shopping and other things. We can see technology is useful in many ways - with just a click we can get so many things done in no time."

The legendary actor will be soon seen sharing special moments with fans through a video blog in a series of short 2-3 minute web episodes titled 'Shammi Kapoor Unplugged'.

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SRK-Amitabh play hide n seek on Twitter?

The Shehenshah of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan just made his foray into the Twitter land and in less than two days time has already gathered about 44,000 followers!

In no time the legendary actor is bound to make it in the list of the top Indian celebs to have maximum number of followers on Twitter for sure, along with the likes of King Khan – Shah Rukh and master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.

Fans of both Shah Rukh and Amitabh are although waiting for that iconic moment when the two will interact on Twitter and for the first time the aam junta could get to be a part of their conversation!

Where Amitabh chose to say a hello to his son Abhishek and Sachin Tendulkar the moment he entered Twitter, SRK is continuing to give his usual family and work updates on the site without much on Big B when the rest of the Bollywood is busy welcoming the senior actor. The two are yet to interact, not that Twitter is the only medium for them to but the alleged past rumours of a rift between the two is what is building up our curiosity.

SRK’s frequent tweets to Abhishek too are making us wonder what’s keeping the king from pinging the shehenshah and vice versa...

Shah Rukh’s close friend Karan Johar too has welcomed Big B and so has the entire Bollywood fraternity barring Salman Khan who is although comparatively newer to Twitter than SRK. Abhishek too has stayed away from following Salman on the site.
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Shah Rukh Khan's 'knee'dling worries

Mumbai: Actor Shah Rukh Khan is apparently struggling very hard with his injuries while shooting for his next superhero movie. The actual list of his injuries is already huge and on top of that he has consistently aggravated every weak point of his body over the past few years by pushing the envelope.

Shah Rukh Khan

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A source says, “His first injury was the hairline fracture on his knee cap that he sustained while shooting for Koyla in 1995-96. After that Shah Rukh tore a shoulder muscle while shooting for Dulha Mil Gaya for which his shoulder was strapped for more a month. Then it was his back injury, a slip disc, that he sustained while shooting Main Hoon Na in 2004 for which he had to undergo a minor surgery.”

Due to these injuries it’s becoming a difficult task for Shah Rukh to maintain his six-pack abs. His trainer Prashant Samant says, “I don’t think there’s anything that can stop Shah Rukh. When he wants to do something, he goes ahead and does it. I do have to take extreme care about the fact that he has a few injuries.”

Prashant relies more on cardio exercises for Shah Rukh rather than weights.

"When you are injured, you can’t lift weights. That might rule out a lot of exercises but it is still possible to maintain a six-pack,” the source says, adding SRK will go in for one more rehabilitation programme in the US soon. “He won’t go into quick-fix solutions anymore and he will be undergoing one more treatment programme in the US.”

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Hrithik: Gym Barabar gym!

By Hindustan Times

Mumbai, May 17 -- Salaam my sizzling shammi kababs! How goes it with you today? I know the be-imaan mausam is making everyone feel down, so rise forth and shine, for I have some really chatpati news to brighten up your Monday morning. The blues can well be laid to rest. Read on my sweetums...

For starters, my jasoos from Juhu is telling me that quite a few stars from tinsel town are glad that Hrithik Roshan is not in town. Yeah, I do know that he's gone for the premieres of his Kites in US and UK. But that isn't cause of their joy, insists my birdy. So, what is?

I'm told that these sitaras are glad that now they can expect his trainer Satyajit Chaurasia to give them ample time and attention. Seems the celebrity fitness specialist was too busy helping the Duggu dude get in enviable shape. Yeah, the actor had put on a few kilos for his character in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish... and after the shooting for the film wrapped up, he couldn't wait for long to shed the excess baggage.

And since he starts shooting for Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara early next month, he doesn't have much time to lose unwanted kilos and regain his sculpted physique.

That's why he's believed to have told Satya to help him work hard, as a result of which the trainer hasn't been able to give any time or attention to any of his other starry clients, from Zayed Khan and Esha Deol to Jackky Bhagnani and Gautam Gupta. Yeah, I know what you're thinking but I'm in a rather magnanimous mood today. Tee hee.

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'Kaho Naa...' to 'Kites': Hrithik reminisces in the US

New York, May 16 (IANS) It was an emotional moment for actor Hrithik Roshan, as he witnessed a screening of his debut movie "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai" here and talked about his decade-long Bollywood journey leading to super stardom.

The 36-year-old, who is on a promotional tour for his upcoming international love story "Kites" in the US, was here to present a special screening of his launch vehicle at the BIG Cinemas Manhattan in Midtown East to an audience of competition winners.

Hrithik shared with the audiences the anecdotes from his early days as an actor and his overnight rise to stardom after "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai" in 2000. He also introduced "Kites" where he has teamed up with Mexican actress Barbara Mori.

A love story about an Indian man's affair with a Latin woman and their predicament as they don't understand each other's language, "Kites" is about their thrilling journey filled with precious moments and unexpected betrayal.

Produced by his father Rakesh Roshan and directed by Anurag Basu, "Kites" is being distributed and marketed by Reliance BIG Pictures.

"Kites" is being premiered Sunday at the AMC Empire theatre at Times Square.

The Hindi version of the film is releasing worldwide May 21 and the English version titled "Kites: The Remix" and edited as per western sensibilities by Hollywood director Brett Ratner will hit the screens May 28.

"We are pleased to have Hrithik Roshan join us at BIG Cinemas Manhattan, giving us an opportunity to introduce him to our audiences," said Anil Arjun, CEO of Reliance MediaWorks, that operates the BIG Cinemas brand of cinema-chain worldwide, at the event.

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Poll Of The Day: Flop Actress Of Bollywood

• Amisha Patel
• Esha Deol
• Riya sen
• Namrata Shirodkar
• Celina Jaitley
• Kim Sharma

Who according to you is the most FLOP ACTRESS, and shouldn’t have entered Bollywood????

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Salman’s way to beat the summer heat

Our sweet Sallu is unique in his own way, be it his style or acting or anything.

Recently he was spotted sitting outside his van with Sonakshi Sinha, his staff and few other friends sipping on hot cup of tea with.

While the whole crew was sipping on lemonade and wiping their brows because of scorching heat, our Salman dear really looked super cool.

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Vidya Balan wins the ‘Smita Patil Memorial’ Award

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan, will be honoured with the ‘Smita Patil Memorial’ Award for her “outstanding” contribution to the film industry.

Priyadarshini Academy chairman Nanik Rupani said,

“Vidya Balan is an excellent actress. She is modern yet contemporary and has done decent and powerful roles. Her performance in ‘Paa’ was outstanding. Our jury has chosen her for the Smita Patil Award for her outstanding contribution to the filmindustry,”.

Priyadarshini Academy is an NGO which is engaged in socio-cultural and educational activities and has been holding the biennial award function since its inception in 1984.

In 2008, Preity Zinta was felicitated with the award. Other celebrities like Yash Chopra, Karisma Kapoor, Urmila Matondkar, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit and Kareena Kapoor have also been bestowed with this award.

The ceremony will be held on Sep 19 in Oberoi Hotel, Mumbai.

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Barbara Mori and her son to hit the big screen soon!!

Barbara Mori’s 12-year-old son Sergio will soon hit the big screen in a Mexican film, with his mommy.
The movie is being produced by Barbara’s production house.

After having shot her first Bollywood movie Kites, the actress now plans to concentrate on her regional films, rather than on Hollywood .

A source reveals that, Sergio is quite excited to face the camera.

“Sergio has been on the movie sets from quite an early age. He is looking forward to shooting with his mom.”

Sergio plays Barbara’s son in the film. The movie is about a single mother finding love, late in her life. It will showcase the mother-son bond between the two.

However, this isn’t the first time Barbara and Sergio will be facing the cameratogether. The two have previously done a commercial shoot for the global ‘Got Milk’ campaign.

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Mallika Sherawat at the ‘Hisss’ Photocall in Cannes !!

Actress Mallika Sherawat poses with a snake at the ‘Hisss’ Photocall at the Salon Martha Barriere at Majestic Hotel during the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival.

Mallika Sherawat, who plays a snake-woman in her forthcoming film, brought real snakes to unveil the film at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.

Mallika wrote on her Twitter page,
“All the Sssnakes have just entered the Majestic Hotel in Cannes! Hissstory is being made:),”

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Is Deepika being a competition to Sonam??

Bollywood’s cutie, Sonam Kapoor, has declared that she will never work with Deepika because of some differences, and she has no qualms about it.

Sonam looks really excited these days about her new look in ‘I Hate Luv Stories’. She also has some more solo projects in her kitty like, ‘Ayesha’ with Abhay Deol, ‘Come on Pappu’ with Akshay Kumar, and ‘Thank You’, again with Akshay Kumar and Abhay Deol.

The fact is that, though Sonam and Deepika made their debut almost at the same time, Deepika definitely tasted success with Om Shanti Om much earlier than Sonam.

Can this be the reason, why Sonam is feeling insecure? Or is it Ranbir’s link-up with Deepika and media taking more interest in their love life giving Sonam sleepless nights??

Whatever be the reason, we wish Sonam success for all her up coming flicks.

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Bipasha poses strong threat to Aishwarya!

By now it must be known that Mani Ratnam’s flick, ‘Raavana’ had Bipasha Basu for doing the role of Mandodhari. For this role, bips had all her dress fittings, rehearsals and everything almost ready. But to everyone’s surprise, a source informs that the bombshell is nearly out of the movie now.

According to the official reason given, it was the length of Mandodhari’s character that was taking a lot space in the movie.
On the contrary, an insider claims that Bipasha was a threat to the other actresses like Aishwarya and Priya Mani in the film.

Director Mani’s spokesperson has explained that the filmmaker will ensure that justice is done to Bipasha’s role.

In response, an upset Bipasha says,

“I am sad…but it’s better than having my role chopped or totally edited… when lot of effort had gone to work out the role for this guest character. “Can’t wait for the filmto release.

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