Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Muscat Festival: Shahrukh Khan and Lara Dutta participating in it!

Muscat Festival: Shahrukh Khan and Lara Dutta participating in it!: A slew of events including a fashion show, a cycle race, extreme sailing championship and food festivals are slated for the Muscat Festival which opens in the capital of Sultanate of Oman Jan 27-Feb 24 with Bollywood names like Shahrukh Khan and Lara Dutta participating in it, top officials said here Monday.

"While singer Sonu Niigaam and actress Lara Dutta will perform at the fest Feb 10, superstar Shahrukh Khan will have a stage-show there Feb 17,” Salim Bin Adey Al-Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotion, Sultanate of Oman, told media persons here this afternoon.

Oman also plans to woo Indian filmmakers to consider the country as a shooting locale as Bollywood movies are very popular there and Shahrukh also commands a huge fan following.

“Film tourism is a growing phenomenon worldwide. We realise the importance and the reach of the Indian film industry and plan to encourage Indian producers and studios to film in Oman,” added Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative of Sultanate of Oman.

Hoping to lure over two million visitors from India and elsewhere, the Muscat Festival will have Oman’s Food Festival (Feb 3-17), Muscat Fashion Week (Feb 22-24), Tour of Oman cycle race (Feb 15-20), and Extreme Sailing World Championships (Feb 20-24), besides many other events.

Oman soon expects to claim a big slice of the booming meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) business by setting up a world-class conference facility.

Spread over two-million-square-metres, the 'Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre’ will boast of a 3,000 seat Convention Centre, four hotels and serviced apartments supported by a major regional retail facility, just four kilometres from Muscat Airport, informed Khalid Al Zadjali, Director of Tourism Events, Ministry of Tourism, Oman.

Targeting 12 million Indian visitors to Oman by 2020, Al Zadjali said that the country is a safe destination where the state income goes back to the people in the form of free education, free healthcare and almost no taxes to pay.

Bollywood Stars at Sameer Soni-Neelam’s wedding reception Pictures

Bollywood Stars at Sameer Soni-Neelam’s wedding reception Pictures: Who's attend the reception and who's how looking gorgeous? Checkout here:
Bollywood Stars at Sameer Soni-Neelam’s wedding reception Pictures

Sameer Soni-Neelam’s wedding reception Pictures: Shahrukh Khan-Aishwarya Rai as guest

Sameer Soni-Neelam’s wedding reception Pictures: Shahrukh Khan-Aishwarya Rai as guest: Look who arrived looking gorgeous as ever at Neelam and Sameer Soni’s wedding reception? It’s Aishwarya Rai. The lady wore a dark pink back-less salwar suit and was without her dear hubby. While others who added Bollywood zing to the reception were Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee.
Sameer Soni-Neelam’s wedding reception Pictures Shahrukh Khan-Aishwarya Rai as guest

Deepika Padukone have no more time to work with Rajinikanth!

Deepika Padukone have no more time to work with Rajinikanth!: One of the most sought after actresses in Bollywood has been approached for a film with the superstar Rajinikanth. But Deepika Padukone doesn’t have dates to work with Rajini.
What? Yes, the actress is in a fix as her date-diary is full till 2012. And since Deepika can’t let the rare opportunity of acting opposite Rajini Sir go by unclinched, she is reported to be making room in her date diary especially for the sultan of style from the south.

As a source is quoted by a tabloid, “Unfortunately, the producers of the film want to take it on floors this year and Deepika has her hands full…Now she is trying hard to adjust her dates so she doesn't miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with Rajnikanth.”

Deepika is currently busy with the multi-starrer Desi Boys, Aarakshan which also stars Amitabh Bachchan and a film opposite Saif Ali Khan to be directed by the maverick Being Cyrus fame director Homi Adajania.

Thus someone has kept Rajnikant waiting. This film will also see Rajini in double roles like Robot.

Kareena Kapoor in a new ‘Chhamak Challo’ avatar in ‘Ra.One’

Kareena Kapoor in a new ‘Chhamak Challo’ avatar in ‘Ra.One’: We would say Chhamak Challo is her new 'item' name. Yes, after Sheila and Munni, get ready for Chhamak Challo! Kareena Kapoor’s new item song is from her first superhero, sci-fi film Ra.One where she is paired opposite Shahrukh Khan.
Kareena’s Chhamak Challo avatar required her to look toned and fit. The actress who is more into yoga than cardio went for a strict diet to get into shape with the help of her dietician Rujuta Diwekar. In fact, Kareena maintained the diet even when she was in Vegas shooting with Imran Khan for Short Term Shaadi.

See her look in the song; it’s more like a sexy Marathi mulgi reminding one of Madhuri Dixit’s look in superhit song Humko Aaj Kal Hai Intezar. If Chhamak Challo has beats by Akon to make you go numb, the dance moves are choreographed by the ace dancer Ganesh Hegde. Kareena herself claims that she has never done something like this.

Bipasha Basu's dream to meet James Franco

Bipasha Basu's dream to meet James Franco: James Franco, the star of Danny Boyle’s latest film ‘127 Hours’ has caught the fancy of Bipasha Basu.

We all know that Bipasha Basu has had a thing for Brad Pitt, the man who’d leave her dreamy-eyed. Now, Pitt has been replaced by Franco.

“Tonight I want to watch ‘127 Hours’! James Franco is replacing Brad Pitt in my life! Tremendous actor and truly a Gorgeous man! My dream is 2 meet him:)” Bipasha wrote on her Twitter page.

Bipasha is presently in New Zealand to shoot for Abbas-Mustan’s thriller ‘Players’ which is an adaptation of the Hollywood thriller ‘The Italian Job’.

Abhishek Bachchan Birthday: celebrate with the sheep in New Zealand!

Abhishek Bachchan Birthday: celebrate with the sheep in New Zealand!: Once again, Abhishek Bachchan would be busy shooting on his birthday this year. It’s a ritual Abhi has followed every year.

Come February 5, Abhishek turns a year older. But on this special day, he won’t be with his family in Mumbai but shooting for Abbas-Mustan’s film Players in New Zealand.

Talking about his birthday, Abhishek jokes: “I know I am spending my birthday with the sheep in New Zealand.” There is rumour that his dear wife Aishwarya Rai plans to fly to NZ to surprise Abhi on his birthday.

But Abhishek says he won’t be surprised because he is in the know of Ash’s day-to-day movements.

Shahrukh Khan to get a pair of chappals with love from Pakistan

Shahrukh Khan to get a pair of chappals with love from Pakistan: A Pakistani cousin of Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan wants to gift the actor a pair of chappals.

Noor Jehan, who is the daughter of Shah Rukh’s paternal uncle, is eager to meet the star after a long gap of 13 years. If she indeed meets SRK, she’s got a special gift for him: a pair of chappals.

Why chappals, of all things in the world.

Noor Jehan reveals it’s only on SRK’s request.

“During an earlier visit to Peshawar, Shah Rukh bought a pair of chappals that he used for about seven years,” Noor Jehan is quoted as saying. The longevity of the footwear apparently prompted SRK to ask Noor Jehan’s brother Mansoor to bring another pair. When Mansoor visited India in 2001, he brought three pairs for SRK.

Now, Noor Jehan too has brought chappals for SRK.

She’ll be in Delhi in the first week of Feb and then approach SRK.

Box Office Report:‘Dhobi Ghat’ opens good in first weekend

Box Office Report:‘Dhobi Ghat’ opens good in first weekend: Now audiences are assured that if it’s an Aamir Khan production it’s worth watching. Though the Kiran Rao-directed Dhobi Ghat was not for the masses, the movie has got it takers and is doing unexpectedly well in the metros. This small-budget film has collected around Rs 8.75 crore over its first weekend.
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Dhobi Ghat with sterling performances from its cast and touching story-line is made at the cost of mere Rs 5 crore, but its weekend breakdown tells a winning story. The approx collections were Rs 2.85 crore approx on Friday, Rs 3.20 crore approx on Saturday and Rs 2.70 crore approx on Sunday.

Coming to Yamla Pagla Deewana, the movie is going great guns in the north. As per reports, it had a great second weekend with business of around Rs 8.50 crore approx. This takes the film’s collection to Rs 43 crore plus in ten days.

Rani Mukherjee and Vidya Balan continue to woo the audience with their No One Killed Jessica. The movie is running in its third week and had a decent second weekend of around Rs 6.25 crore approx which takes its two week business to Rs 25.75 crore. It is now declared a semi hit.

As every release is performing well at the BO, including Gul Panag’s Turning 30, January has begin the year in a good note for Bollywood.

Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan: Got ‘Power Couple’ Title

Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan: Got ‘Power Couple’ Title: Bollywood’s golden couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan have been bestowed with the recognition of ‘Power Couple’ by the esteemed Stardust magazine. The mega stars got the title recently at the launch of the latest issue of Stardust in Delhi. Abhishek and Aishwarya graced the occasion as they lifted the veil off to reveal their own photos as the cover page.

Abhishek and Aishwarya tied the nuptial knot around 4 years back on 20th April, 2007. Since then, the two have had an amazing off-screen chemistry and they always look head over heels in love with each other whenever they are spotted together.

The couple is hugely popular amidst the Bollywood movie lovers. They are big stars and have carved out a niche for themselves in the film industry. Aishwarya Rai leapt into fame after winning the Miss World pageant in 1994. Since then there has been no looking back as she climbed the ladders of fame via her big ticket to the B-town.

Abhishek Bachchan made his Bollywood debut some 10 years back with Refugee. But over the years, he and Aishwarya have starred in a plethora of films. Though the two look spectacular together off-screen, it is ironic that their on-screen chemistry has been mostly ‘thanda’ (cold).

However, in Mani Ratnam’s Guru they, indeed, looked fabulous together and the camaraderie was extremely great. Abhishek and Aishwarya add star value to the Bachchan family that is led by Amitabh Bachchan considered as one of the greatest actors of all times.

Money, popularity, a sea of fan following, films, endorsements, good looks and repute, they have got it all. Hence, it’s no doubt that Abhi-Ash do deserve the ‘Power Couple’ title.

'Seeta Aur Geeta' Remake: Akshay Kumar to play with Katrina Kaif!

'Seeta Aur Geeta' Remake: Akshay Kumar to play with Katrina Kaif!: Akshay Kumar the real action star of Bollywood may have seen quite a pitfall in his recent releases like Action Replay and Tees Maar Khan which had both bombed at the box office but that has not deterred his popularity amongst film makers.

This star is soon going to be seen in a very different genre film titled Patiala House where he plays the role of a cricketer who has to fight out his way with his family to achieve his dreams.

However, his retro look is yet again going to be explored as reports are that Akshay has been confirmed to star in the remake of Seeta Aur Geeta, a film which was one of the biggest blockbusters of the seventies. The original film had Hema Malini in a double role. The two male protagonists were played by Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar where Dharmendra gets attracted to the village belle and Sanjeev Kumar to the city bred gal.

The remake is to have Akshay Kumar sashaying the role of Dharmedra and Katrina Kaif to be the female protagonist. The other star has not yet been finalized suggest reports.

Seems like this year is going to see a lot of Akshay Kumar on the silver screen and that too if he’s paired opposite the hot Katrina again maybe the magic of their earlier films together like Namaste London, Welcome, Singh Is Kingg etc might be back and the remake of Seeta Aur Geeta becomes a bigger hit than the original. At least their fans hope it does. Keep an eye on more of this right here.

Salman Khan to play a negative role in Mr. India Sequel

Salman Khan to play a negative role in Mr. India Sequel: It has been a long time when the rumour about the sequel of 1987 hit film Mr India started. But nothing solid has come out of these gossips yet. This has irritated not only the fans but also the star of the film Anil Kapoor, who is still remembered for that role played by him.

Recently, the 51 year old star said that the project should be started as soon as possible rather than talking about it so much. Anil added that people have talked a lot about the sequel about the film and there is nothing left to talk about it now. He said that the project is yet blank and it should be started now.

However, the latest reports suggest a new development about the sequel that indicates the Bollywood superstar Salman Khan is expected to play villain in this film. It seems that the negative effect of his character in Dabangg has made him a hot choice for the role of villain. People loved his Chulbul Pandey act, which was quite mischievous.

On the other hand, Anil will return with his ‘bhabhi’ Sri Devi as the lead pair, which rocked the industry in the 1980s. Anil’s elder brother and Sri Devi’s husband Boney Kapoor is all set take the producer’s seat. Boney has plans to shoot the sequel in 3D.

If the star casts remain the same and it comes out in 3D, we can expect yet another hit from Anil Kapoor and Sri Devi!

Kirti Malhotra Interviews: I never thought of acting

Kirti Malhotra Interviews: I never thought of acting: Her three-year long association with the Indian film industry as a costume designer never led her to face the camera, but Kirti Malhotra couldn’t say no when she was handpicked by Kiran Rao to play an important role in her directorial debut “Dhobi Ghat”.

"I never thought of acting. When the question came whether I want to do this film or not, it was clear to me it’s the kind of film I would always go and watch. I think I was really, really lucky in this case. There are newcomers every day in the masala films and you rather be in a film that stands out than be lost in the crowd with all these films,” Kirti told us.

Kirti is not the absolute fresh face as she’s done costume designing for “Sarkar Raaj”, the dream song in “Delhi 6", “Action Replayy” and recently “No Problem”. “The acting kept happening in between. And then there was dubbing, but I continued with my costume designing until last month,” said Kirti.

Kirti has portrayed the character of Yasmin in “Dhobi Ghat”.

Though “Dhobi Ghat” is a film where emotions are expressed more through action, Yasmin has most dialogues in the film, said Kirti.

“Yasmin is one character who has a lot to speak. It’s about her perspective of the city and people and how they have affected her. The whole character graph you get only through her voice,” she said.

Director Kiran Rao also identifies most with Yasmin’s character. Kirti said, “I think Yasmin is her closest character. Other than Munna (Prateek Babbar), which is one author-backed character. She knows Yasmin so well that when we were acting out the scenes, she knew how Yasmin would say a line, how she would look, how she would pause between two sentences. In fact, I didn’t have to do much.”

Apart from Kirti and Prateek, Monica Dogra (Shai) plays an Indian-American banker who is in the city for a photographic expedition.

Aamir Khan, who is producing the film, played the character of Arun, a seclusive modern art painter, but he was yet to come on board when Kirti was selected for the film.

“When I got on to the film, Aamir wasn’t in the film yet. He was, I think, still in the process of convincing Kiran that he can play a role. When I got on to the film it was going to be the small film festival kind of film.

“When Aamir came into the film my reaction was ‘Oh my God, now everyone is going to watch the film’ because immediately your audience space becomes that huge,” said Kirti.

Talking about her experience with Aamir, she said, “Nothing can prepare you best when you are acting in front of Aamir Khan. He is literally an artiste within acting. When we were doing the reading, he acted out his first scene in three different ways, just to give options to Kiran how differently the scene could be done. I felt that my voice even wouldn’t come out while shooting the film.

“He is super intelligent, very sharp, very perceptive; so I think once you get over the fact that superstar Aamir Khan is in front of you and be normal, he is very normal.”

Asked if the feeling of being an actor has sunk in her by now, she said, “Of course in the Toronto International Film Festival I had the whole fairy tale experience. But in the last three weeks, when the promos have started coming out, there are posters around, friends and parents have started talking about it, it has started sinking in.”

Kirti isn’t sure which way her acting career would head after “Dhobi Ghat” is released.

“Since I have been given this opportunity on a golden platter, I want to see how it goes with the reaction of the film, my performance and everything and then I can pursue this. Acting career can go anyway. The kind of film this is it could go to crossover films. I am not too sure about the typical masala film, may be one I have to do in my life,” said Kirti.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Shahid Kapoor to drive at Priyanka Chopra's home

Shahid Kapoor to drive at Priyanka Chopra's home: Now what is this if not love? When Shahid Kapoor came to know of good friend Priyanka Chopra’s ill health on Saturday, he left everything aside to drive her back home.

What took everyone by surprise was that the same day Shahid arrived in Mumbai from Chandigarh, where he was shooting for his father’s film Mausam. When he came to know about PC’s poor health he went straight from the airport to the studio where she was shooting.

As per sources, Priyanka had a hectic day; she was busy promoting 7 Khoon Maaf and also had to join the Don 2 cast and crew for the shooting of the film. Shahrukh Khan was waiting for her on the sets. But in the meantime she ate something that upset her stomach, a probable case of food poisoning.

Learning this, Shahid came to the studio and waited for Priyanka until she finished her shoot to accompany her back home. “After the shoot completed for the day, the couple left together in Shahid’s car,” the source is quoted as saying.

A friend in need is a friend indeed!

Gracy Singh latest Pictures in Red Saari at Vaishnovi Kala Kshetra Dance Event

Gracy Singh latest Pictures in Red Saari at Vaishnovi Kala Kshetra Dance Event:
Gracy Singh latest Pictures in Red Saari at Vaishnovi Kala Kshetra Dance Event:
Gracy Singh latest Pictures in Red Saari at Vaishnovi Kala Kshetra Dance Event

'Dhobi Ghat' movie Cast with Kiran Rao Judge a Photo Exhibition at PVR - Pics

'Dhobi Ghat' movie Cast with Kiran Rao Judge a Photo Exhibition at PVR - Pics:
'Dhobi Ghat' movie Cast with Kiran Rao Judge a Photo Exhibition at PVR:
'Dhobi Ghat' movie Cast with Kiran Rao Judge a Photo Exhibition at PVR - Pics