Mumbai: This Gandhi Jayanti, one of the most action packed films produced by Bollywood- Bang Bang - featuring Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, is scheduled to hit the silverscreen.

Directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Fox Star Studio, ‘ Bang Bang’ features two of the most good looking actors in the Tinsel Town.

Katrina Kaif and Hrithik Roshan are all set to set the big screen ablaze with their sizzling hot chemistry in the film that promises to “fly bullets”. The two have earlier worked in Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, a film that saw them creating magic on screen.

The film is an official remake of Hollywood actioner ‘Knight and Day’ with the very sexy Tom Cruise and super gorgeous Cameron Diaz on board. It will indeed to be interesting to see how the Indian filmmaker treats the plot.

Slated to release this Thursday, ‘Bang Bang’ will release in Tamil and Telugu too, thereby reaching out to the audiences from South India.

The film has been shot at various locations which include Thailand, Abu Dhabi, Greece, India, Czech Republic and various other places. The cinematographers- Vikas Sivaraman and Sunil Patel must have certainly made the most of the scenic beauty of these locations thereby elevating the demands put forth by the script. Moreover, seldom does a Bollywood film solely focus on the action sequences. The film may be a perfect treat to all those who love watching actioners.

The music of the film is already a massive hit. The songs picturised on the lead pair enhances their onscreen chemistry. Hrithik and Katrina look like made-for-each-other-couple and the songs depict their chemistry in the best possible way.

Are you ready to 'Bang Bang'?

Mumbai: Actress Manisha Koirala, who has successfully battled cancer, may face the cameras again soon and if all goes well, she may be seen in Rajkumar Santoshi's next project.

Manisha's manager says she's "absolutely fine and doing well".

"She has been reading scripts and she has almost finalised Rajkumar Santoshi's next film. She has liked the script and if things go well, she will start shooting from January 2015. She will be the lead and Pankaj Kapur will also be part of it," her manager, Subroto Ghosh said.

The actress has earlier worked with Santoshi in the 2001 film ‘Lajja’, and the new project is said to be "unusual".

Film: 3 AM
Cast: Rannvijay Singh Anindita Nayar Salil Acharya Kavin Dave
Director: ​Vishal Mahadkar
Certification: A Rating: **

The success of Raaz 12 years ago ushered in an era of a mutant genre: The Musical Horror. Apart from Broadway or unless your name is Tim Burton, I don't see how these two mutually exclusive genres can be combined effectively, which is why one is hard pressed to remember a quality spine-chilling Hindi flick since Ramgopal Varma's Bhoot.

The wait continues with this film. 3 AM is the demonic hour when spirits chill between our world and theirs, turning into human-consuming menaces (ghosts). If this actually held true, many writers including this one wouldn't have careers (or lives). In fact, I'm writing this at 3 AM...but we digress.

Rannvijay Singh is Sunny (who really is Rannvijay Singh), a reality show host whose longtime girlfriend Sarah (Anindita Nayar) is mysteriously killed at this hour in the haunted Rudra Mills compound. Naturally, he grieves to the tunes of a lilting Bhatt soundtrack, convinces his friends Cyrus (Salil Acharya; loud) and Raj (Kavin Dave; suitably nervous) to shoot a show that investigates paranormal activity, and returns to Rudra for one night with cameras and scientific equipment (glorified sound recorders).

There's initial promise, a well-paced setup, even a few spooky moments that involve the usual grainy-footage night-vision scenes, but it all ends with the arrival of terms like 'black magic', 'mill inferno' and, of course, Bhagavad Gita. Very soon, exasperated ghosts will carry out a morcha and refuse to appear in films until writers do away with their obsession with mythological legends.

Post-interval, the mess begins. Many call it the curse of the dreaded second half, but it's just criminally lethargic writing: a love song is shamelessly slotted into a portion that bizarrely looks like a separate film, destroying the daunting mill atmosphere.

When will directors understand that there is nothing louder than silence? Unnerving in the real world but unheard of in Bollywood, it is sorely missing here; they're constantly jabbering to cameras, themselves and even loudly challenging Ghost of (dead mill-owner) Rudra Pratap Past.

One of them gets possessed, and that's about it. Dodgy makeup appears, background score gets louder, visual effects nosedive; even the ghost displays signs of verbal diarrhea. Self-aware ghosts are the worst.

Also, Sunny unflinchingly narrates his story—this entire film in flashback—to a bunch of pesky college kids in the compound. Anyone who has been to a midnight bonfire or watched more than one supernatural thriller will immediately understand the purpose of this dated technique.
The most frightening aspect of a horror movie these days is its predictability. In this context alone, 3 AM is fearsome.

Film: Chaarfutiya Chhokare Cast: Soha Ali Khan, Harsh Mayar, Seema Biswas, Mukesh Tiwari, Zakir Hussain Director: Manish HarishankarCertification: U/A Rating: *



Charfutiya Chhokare is an utterly disjointed film parading as a social commentary on the depravities of rural Bihar.

Soha Ali Khan has no business of participating in such an amateur production, but she plays the cliched and idealistic NRI-return from a 70s B-grade classic—a woman intent on building a school in a village full of corruption, murderers, child traffickers and overall desolation. The title refers to three tiny teen criminals looking to wreck havoc in an exaggerated manner (slow-motion runs with guns) far displaced from the gritty reality of underage terrorism in Blood Diamond. Again, there's omnipresent kingpin Zakir Hussain, perpetually crooked cop Mukesh Tiwari and, horror of horrors, the talented Seema Biswas—often at a loss of words, more due to some awful dubbing. These actors can't go from good to bad overnight. Therefore, the blame lies solely with the direction, or lack thereof.

Other than its moral-science-class intentions, sound design comes across as an afterthought, with every last breath added in post to spoil what could have been a fun silent film. Background music is amateurish, and even the kids' voices don't match their age/sizes. Dated rape scenes involve jarring close-ups of sidekicks licking their lips, and relevant issues are robotized through placard-read dialogues.

Even earthy Rajasthani folk voices or Wikipedia statistics before the end credits cannot redeem an effort that would look best as a newspaper headline.

Mumbai: Hrithik Roshan has been extremely busy daring his colleagues from the film industry. The hunk of an actor, whose latest- ‘Bang Bang’- is all set to hit the silverscreen on October 2, has now dared none other than Salman Khan!

Both Salman and Hrithik were believed to have shared a strained relationship in the past. But the two have denied animosity between them. And this friendly dare from Hrithik to Salman has certainly put all speculations to rest.

Now whether or not the ‘Dabangg’ Khan accepts Hrithik’s challenge is something for us to wait and watch. But a number of celebrities, who Duggu had dared, accepted his challenge. Ranveer Singh, Farhan Akhtar, Shah Rukh Khan, Nargis Fakhri were among the list of celebrities who faced the #BangBangDare. Hrithik even dared Shraddha Kapoor but chose to spare her ‘Haider’ co-star Shahid Kapoor, who was quite keen to accept the #BangBangDare. Shahid tweeted:

Mirror (September 16) was the first to tell you that novelist Chetan Bhagat was turning producer. His directorfriend Mohit Suri and he are co-producing the upcoming screen adaptation of his yet-to-be-released novel, Half Girlfriend. When Ekta Kapoor heard this, she wasted no time in ensuring that her studio too was on board.

Says a source close to the filmmaker, "Ekta was on her way to a party when she got a tipoff that Mohit had arrived at Chetan's apartment for a late night meeting to discuss the project. She made a quick detour to Pali Hill and landed at Chetan's door in a designer gown, catching both off-guard. She informed Chetan that Mohit and she had just delivered the superhit Ek Villain and she was bullish about the prospects of Half Girlfriend. 'So, are you boys with me?' she asked upfront."

Bemused, they gave their nods and as the clock struck 1 am, Ekta stood up and said that her team would be in touch, before dashing off into the night.

The film will roll late next year after Mohit has wrapped up Humari Adhuri Kahaani for the Bhatts and the Intouchables remake with Karan Johar, while the book hits stores on October 1.

With Vishal Bhardwaj’s latest directorial venture Haider, Tabu is all set to charm the audience with her acting prowess once again. In this flick, the talented actress plays Shahid Kapoor’s mother. But there is more to her role than just being a doting mother. We say so coz Tabu and Sasha have a romantic angle in the film as well. If you have read Shakespeare’s Hamlet then you will exactly  know what we are talking about. While we can’t wait to see how Tabu and SK’s complex relationship has been dealt in Haider, the Jai Ho actress will also be seen sharing screen space with Shraddha Kapoor for the very first. And the Kapoor lass has made quite an impression on Tabu, we must say.

When BollywoodLife recently caught up with Tabu, she told us “Shraddha is a lovely girl. She’s a darling. Though I have had less than half a scene with her. one shot, but she’s a sweet girl and she’s very fond of me.She’s like a kid, I almost want to make her sit on my lap! She’s a very good actress, she’s done very well in her films. She’s always excited about facing the camera, and super enthusiastic. She’s discovering and wants to know and learn. I have known her dad, and he’s worked with my sister in so many films. I always feel very happy when I

Director Homi Adajania, producer Dinesh Vijan and Fox Star Studios are all set for the Hindi adaptation of the Hollywood film The Fault In Our Stars. A little birdie chirped that the film might star Deepika Padukone and Varun Dhawan in the lead roles. If this is true, this will be the third film that will bring Homi and Deepika together after the successful Cocktail and Finding Fanny. A hat-trick in the offing for the maker and his favourite heroine. The film will also bring Varun and Deepika together for the first time.

About the film:

The Fault in Our Stars is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Josh Boone, based on the novel of the same name by John Green. The film stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff, with Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, and Willem Dafoe playing supporting roles. Woodley plays Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen-year-old cancer patient who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she subsequently meets and falls in love with Augustus Waters, portrayed by Ansel Elgort.

New Delhi:  One of the biggest weekends of the year, starting Oct 2, will see the release of two films - Hrithik Roshan's “Bang Bang!” and Shahid Kapoor's “Haider”, which are as different as chalk and cheese in terms of theme, budget, cast, and sensibilities. Hence, trade experts opine that it's “unfair” to compare the two.

“It's not a clash of the titans at all,” trade analyst Komal Nahta said. “It is unfair to compare them...”

Cinematically speaking, it's true!

Not only the tone and tenor of the two films are diverse, their directors are poles apart in their sensibilities and approach while narrating a story.

In comparison to director Sidharth Anand's massy entertainers like “Salaam Namaste” and “Bachna Ae Haseeno”, Vishal Bhardwaj, known for his penchant for literature, especially his fascination for Shakespeare's classics, has scored big for convincingly adapting Macbeth as “Maqbool”, Othello as “Omkara” and now he has adapted Hamlet as “Haider”.

Bhardwaj too feels that the two films are put in the same bracket only because they are releasing on the same day, otherwise there is not a single common factor between them.



“It's a very big weekend and it can accommodate two films and that's why we thought of releasing with 'Bang Bang!',” he added.

Shot in Abu Dhabi and India, fast-paced “Bang Bang!”, which has elements like car chase and shoot-outs, promises edge of the seat excitement, while “Haider”, set in the 1990s of Kashmir, is grim and gritty as it focuses on the human tragedy in the region.

When it comes to the lead actors of the two films, Hrithik's and Shahid's standing is also different in Bollywood boulevard.

Dismissing the comparisons, Rajesh Thadani said: “Hrithik is altogether in a different league, so let's not compare them. Their budgets and costing are also different, so there is no space for comparison. Also, 'Bang Bang!' will have more screens compared to 'Haider', so let's not compare,” he added.

If  Bhardwaj has roped in Irrfan Khan and Tabu, to make the drama more intense, Anand relies on the likes of Danny Denzongpa and Javed Jaffrey to add entertaining elements.

Bollywood's reigning queen Katrina Kaif is the female lead in "Bang "Bang" and rising star Shraddha Kapoor will be seen with Shahid in "Haider".

Set for the Thursday release, films with diverse themes will give a healthy choice to the viewers to the make the best of their holiday.

Cricketer Virat Kohli has again become a regular at Anushka Sharma's Andheri home. The game is still on but this time the twosome is following a different set of rules.

When the cricketer was in the city this January, he had parked himself at Anushka's flat.Virat, the co-owner of FC Goa, the Goa franchise of the football series Indian Super League (ISL), is in the city for the tournaments but is not staying with Anushka.

Sources say that the cricketer is fed up of stories suggesting that his poor form in the recent England series was due to Anushka's presence.

When people started commenting on this, the Indian team's test series manager, Sunil Dev, had told a section of the media that he could not object to Anushka's staying with Virat because the cricketer had got permission from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) secretary Sanjay Patil.

Following this there were reports that the couple was going to tie the knot soon. However, this was vehemently denied by the actress's publicist in a statement.

"He visits but does not stay over. He drops by for a couple of hours and leaves," says a source.

Also, Virat does not want to field any questions, even remotely connected to Anushka.

When a journalist at Monday's ISL press conference, quizzed Virat about his "good connections" with Bollywood, the cricketer, who was sitting with his team's brand ambassador Varun Dhawan, shot back, "Why would I have good connections? I just have a few friends like Varun."

Hrithik Roshan is going all out to make sure that his new Juhu home is a dream abode. The actor had commisioned John Abraham's brother, Alan Abraham, to decorate his rented flat in a Juhu building, which is also the residence of Akshay Kumar.

Interestingly, this is the same flat which was earlier being eyed by Hrithik's Krrish 3 co-star, Priyanka Chopra (Mirror, December 12, 2013). But it was Hrithik who finally got his hands on the property and a makeover was in full swing for the last five months.

The actor saw the new interiors recently and decided that he wanted to add more finishing touches to the living space.

Mirror has it that this time, he has hired an interior decorator from the US for the job. The new designer, Maria, has started work and workers have been spotted hauling cement and building material into the flat.

When contacted, Alan maintained, "I don't discuss my clients. That's my policy.

But Hrithik told Mirror, "Alan's job is done and he has done a fantastic job. Now Maria, from Aria Design Company is further decorating my apartment."

 

Reveals Shahid Kapoor even as Vishal Bhardwaj admits that he is ready to continue the story of Guddu and Charlie with Kaminey 2.

Five years ago, during the making of Kaminey, rumour mills were buzzing overtime with talks of "creative differences" between the film's writer director-composer Vishal Bhardwaj and leading man, Shahid Kapoor. Bring up the subject today and Vishal laughs, "We still have creative differences, ab to aur bhi badh gaya hai. Actually, sab bekaar, bakwas thi. Usse zyada differences I had with other actors but that never made it into print."

Shahid who is playing the title role in Haider, Vishal's upcoming adaptation of the Shakesperean drama Hamlet, endorses this, saying the "talk" had surprised them at the time. Now he can't wait for the sequel to start.

"It's definitely happening, Vishal sir has a fully developed story ready with well defined characters. The problem is, he is never short of subjects . Whenever we meet, I remind him about Kaminey 2 and he assures me that we are doing it, soon. Then, he distracts me with something else, and by the end of the meeting, he has me sold on three other ideas," Shahid complains laughingly.

Vishal promises that after Haider's release on October 2, he will sit down with one of his writers and work on the sequel's screenplay. Then, even without dialogue, they will roll in a month's time.

"One day, jab mood aaye, we can go off and shoot," he says, reminiscing that the earlier film too was shot like this.

"Kaminey started in June and till April 20, Abhishek (Chaubey), Supratik (Sen), Sabrina (Dhawan) and I were grappling with the script. After that scene where Charlie puts a gun to one of the gangster's heads and lisps, "Boff (Boss) ko phone laga," there were so many ways to go forward with the story that we were somewhat lost, wondering which direction to head," he flashbacks.

Sabrina solved the problem by suggesting that in the climax, Charlie should snatch the much-coveted guitar case in which the cocaine is hidden and threaten everyone, saying, "Sara maal phoonkh doonga agar koi goli chalayega."

That line gave Vishal a pointer to how to wrap up his caper thriller set in Mumbai's underworld. The sequel will also be set in Mumbai. And the identical twin brothers, Charlie and Guddu, convincingly played by Shahid, will be back in the sequel.

"Kaminey 2 is genuine pulp fiction," says an excited Shahid. "And the icing on the cake is that Vishal sir has come up with an amazing re-interpretation of Dhan te nan. It's a romantic version of the earlier chartbuster."

 

Bangalore: Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor says being a part of Vishal Bhardwaj's upcoming film 'Haider' will open a new chapter in her nascent career because the director has a reputation for making acclaimed movies.

Shraddha, who has given two back-to-back hits like 'Aashiqui 2' and 'Ek Villain', said she feels blessed both her films worked with the audience and hopes to continue the good run with 'Haider'.

"This film is definitely going to add much more to my career. I feel it will open a new chapter in my career. Vishal sir has made some iconic films, which are remembered for performances by established actors. I hope the same happens to me as well," Shraddha said.

'Haider', inspired by William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Hamlet, is the third installment of Bhardwaj's trilogy after 'Maqbool' and 'Omkara', which were based on Macbeth and Othello respectively. The film will hit theatres on October 2. The film stars Shahid Kapoor as Haider and Shraddha plays his tragic lover. The actress said her role in the film was difficult and challenging, but the director made her feel at ease.

"This is my fifth film. The role was difficult and challenging because the character which I am playing is not only of a lover but also a best friend. It was my first intense role and was the most emotional, moving and challenging experience," she said.

"But because of atmosphere on the sets and Vishal sir, everything went smooth. There is so much love coming your way from him... I had to just surrender myself to my director and try my best to give him the best shot. He just makes you feel at ease," Shraddha said, adding she auditioned for the role.

The film adaptation portrays the political intrigue and history of Kashmir and has been primarily shot in the Valley. When asked how difficult it was to shoot in Kashmir, Shraddha said besides the cold weather, everything was quite enjoyable.



Shraddha, who is the daughter of Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor, is all praise for her co-star Shahid and said she used to get goosebumps while watching him perform.

"Whenever I have seen him acting, I would get goosebumps. People are really looking forward to his performance. He is one of the finest actors in our country. He is such a big star who can act, which is amazing and he is so talented," Shraddha said.

Mumbai: Actor Shahid Kapoor says he avoided taking half measures in Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Haider', an adaptation of Hamlet, as he did not want to cheat the audience or himself while playing the famous Shakespearean tragic hero.

Shahid, 33, had to opt for a bald look in certain scenes of the movie that is set in Kashmir and the actor did not have a moment's hesitation in shedding his hair.

"Prosthetics were an option but I felt it was not right to do it for 'Haider'. There is a certain honesty and passion in this film. I have done it 'dil se'. I did not want to cheat my audience or myself while playing this character. I wanted to do something different and shocking. There is a value in real," Shahid said.

It is Shahid's second film with Bhardwaj after 'Kaminey'. The film completes the director's trilogy of William Shakespeare's three famous tragedies after 'Maqbool' (Macbeth) and 'Omkara' (Othello). The film will hit theatres on October 2.

"It is set against the backdrop of Kashmir and then it is an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. I think Vishal sir has the ability to interpret it for today's India," said Shahid.

The actor feels 'Haider' would have a long term effect on his career the way 'Kaminey' did but does not want to predict its box office performance.

"There are some films you do for box office and some because you believe in them and you are passionate about cinema. But you don't know what is going to do well. Till 'R Rajkumar', 'Kaminey' was the most successful film of my career.



He believes Shraddha Kapoor will benefit a lot from the movie as Bhardwaj is known to bring the best out of his actors.



Shahid does not feel that an actor needs to suit a character to get a particular role.

"Directors usually say they take actors because they feel the actor suits the role or the film. I don't understand this because the job of actor is to change himself and surprise the audience. Actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt have always rediscovered themselves with different films with the same filmmakers.

"Vishal sir is one of the few directors who cast me in a film like 'Kaminey' which even I felt I couldn't do as I had this sweet, boyish personality. But he made me do something different. The journey of an actor starts when you step out of your comfort zone," he said.

The presence of performers like Irrfan, Tabu and Kay Kay Menon was another aspect that attracted Shahid to the project.

"I was very nervous to work with Tabu, Irrfan and Kay Kay as they are great actors. To share screen space with them is an amazing feeling. When I saw 'Maqbool' every character was so good. When you get to share frame with phenomenal actors like them it is scary but inspiring," he said.

New Delhi: One of the finest and most successful actors of Bollywood Ranbir Kapoor celebrates his 32nd birthday today. Just about 15 films old, Ranbir has certainly created a niche for himself in the industry.

Born to yesteryears superstar Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, Ranbir had a connection with Bollywood even before he entered the industry. Being born in the first family of Bollywood, the 'Kapoor Khandaan', acting literally runs in this young lad's blood.

Ranbir stepped into the industry with ace filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's tragic romance film 'Saawariya' in 2007 opposite another star kid Sonam Kapoor. Despite the commercial failure of 'Saawariya', the Kapoor scion was casted by the Yashraj Raj Films to play the lead in romantic comedy film 'Bachna Ae Haseeno'. The film was Ranbir's first commercial hit. And since then there is no looking back for the actor who has now become one of the highest-paid heroes in the industry.

He has also received several awards and nominations during his seven-year-long career. His long list of honours includes five Filmfare awards.

Ranbir has worked in several superhit films including- 'Wake Up Sid', 'Rockstar', 'Rajneeti', 'Barfi' and 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'.

Besides acting, Kapoor has supported several causes and has alsways been vocal about issues relating to society, especially women. He is the co-founder of the production company Picture Shuru Productions, and is a co-owner of the Indian Super League football team Mumbai City FC.

In addition to his professional life, the actor's personal life is also a subject of frequent reporting in the media. His relationships with several B-town beauties have always caught the media eye.

Here's wishing the heartthrob a very happy birthday and all the best for his future endeavors!

Actress-politician Hema Malini started filming for Ramesh Sippy's light-hearted comedy "Shimla Mirchi" here Sunday.

"The first day of shooting for Shimla Mirchi- with my Director Ramesh Sippy who is also doing a cameo in the movie (sic)," she tweeted Sunday.

Film: Desi Kattey Director: Anand Kumar Cast: Jay Bhanushali, Claudia Ciesla,Akhil Kapur, Sunil Shetty Certification: U/A
Rating: *

You'd think it's virtually impossible to combine a Gunday-style exaggerated Eastern buddy flick with a fictional sports biopic with a dated 90s gangland drama. But Anand Kumar's Desi Kattey (presented by The Real Estate Guru), an outrageous exercise in anti-screenwriting, greedily does just that—albeit with an unintentionally comical outcome.

Where does one begin?

1.Like this week's other release Charfutiya Chhokare, this too starts with annoying gun-wielding kids who are required to bathe and embrace each other to display eternal brotherly love.

2.One can predict the exact moment during a long shot when the running kids will magically dissolve into their adult selves (Bhanushali as Gyani, Kapur as Pali).

3.Tia Bajpai is in her late 20s when 10-year-old Pali falls for her. She is still in her late 20s when she gets married to Pali later, who by now looks older than her.

4.Two parallel movies begin to form simultaneously. Item songs are used as transitions. One film has a countrygun racket kingpin (Rana; why?) who takes Pali under his wing, and the second involves an ex-army Major (Shetty; because armymen rarely emote) who takes Gyani under his wing to make him a professional shooter.

5.Gyani's training montage is edited with the frenetic madness of Kanye West's All Of The Lights—a video that was given a discretionary photosensitive warning by Epilepsy Action.

6.Gyani's shooting hand is wounded by a gunshot. He simply wins the Championship by shooting with his other hand. Amidst dead bodies. This pretty much takes an Abhinav Bindra biopic off the table.

7.The final scores of the Free Pistol event reads: 30, 29, 27. Cumulative scores (60+20 shots) are nowhere in sight.

8.An expert concludes that Gyani must shoot between two heartbeats to get higher scores, pointing to 'state of mind' graphs on her computer.

9.Three angles are used to portray shooting events: Shetty's reaction shots ("focus, Gyani, focus!"), his sister's fist pumps and Gyani's three pistol shots. Applause is an added bonus.

10.The actors emote when the cameras are not on them. Unfortunately, the cameras are always on them, even when the focus-puller is asleep.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has had a tryst with off-beat films with 'Maya Memsaab', 'Swades', 'Chak De! India', but does not understand the concept of this genre as he feels his presence can turn any unconventional film into a mainstream money-spinner.

The 48-year-old actor, best known for his romantic hero act in films, said he did take a few risks with his movies but since he is such a big star, his experimental films also find audience.

Sushant Divgikar, the winner of Mr. Gay India 2014, hopes that his presence on the reality show "Bigg Boss 8" can change perceptions of people about the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.

"I think I can sensitise the people about my community by being the face of LGBT community in 'Bigg Boss'," Sushant told IANS from Mumbai before entering the show, which began Sunday night.

The past seasons of "Bigg Boss" have seen names like Bobby Darling, Rohit Verma, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and Begum Nawazish Ali, as LGBT representatives.

On his part, Sushant Divgikar says he would feel overwhelmed if his presence on the show inspired someone to come out of the closet.

What if someone makes a personal remark on his sexuality?

"Your reaction reflects your upbringing. I would deal with the situation according to the intensity of the comment," said Sushant, who has a double masters degree in psychology.

However, he has no intentions of using it to his advantage in the reality show.

The model entered the show "without any expectations" and is looking forward to having a great time.

He calls himself technology challenged, and has no hang ups about leaving behind his phone and gadgets to enter the world of "Bigg Boss".

"I'm glad to leave my phone outside. It doesn't cripple you in any way and makes you realise that you can live without your phone," he said.

Salman Khan invites 'Happy New Year' team on 'Bigg Boss 8'

However, Sushant is apprehensive about being disconnected with the world.

"Not knowing what is happening around the world is frustrating for me. I need my intellectual stimulation from time to time," he said.

The eighth season of "Bigg Boss" is beamed on Colors channel.

South Indian actress Anushka Shetty may well be Bollywood bound if a project she’s discussed with director E. Niwas goes through.

Filmmaker E.Niwas, who last directed "Aman Ki Asha", now plans to launch southern actress Anushka Shetty in Bollywood with his next film, titled "Juvenile".

"I have narrated the script to Anushka and she has liked it, but it's in a very initial stage right now. Neither we have confirmed anything nor have we got a confirmation from her end," E. Niwas told IANS.

"Anushka is one of the top actresses, she fits the bill (for the movie) and so we zeroed in on her. We are in the process of (finalising) it and we will take a call by end of this month (September)," he added.

Talking about his film he said: "The film is titled 'Juvenile' and it's a multi-starrer. It's a fresh script and not a remake. It's not even a women-centric film. It has multiple stories, which get connected in the climax. I will start shooting for this film in January 2015."

Anushka Shetty is among the leading actresses of the Tamil and Telugu film industries. She is currently working in films like "Baahubali" and an untitled Tamil film with Ajith Kumar.

Anybody who has watched Bigg Boss in the last four years knows that the weekend episodes featuring Salman Khan are always the best of what the week has to offer.

Last year, Bigg Boss House was divided into - Heaven and Hell. You could have possibly not missed Jallad who would make his presence felt every Saturday, when the show's host Salman would also show up.

Greek god Hrithik Roshan who is busy promoting his upcoming film Bang Bang has been giving dare to his colleagues from the Bollywood industry.

Priyanka Chopra, who excelled in her onscreen avatar as iconic boxer M.C. Mary Kom, accepted and performed a handstand with a push up - a dare thrown up at her by Hrithik Roshan. And boy, she did it wearing a pair of heels!

"The only girl I cud dare this! For super @priyankachopra my #bangbangdare HANDSTAND with a push up!! Do u accept! U have 3 days," Hrithik posted on Twitter Sunday as part of an innovative promotional strategy for his forthcoming film "Bang Bang".

For the fierce and daredevil Priyanka, carrying out the challenge seemed like a cakewalk.

In a video she posted on her Facebook page Monday, Priyanka features wearing casuals and she does exactly what Hrithik asked her to do -- albeit with a twist.

"Here you go Hrithik Roshan...a handstand with 3 push ups! In high heels! #bangbangdare ...next time try and make it a little difficult," she quipped.

On Saturday, Hrithik also openly dared his B-Town friends Shah Rukh Khan and Sonam Kapoor with similar challenges.

On Monday morning, Mirror spotted the ensemble cast of Anees Bazmee's Welcome Back shooting for the film in Kamal Amrohi Studio in Jogeshwari.

Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal Dimple Kapadia, John Abraham and Shruti Haasan, were spotted. The cast gathered on the film's set at 9 am and continued shooting till 6 pm. When contacted director Anees Bazmee told Mirror, "Despite the heat, nobody complained.

The scene, John and Shruti's engagement, is crucial for the film's plot. Everybody gathers for the occasion, but things go drastically wrong." However, there was no friction in real life . "I've directed all of them in the past. They had to stand on a particular spot for hours under the sun, yet nobody complained. When you are making a comedy, it's important to keep your cast happy," said Bazmee who does not want to rush into theatres this year even though producer, Firoz Nadiadwala, would like a Christmas release. Eighty per cent of the film's shoot is complete with one final schedule in Dubai pending.

Brad Pitt's Fury will release across Indian screens on October 31, two weeks after its international release on October 17. The decision has been kept taking in mind the Diwali festivities and the much-awaited release of Shah Rukh Khan's Happy New Year.

Given that the Diwali season is family time in India, PVR Pictures, the distributors of Fury in India will release the film once the festivities have wound down and die-hard fans of Shah Rukh have at least seen Happy New Year once in the theaters.

Deepak Sharma, chief operating officer, PVR Pictures, is confident Fury will do well in India.

"However, since the worldwide release is October 17 and that's peak family time in India, given the festivities of Diwali, we took a conscious call to push the release. Also, Happy New Year is coming out too, which will definitely be a priority watch for the audience as most people wish to during this period, watch movies with their families. We didn't want to dilute the release of our film," Sharma said in a statement.

Fury is a war drama, which also stars Shia Labeouf. Its trailer has received rave reviews internationally.

The vivacious, free spirited Sonam Kapoor plays a physiotherapist who turns the life of Sambhalpur's royal family upside down in Khoobsurat. But as bright and cheerful her personality is, she is surely a very famous physiotherapist and guess who she works with before treating Fawad's royal family in the film... the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Yes, Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders has a strong connection with the film and if you are wondering what it is, then let us tell you that Sonam Kapoor plays the official physiotherapist of the Kolkata Knight Riders team. In fact, in the opening sequence, we get to see Sonam treating a player from the team for back problem during an IPL match.

Well that's not where the surprise ends. Apart from Aditi Rao Hydari's cameo, we will once again see Cyrus Sahukar doing a special appearance in this Rhea Kapoor film. Previously, the VJ turned actor played a prominent role in the Sonam Kapoor starrer Aisha. In this film, he plays the role of Fawad Khan's childhood friend.

Directed by Shashank Gosh, Khoobsurat also stars Kirron Kher, Ratna Pathak, Aamir Raza Hussain among others and is slated to release on September 19. The film is the official remake of the 80s classic by the same name that starred Rekha and Rakesh Roshan in the lead.

She is known for her singing. But Monali Thakur, the 'Sawaar doon' girl has lately discovered her metier as an actress with her hard-hitting performance as a child prostitute in Nagesh Kukunoor's Lakshmi.

The spirited girl has come home with the Best Actress award at the South-Asian International Film Festival in Washington, making her the first Bollywood singer to have won an award for acting.

Ecstatic and enthused Monali exclaims, "What can I say? It was a bolt from the blue. I thought the movie was forgotten, though the pain and suffering I went through in portraying the prostitute will remain with me forever. Now this award has strengthened my faith in my decision to pursue a double career as a singer and an actress."

Says Monali, "Yes, I am going to continue as both an actor and a singer. When I did Lakshmi the buzz in the singing world was that I was giving up singing for acting. In fact, Amit Trivedi asked about my plans. That shook me up. But now I feel I've the confidence to overcome people's doubts and go ahead with both careers."

Monali says she isn't happy with the quality of songs on offer. "I am in no hurry as a singer or an actor. I won't accept everything that comes my way. The songs I sing have to have something to offer me. The same goes for the roles I accept."

Monali has already completed a second acting assignment. "It's a comedy called Mango directed by Abbas Tyrewala. I've a completely different role from what I did in Lakshmi. I play a feisty girl who cons three men played by Rannvijay, his brother Harman (who makes his acting debut) and Chandan Roy Sanyal into believing she loves each one of them. After the dark gut-wrenching role in Lakshmi I enjoyed this naughty comedy."

She is now looking at other acting assignments. "I want to be known as a good singer who can act," Monali says ambitiously.

Before Monali, Sulakshana Pandit and Salma Agha have tried the combination of singer and actress, and failed.

Let's hope Monali is the first singer-actress since Suraiya to establish a foothold in both the spheres.

Adlabs Imagica won the hearts of many with crazy rides that gives the required adrenaline rush to adventure lovers. Now, coming up with a waterpark around the same location is Adlabs and they have roped in Sidharth Malhotra as the face of this latest adventure zone, Aquamagica.

Excited about being associated with this, Sidharth Malhotra has already made up his mind that this waterpark will be his next party destination. The actor mentioned that he is really eager to take his friends around this place which is located near the Mumbai-Pune Express highway.

Pooja Shetty Deora of Adlabs is equally happy with the association with this young Bollywood celebrity since they were in lookout for a brand ambassador who can represent the youth. Pooja revealed that the concept of Aquamagica revolves around the mantra of 'Go With The Flow' which is something that the youngsters today can be associated with. Considering that Sidharth Malhotra is one of the youth icons, they decided to make him the brand ambassador of this waterpark.

Being just three films old, Sidharth Malhotra is already associated with brands like Cornetto and Bru. The actor is currently also busy with his Bollywood projects which includes the Akshay Kumar starrer Brothers, a remake of the Hollywood film Warrior and Vikramaditya Motwane's Bhavesh Joshi among others.

After the controversy over the revoking of Padma Shri honour of Saif Ali Khan, the assault case which was charged against the actor in 2012 seems to have taken yet another turn. After completing the pre-trial formalities, it seems now the trial will start by November when the first witness will be summoned.

According to public prosecutor Wajid Sheikh, the court has given a copy of the CCTV footage of the day of assault to the accused as per their request. The said incident had taken place at a plush restaurant in South Mumbai where actor Saif Ali Khan and his friends had got into a tussle with an NRI and his father-in-law.

According to the police authorities, Saif Ali Khan who had visited the restaurant with actress girlfriend Kareena Kapoor and his other friends were making too much noise and a Dubai based businessman Iqbal Mir Sharma had asked to reduce it which led to a fight between the businessman and Saif. However, Saif had given a different version stating that the businessman had misbehaved with the girls in his group and Saif had lost control over his temper because of it.

In a first of its kind producer Sheetal Talwar has tied up with the BBC to co-produce a film on the notorious Eichmann trials.

Entitled The Eichmann Show the film is to be directed by BAFTA nominee Peter Andrew Williams, acclaimed writer-director on film and television.

The Eichmaan trials chronicled on live television the Nazi war crimes of Otto Adolf Eichmann. This was the first ever trial as a reality-show on television.

Talwar says the film version of the trials would be a never-before cinematic experience. "Eichmann Show is a film based on the Eichmann trials. It a film on the court trials that were telecast on TV, making it the world's first reality show. The film is being produced by two Bafta nominee producers, a Bafta nominee director, BBC and me."

The film shall be shot in UK, Lithuania and Malta.

Says Talwar, "After I produced Mausam which was Pankaj Kapoor's directorial debut, my production company has been focusing on script development and putting a slate together. This includes Veda, Rajiv Gandhi, Guru Dutt and now Eichmann. This is the first time that an Indian producer is co-producing with BBC."

The soon to release Vishal Bhardwaj film Haider featuring Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor is now going all out with its promotions. Now we hear that the film that has been extensively shot in Kashmir has tied up with an online website to support the recent Jammu -Kashmir flood victims.

In fact all the promos of the film that have been airing on television have been carrying a tag with the site address (jkfloodrelief.org) in support of the ongoing relief efforts. Sources close to the production house confirmed saying, "Though we are not doing anything in particular as such, we felt that the site was a genuine initiative to aid those affected by the floods. Hence, we decided to partner with them on the same."

Considering that the film has been extensively been shot amidst the beautiful snow-clad mountains of the Kashmir Valley, the actors, it seems, share a close bond with the place. In fact, they have decided to provide as much help as possible to the flood victims. Recently, Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor came to the game show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' to promote their film. As the two won Rs. 3,20,000 lakhs at this quiz show, they decided to donate the money to the flood victims for their necessities. Not ending at that Shraddha Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor have been using their Twitter handles to urge people to donate for the Kashmir victims.

Haider is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet and is co-produced by UTV and Vishal Bhardwaj. The film that also stars Tabu, Kay Kay Menon in prominent roles, is slated for release on October 2, 2014.

When the news that Shah Rukh Khan will host Got Talent World Stage LIVE came out, many felt that he is returning to the small screen. But the Bollywood Badshah clarifies the misconception saying "it is a live show" and he will host it the way he hosts a Filmfare Award function.

Got Talent World Stage Live, said to be first of its kind global on ground extension of the Got Talent franchise, is premiering in India. Schedule for Dec 6, the event, which will take place at Mumbai's Andheri Sports Complex, will see performances by 10 Indian and international talents. It will be telecast on Colors.

Enjoying a very successful year is Varun Dhawan with two of his films in 2014 receiving a stupendous response at the Box Office. Though his career in Bollywood has had a boost, the actor seems to be suffering quite a bit of accidents of late.

Varun Dhawan was recently injured on the sets of his upcoming dance film ABCD 2. The film where Varun will be seen flaunting his dancing skills, is a sequel to ABCD: Any Body Can Dance. Apparently, while performing a step for a scene in the film, the actor injured his back heavily. In order to avoid any kind of disruption and resume the shoot, the actor decided to take an injection. Immediately after the small treatment, the actor was back on his feet and completed the shoot schedule. However, now that all of it has been wrapped up, Varun has been resting at his residence and it is being said that the actor will recover completely only after a week. Talking about the incident, Varun revealed that he is currently on his way to recovery.

This is not the first time that the actor has faced this. Prior to this, Varun Dhawan faced a fracture on the sets of his debut film Student Of The Year. He had previously also injured his back while performing an aerial stunt for the Ileana D'Cruz starrer Main Tera Hero.

Directed by Remo D'Souza and produced by Walt Disney, ABCD 2 will also star Shraddha Kapoor and Prabhu Dheva in lead roles. The film is inspired from the story of an Indian dance troupe which made its mark in the worldwide Hip Hop Championships. ABCD 2 will be shot extensively in Las Vegas and other locations.

Actress Priyanka Chopra has crossed the benchmark of seven million followers on micro-blogging site Twitter.

The 32-year-old 'Mary Kom' star, who joined Twitter in January 2009, thanked her fans for their support on the social media.

"Thank you all for 7MillionPcManiacs... Our family is getting larger.. Your love keeps me going.." she tweeted.

Priyanka, who is an avid user of social media, is the fourth most popular Indian celebrity on Twitter.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has 10 million followers followed by Shah Rukh Khan (9.04 million), Aamir Khan (8.46 million) and Salman Khan (8.28 million).

 

 

Following up with the success of Housefull and Housefull 2, Eros International Media Limited have now announced its continued partnership with Sajid Nadiadwala to release the third instalment of the same, which will be directed by writer-turned-director duo Sajid-Farhad.

Speaking about this, Jyoti Deshpande (Group CEO - Eros International Media Ltd), said, "We share a special relationship with Sajid that goes back several decades and are excited to have Sajid back with us. What better film to start with than the third instalment of the hit franchise Housefull. It promises to be a star studded laugh riot shot lavishly in the UK, Sajid Nadiadwala style."

Meanwhile, Sajid Nadiadwala added, "I'm happy to team up with Eros once more for this very popular series. Housefull 3 will be bigger and funnier and we are confident together we will once again successfully present some wholesome entertainment to audiences worldwide."

While the film is slated for a 2015 release, according to our sources, Eros has assured an MG (Minimum Guarantee) of Rs. 100 crores to Sajid Nadiadwala for Housefull 3.

Amidst all the happiness of two enthralling films releasing on 2nd October, there is a mild fear to that one might eat into the collections of the other. Bang Bang and Haider, both represent different beats and probably have an equal chance of doing spectacular box office business. The CEO of Fox Star Studios seemed very confident of the product they have invested so lavishly in.

He said, “This is the biggest film from a Fox Star perspective. The idea was to deliver only a glimpse of things. The teaser has delivered in an unbelievable manner. It represents the film very correctly and shows very little of the film. It’s a film in which everyone has put their heart and no one will disappoint here. We have been lucky to get the best weekend. It is a 5 day weekend and we can’t really wait for the release.”

When Hrithik was asked about his clash with Haider, he very earnestly replied, “2nd October is going to lay a new example where two good films, fantastic films will do excellent business.”



Koimoi also got in touch with Shahid Kapoor who plays the titular character in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider. The actor seemed pretty over the pettiness of a media fabricated squabble like this. Kapoor, who is in a self proclaimed happy space told us, “We knew for a long time that Bang Bang was releasing on the same day as Haider. I hope Bang Bang does really well. I really like Hrithik’s work and it’s looking really good. But I am very confident about my film. And I feel what Haider is offering the audience, Bang Bang can’t and vice versa. So there are two very distinct choices for people to make. So I don’t see them clashing in terms of offering the audience the same thing.”

Talking about the disparity in the budgets of the respective films, Shahid said, “Bang Bang is made at a very different budget from Haider. We have made Haider on a strict budget. It won’t take as much time as my other films for us to recover money. It’s a five-day weekend which, again, very rarely happens. A three-day weekend is enough to handle two big films… we have seen that in the past. And I have no reason to worry because eventually people want to see good films.”

Haider and Bang Bang are both releasing on the same date and though massy circuits are vouching for Bang Bang, the multiplex audiences can’t wait enough for Haider.