Friday, January 23, 2009

Rucha Gujarathi to make her debut with ‘Lottery’



January 21st, 2009

Rucha started as a child artiste and did couple of movies like Dancer, Shabzade, Hum Hain Kamal Ke, Kanyadan, Shikari. She also did a weekly breakfast time serial called Tak Dhina Din.

Later she started with commercials like Livon, Frooti, Royalstag, Clinc All Clear, Emami Cream, Colgate, Pizza Hut, Hamdard Rogan Badam.

She has featured in Music Albums by Gurdas Man, Pankaj Udas, Vaishali Samant.

Rucha has been a part of highly viewed serials like Kkusum, Bhabhi (as bhabhi ), Waaris, Waqt Batayga Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya, Rihahee, Shh Phir Koi Hain, Saas v/s Bahu reality dance show.

She will soon be seen on the Silver Screen in her Debut Film ‘Lottery’ where she will starring opposite former Indian Idol Abhijeet Sawant.

Shilpa Shetty Inaugarated Sona’s UNIQ Fashion Store




January 23rd, 2009

Tamil Item Song Actress Sona has ventured into the nascent fashion industry in Chennai by opening a boutique called UNIQ.

Bollywood Actress Shilpa Shetty Inaugurated item Actress Sona’s UNIQ fashion store. The inauguration event was held at the Taj Connemara and Shilpa said that it was her friendship with Sona that brought her to Chennai.

The fashion accessories will be priced between Rs. 1000 and Rs. 1,00,000.

Ban on smoking in films is unconstitutional: HC



January 24th, 2009

New Delhi: Good news for Bollywood's filmmakers. On Friday, the Delhi High Court quashed the Centre's notification banning smoking on screen.

This after filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt filed a reaction plea to the ban imposed by the Delhi High Court in October 2006.

The ban was revoked as it violates the basic fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression and also termed it unconstitutional.

“The smoking ban was against the Constitution especially when you have the Censor Board in place. You don't need another body,” Mahesh Bhatt's lawyer Chander Lall said.

Constitutional or not, smoking, many filmmakers and actors feel is essential for their creative expression, be it John Abraham in Anurag Kashyap's No Smoking or Shah Rukh Khan in Don.

“I think creative freedom should be allowed in cinema and arts. Cinema is make-believe, so huge censorship should not be allowed in such matters. In personal life I truly agree with Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss that one should try and quit smoking,” Shah Rukh Khan said.

Spearheading the no smoking drive on and off the screen is Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss who has been encouraging stars including Shah Rukh Khan to kick the butt. But the as they say, the show must go on and it is—forthcoming release like Dev D, will see Abhay Deol not only smoking onscreen but playing a drug addict too.

When Vikram Phadnis was questioned by the security



January 23rd, 2009

Heard of a Grande Finale where the finale designer having Katrina Kaif as his showstopper and stopped by the event’s security guard. Now hear this..

It was yesterday, 22nd January at Mahalaxmi Turf Club. The race course witnessed the Grande Finale of Gitanjali Luxury Fest 2009. The show kick started with the collection of Rocky S and ended by show casting the bridal collection by Vikram Phadnis.

It so happened that we reached the venue early around 6.00 p.m. and were standing at the main entrance. Vikram came out of his car, sporting a green tee and blue jeans and started walking towards the main entrance. Walking next to him was his assistant carrying Vikram’s clothes. But out of the blue, the security guards blocked Vikram’s way and questioned him were he was going.

The Hostess sitting at the registration counter very stunned on what they were seeing. One of them said, “We saw Vikram convincing the security that he was a big-time designer and had his show here tonight. Unfortunately the security were in no mood to believe him”.

Finally one of the Hostess got up and told the security guard that Vikram was a very big designer and had his Grande Finale here, with Katrina Kaif as his show stopper. Finally the security let Vikram go.

Vikram did come back and thanked the Hostess they say. We spoke to the security who confirmed the news saying, “Yes it was our fault. We didn’t know he was Vikram Phadnis. We didn’t even know he has such a big designer. We had never heard of him also.”

The Hostess said that Vikram was very polite and gentle in his talks. He did not create any fuss about what the security told him.

But we think it was a different situation altogether. Obviously nobody wants to create unnecessary fuss and attract media towards it making a fool of themselves in their own shows. Vikram might have shown only one side of his character but who knows what he must be thinking or even cursing the security guards as one of them did say-“I don’t know who he is, never heard of him also”.

We know Vikram, it hurts.

Raaz 2: Worth a watch



January 23rd, 2009

I had no expectations from Mohit Suri's horror film, Raaz: The Mystery Continues but I must admit I was pleasantly surprised when I watched it.

The film opens with Kangana Ranaut's narration about spirits, fate and destiny, picturised on a foreigner driving to an ashram in Kalindhi, where the film is set. He finds a man self-mutilating himself in the name of the devil, claiming god is dead.

The scene cuts to the glamourous fashion industry. Kangana, playing a stunning model called Nandita Chopra, repeats her Fashion act. Her red hair, swishing across the ramp, makes her look sexy. And like in Fashion, she carries with her a history of broken relationships. But she does not go through with a suicide attempt, that we've seen her doing in so many movies before. Instead, she goes ahead and patches up with her boyfriend, Yash Dayal (played by Adhyayan Suman), and moves on to a happy life.

Yash is a struggling television reporter who finally finds success by directing a reality show called Andhavishwas. However, he does not believe in the supernatural and superstitions. His show wins accolades and awards.

Enter Emraan Hashmi aka Prithvi, the star of the film. He is an artist, who foresees Nandita's life -- a complete stranger to him -- and paints her future. He believes that something dangerous will happen to her, and so tries to save her.

Does he succeed in saving her? What exactly does he see in the future? Watch the film to know what happens next.

And trust me, you should watch the film.

Kangana puts in a great performance, one, I admit, I didn't know she was capable of. Her scenes when she gets possessed, as well as when she walks the ramp, are brilliant.

In fact, her performance -- along with Emraan's -- deserves a five star rating. Five stars also to director Mohit Suri for the way he has shot the film. The first part keeps you on the edge of your seat, as the film alternates between horror and suspense. Suri does a wonderful job behind the camera. You will not find too many gory scenes here. Instead, the amount of bloodshed seems to be just right. However, the film tends to fall flat in the second half.

Emraan does complete justice to his character. Adhyayan comes across as a raw actor, who needs to work on his acting. But he compensates with a convincing act in the second half of the film.

The music and background score is very good, and makes an impact.

One wishes that more attention could have been given to the story, and the faltering climax.

On the whole, this weekend looks very exciting -- with this cool horror film and an Oscar-nominated film Slumdog Millionaire waiting for you in theatres.

Biography - Fardeen Khan



Fardeen Khan and Natasha Madhwani (Wife)

Fardeen Khan (born 8 March 1974) is a popular Indian actor.

Fardeen Khan is the son of Gauri Khan and famed Indian actor/director Feroz Khan, who is originally from Afghanistan.He belongs to the Pashtun (Pathan) background. He is a Muslim.Fardeen's Star Sign is Pisces.

While he was born in 1974 and brought up in India, his education abroad resulted in distinctly non-Indian accent and outlook.Fardeen completed his graduation in Business Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the USA.

Fardeen Khan made his debut in 1998 with "Prem Aggan" which was directed by his father. Though the film did not do well, he received the Filmfare Best Debut Award for his performance. But his second film directed by Ram Gopal Verma "Jungle" (2000) was a hit and launched his career.

In 2001 and 2002 he appeared in several films like"Hum Ho Gaye Aap Ke (2001)","Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega" (2001), "Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001) ","Kitne Door Kitne Paas (2002)","Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein (2002)" and "Om Jai Jagadish (2002)".Out of these films except "Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001) " most of them went unnoticed. But he bounced back with "Khushi" (2003) for which his performance was appreciated although the film flopped.

He reunited with Ram Gopal Varma in "Bhoot"(2003) which was another hit. In 2003 he also appered in another film under his father named "Janasheen " but the movie was a flop.But again he proved his worth and gave a critically acclaimed performance in "Dev" (2004) where he starred with Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri and Kareena Kapoor.

In 2005 he starred in the multi-starrer comedy "No Entry" which was one of the year's highest grossing films. Since then, his succeeding films like "Shaadi No 1" , "Pyare Mohan" and "Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina" have not done well. His recent 2007 release was "Heyy Babyy" , "Just Married" and "Darling".

Fardeen Khan comes from a distinguished film family; his father is actor and director Feroz Khan and his uncle is actor Sanjay Khan. His cousins are actor Zayed Khan and designer Sussanne Roshan, who is married to Hrithik Roshan.Fardeen used to date Pooja Bhatt, but they broke up when he went to UMass. Fardeen also dated Ruhin Khan.

He is married to Natasha Madhwani, the daughter of former actress Mumtaz and business tycoon Mayur Madhwani. The two were engaged in a private ceremony in London on May 6, 2005. The marriage ceremony took place on December 14, 2005 via a registration service. Allegedly, the marriage was a 3 day long affair with various functions being held at the Hyatt and JW Marriott hotels in Mumbai.

The marriage ceremony itself was conducted according to Muslim and Hindu rites. The wedding was a major events where bollywood stars attended, such as, Shahrukh Khan & Preity Zinta flying in especially from New York.Natasha's mother Mumtaz and Fardeen's father Feroz played lovers onscreen a number of times in the 70s. Fardeen's wife went to boarding school in England, while her father, Mayur, pursued his business interests in Africa. After studying in America, she settled down with her parents in London.

On May 4, 2001 Fardeen along with drug pedaler Naseer Abdul Kareem Khan were arrested after the former attempted to purchase cocaine from the latter at an ATM centre Juhu Vile Parle Development Scheme, a Mumbai suburb. The police caught Naseer and Fardeen with 9g of cocaine.

Biography - Anil Kapoor



Profile
Date of Birth: 24th December, 1959.
Address: 31 Shringar, Presidency Society, 7th Road, JVPD Scheme, Mumbai- 400 049
Debut Film: "Hamare Tumahre"
Film Awards: Filmfare Best Actor Awards for "Tezaab" and "Beta"
Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Awards for "Mashaal" and "Taal"
Filmfare Best Actor (Critics) for "Virasat"
National Film Awards
Best Actor for "Pukar"

Mini Biography
Anil Kapoor is a prominent National Award winning film actor and producer of Bollywood. He was born at Chembur in Maharashtra to film producer Surinder and Suchitra Kapoor. Anil Kapur made his Bollywood debut with the movie "Hamare Tumahre". After doing few minor roles in the films like "Hum Paanch" and "Shakti", Anil Kapoor got his first breakthrough as lead actor in the film "Woh Saat Din". His next film was "Mashaal" directed by Yash Chopra, for which he won his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Anil Kapoor has delivered many commercially successful films which include "Meri Jung", "Karma" and "Mr. India". "Mr. India" was one of his biggest hit films and shot him to super star status. Anil kapoor gave critically acclaimed performance as middle aged lover in Yash Chopra's "Lamhe" but the film proved unsuccessful at the Box Office. Anil Kapur won his first National Film Award in Best Actor category for the film "Pukar". Anil has also produced films such as "Badhai Ho Badhai", "My Wife's Murder", "Gandhi My Father" and "Shortcut". Recently, Anil kapoor's eldest daughter Sonam Kapoor made her debut in Bollywood with the film "Saawriya" opposite Ranbir Kapoor.

Trivia
  • Boney Kapoor, a film producer is elder brother of Anil Kapoor.
  • Anil is married to his dress designer Sunita who owns an integrated dance and exercise academy in Juhu. It's one of the best 'Aerobic Gyms' in Bombay. Anil has two daughters 'Sonam' and 'Rhea' and one son 'Harshavardhan'.

Shah Rukh to essay the role of B-town’s famous baddie ‘Mogambo’



January 23rd, 2009

Mumbai: It was his bad boy conniving act that bought him much acclaim and turned him into an overnight sensation and now it seems that Shah Rukh Khan is going back to his roots. After being touted as the industry’s romantic boy, SRK will reportedly be seen enacting the most famous villains of all time - Mogambo.

Apparently, Shekhar Kapur, the director of superhit ‘Mr India’, is bowled over by Shah Rukh’s baddie acts. The filmmaker who has been toying with the idea of making a sequel to the film has reportedly approached King Khan for the legendary role essayed by Amrish Puri earlier.

Even though Shekhar states that the role has been tailor made for Shah Rukh; the actor is yet to give his final nod.

A news daily quoted a source as saying, “This film will also star Anil Kapoor and Sridevi, as in the original, but the script has been twisted, to be made more villain centric. Today, there are very few villains who have the towering personality required for the Mogambo type of role, which was played with flourish by the late Amrish Puri in the original ‘Mr India’. And who better than Shah Rukh, who has excelled in negative roles like ‘Baazigar’ and ‘Darr’, to play the role?”

Prior to approaching Shah Rukh, the filmmaker had offered the role to KK Menon. But after the script was made to be villain centric, the team started hunting for a much bigger actor to play the baddie.

SRK to miss out Amrita Arora's wedding



January 23rd, 2009

Bollywood babe Amrita Arora is going to tie the knot with businessman Shakeel Ladak and she is busy in the preparation. One of the important tasks of wedding is to prepare the guest list which Amrita is deciding now. Though the date is not yet fixed, Amrita is putting down on pen and paper the names of her guests. One of the dear friends of Amrita will willingly give the wedding a miss as he does not want to invite any jhakda on this important occasion and the person is question is Shahrukh Khan.

Though Salman and Shahrukh shared a bitter relation, Amrita had always been part of Shahrukh’s party. If not Shahrukh, Gauri will definitely be part of Amrita's wedding.

Says the source close to the bride-to-be, "Amu has always held Shah Rukh great regard for SRK and she is keen that Shah Rukh attend the wedding. Amu personally called to invite him. Apparently, the actor voiced his concern about bumping into Salman and causing a tense situation on her special day."

Amrita refused to comment on the issue, "I can't comment on this. I haven't yet decided my wedding date, so where's the question of inviting anyone?"

Tamanna okay to lip-lock scene



January 23rd, 2009

Petite Tamanna has hitherto been referred to with adjectives such as cute, sweet etc. The actress might be referred to as hot and sexy after the film 'Raja Rani' (remake of Jab We Met) releases.

For all you drooling virile men out there, petite Tamanna will be seen in a kissing scene in the film produced by Moser Baer. A scene that locked the lips of Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor featured in 'Jab We Met'. The makers of the remake also seem to be following the original religiously. The film stars Bharath along with Tamanna.
January 22, 2009

At a time when most heroines are pretty concerned about their onscreen image (especially in South Indian films), the nod of approval from Tamanna for the kissing scene sends the message that the actress would comply with what the script demands. Something directors and producers would be happy about.

Tamanna debuted in Balaji Sakthivel's 'Kaloori' and has steadily climbed her way to being recognized as a desirable actress. She is currently treading the path that takes actors to stardom.

Her Pongal release 'Padikkathavan' with Dhanush has found favor amidst audiences and her lineup of movies that are waiting to release look impressive. 'Ayan' with Suriya and 'Anandha Thandavam' with a debutant. Tamanna has also signed up for Selvaraghavan's 'Paiyya' that stars Suriya's brother Karthi.

B4U Music is official sponsor of Asian Bride Show in UK

MUMBAI: B4U Music will be the official sponsor of The Asian Bride Show 2009 in London this weekend.

B4U Music provides a fusion of Asian and British entertainment and has a strong connection with the Asian Bride Show as both organizations carefully reflect a style and audience influenced by the East meets West culture.

The event will be held at Wembley Stadium London on 24 and 25 January.

Covering two major cities in the UK, The Asian Bride Show will also be held at The Sheridan Suite Manchester on 31 January and 1 February.

"We are extremely honored to be associated with such a prestigious show and certain that it will be an innovative and enjoyable event," said B4U Network Global CEO Sunil Rohra.