Madhuri confirms her pregnancy
Finally, the news has been confirmed by, none other than, the mama-to-be.
Madhuri Dixit is pregnant. She has requested her producers to finish off their films before she starts showing. The two producers to get the request note are Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Deepak Shivdasani.
In Bhansali's Devdas Madhuri has quite a few dance scenes which she wants to complete first. Her co-stars Aishwarya and Shah Rukh are cooperating with her in sparing dates to accommodate shooting of those portions of the film that have Mads.
Mads has also requested her co-stars of Shivdasani's Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke, Ajay Devgan and Preity Zinta to cooperate with her in finishing the film as soon as possible.
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No bail for Bharat Shah!
The Bharat Shah story has proved wrong all those who believe that money and power can help you rise you above the law. The court rejected Shah's bail application on the grounds that granting him bail at this stage might result in influencing witnesses and tampering with the process of investigation. It seems that it is going to be a while before Shah sees the free world. There's definitely a lesson for all film folks -- Choose your friends more wisely!
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Rani need not have a change of mind!!!!
Mumbai : Rani Mukherjee need to have a change of mind. Karan Johar
always felt "Kuch Kuch hota hai" when he was in the vicinity of Rani,
and vice versa. When Rani walked into that role as an emergency when
other heroines ditched hi, he enhanced the role and she rose to the
occasion. Now, with "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum", Karan requested Raveena
Tandon and Rani Mukherjee to do a special "item" appearance, but was
soon warmed again by Rani Mukherjee and went on to create a special
small role for her in the film!!!
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Prosecution opposes Chori Chori Chupke Chupke's release
MUMBAI (Narad Online): The prosecution today opposed the film financier Bharat Shah's plea for the release of seized negatives of Chori Chori Chupke Chupke even as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) continued grilling Shah for the second successive day on alleged hawala deals.
Shah, facing charge of alleged nexus with the underworld was taken by ED officials for questioning with the leave of the court and produced before designated Judge A P Bhangale.
Stepping into the witness box, Shah sought the judge's permission to meet his family members. His prayer was allowed.
Shah was arrested on January 8 under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) by the Mumbai Police which claims to have recorded telephonic talks between him and Karachi-based gangster Chhota Shakeel.
Shah's lawyer Shiraz Rahimtoola urged for the film's negatives on the ground that distributors appointed by Shah would have to suffer heavy losses for no fault of theirs.
He submitted that Shah's firm +Mega Bollywood Ltd+ had obtained world trade rights in lieu of Rs 12.5 crore advanced to producer Nasim Rizvi to make the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke.
Shah's counsel argued that the firm had nothing to do with the allegations faced by Shah who happened to be one of the directors of Mega Bollywood Ltd.
Special public prosecutor Rohini Salian had earlier suggested appointment of a court receiver to release the film and deposit the proceeds thereof in government treasury.
Shah and 11 distributors of film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke opposed appointment of court receiver on the ground that he would not possess the necessary infrastructure and expertise to release and distribute the film the world over.
The state government also filed an affidavit through a high-ranking official urging the court not to allow the release of the film until the trial concluded.
The state also expressed its opposition to the appointment of a court receiver.
The prosecutor pleaded that the film should not be released until the chargesheet was filed in this case. This was because the police was investigating some aspect of the film's distribution.
The ED was also probing hawala deals of Shah and producer Rizvi to find out from where the money had been obtained to make the film, the prosecutor said.
The income tax department was investigating the sources of Shah's wealth which had been channelised into film production, the court was told.
One of the distributors even placed a newspaper report before the court to show that pirated versions of film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke was released in Pakistan.
If the court did not release the master print of the film, pirated versions would come up all over the world and the distributors would suffer heavy losses, Anand Grover, counsel for one of the respondents, pleaded.
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Lisa makes a place in Bhatt camp
Lisa Ray has been saying that she does not really consider Kasoor as her launch pad.
The svelte actress is full of confidence and knows that there will not be scarcity of offers for her. And how right she was! The actress has already made her place in the Bhatt camp.
Lisa Ray is among those ramp walkers who had to wait for a long time before making their tinsel town debut. And certainly she could not have asked for a better debut than Vikram Bhatt has given her in Kasoor. Now she is all set to put her next best foot forward in another Vikram Bhatt film.
The not-too-enthusiastic Lisa has clinched a plum role in Vikram Bhatt’s next film titled Raaz—which will probably have ghosts in it. Her co-star in the film is Dino Morea.
Content with the appreciation she got from the fashion fraternity Lisa admits that she was not too keen to pursue a career in acting in Bollywood until Kasoor happened. Not only did the film enable her to explore many latent potentialities as an actress, it also brought to fore many shortcomings she was not aware of herself.
For instance, having grown up in the West, Lisa is a bit uncomfortable speaking Hindi. She confesses that she even thinks in English – a fact that makes things more difficult for her.
But now that she is taking the plunge in Hindi cinema the first thing she has on her cards is to improve her Hindi diction. After all, relying every time on dubbing is not easy and it can even undermine a good performance by her.
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Shah Rukh hurts himself
Wasn't somebody talking of Bhansali's Devdas being a jinxed affair?
In the past, on several occasions, untoward incidents disrupted the film's progress. One of the unit hands of the film even lost his life when a huge fan fell on him. And now we hear that the film's hero Shah Rukh Khan, has injured himself badly during shooting.
There was this shot when SRK had to act drunk. Acutely professional and passionate that SRK is about his work, the actor gulped down a few pegs to lend authenticity to the shot. In the big bargain, he lost his balance and while he was required to push a few bottles down, SRK himself went down with the bottles and bruised his hands badly.
First aid was rushed to the star. But knowing SRK, he just wrapped a bandage somehow around his hand and zipped off to Sydney for another shooting schedule.
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A complete interview with Ajay Devgan
AJAY Devgan has ambitious plans for Indian TV. His production company, Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd (DESL) is aiming to launch 15 serials by the end of the year, ranging from children's programmes to emotional and mythological dramas.
After a national award, marriage to actress Kajol, moving into romantic roles from action oriented ones, to distributing and even making films, Ajay Devgan has come a long way. Devgan speaks about his marriage and his future projects.
How is life after a year of marriage?
It's the same but more stabilized. I feel satisfied and content now. But this is not to say I was restless earlier, just that life is fuller now. Kajal (his wife) is the best thing ever to happen to me, and we are compatible in every sense. So life is great.
Both your films Hindustan Ki Kasam and Dil Kya Kare did not do too well at the box office. Did this surprise you?
You can never tell. Sometimes things don't always work according to plan. Hindustan Ki Kasam was my father's (Veeru Devgan) dream. Though it was produced by our home banner I didn't wish to interfere with his work. After all he has his own set of ideas.
As for Dil Kya Kare, you can't write it off just because it didn't do well at the box office. Mahima was brilliant as the wife! People told me the cast was wrong, but the obvious one of Kajal as my wife wouldn't have been right either. Also we didn't want to dramatize the romance, and to our bad luck the audience didn't appreciate the subtlety ...
What made you sign Afzal Khan's Mehbooba?
You can't hold the debacle of the Sanjay Dutt-Madhuri Dixit film Mahaanta against him. He wasn't responsible for it. I have faith in Afzal ... that's why I signed. Things can go wrong even for the best director in the world through no fault of his own.
What about other projects like Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke? Is Dixit's marriage likely to affect the film?
In fact it might help the film. Madhuri plays a married woman in the film. Besides, marriage has nothing to do with an artist's talent. She's still a huge star and we share a good rapport.
There have been reports that Kajol turned down Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas because she didn't want to act in a film without you.
No, he [Bhansali] hasn't approached any of us and I don't think Kajal's the love-me-love-my-husband type. She is a mature girl with professional ethics. She will never jeopardize a project to be with me. I am still friends with Sanjay. We keep in touch. Our friendship is not based on whether we're working together. We respect one another ...
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Film Review: Kasoor
OVER THE past few years she has launched a hundred soaps, a few soft drinks, and a million fantasies. Now, Lisa Ray, resplendent and lustrous as ever, is launched in Bollywood - that ultimate destination of every successful ramp walker - by Vikram Bhatt, in ``Kasoor'', a sharp crime thriller that cannot be blamed for lack of focus. Lisa, in fact, provides a ray of hope for a film which suffers due to the inability of the male cast - Aftab `Mast' Shivdasani and Apoorva `Pardes' Agnihotri - to lend their shoulder to the cause. If the film does not reverse the recent trend of Bollywood offerings coming a cropper at the turnstiles, it will be the `kasoor' of the two wimps of heroes. Not the waif of a heroine.
``Kasoor'' is everything a Hindi film usually is not. For starters it has a debutante walking all over it. From the first frame to the final retribution, Lisa is part of every frame. And she does not add to the furniture's beauty. Playing a corporate lawyer who takes on a criminal case with enthusiasm unyielding to the heavy odds, she invests her role with a determination and dignity one never suspected her to possess. And yes, despite all the apprehensions, her Hindi is neither accented nor stilted. True, she may not have got an opportunity to play the usual Bhartiya nari with sindoor and bangles here, but she makes a good cake of the piece that comes her way.
Aftab, playing the innocent killer, is largely bereft of emotion. In trying to underplay his role, he ends up not playing it at all! And Apoorva gets to wear trendy ties, smart blazers. And walks away with the girl at the end. But merely serves to bring up the appendage to the crime lawyer of Lisa Ray. To him will go the dubious distinction of constantly playing second fiddle to the other hero. And the heroine.
The script is taut, though not without blemishes. The pace picks up only in the second half by which time all the leg-work for the thriller is done. Not to forget the mandatory romantic ditties - Nadeem-Shravan's music while being tolerable is unlikely to challenge the chartbusting score of ``Dhadkan''.
Watch ``Kasoor'' for Lisa Ray, Vikram Bhatt's skilful handling of the courtroom scenes, bit players (Ashutosh Rana and Irfan Khan in finely etched cameos) and clear visual narrative. But if you want your heroes big and bulging, do not go near this one. And do not put the blame (kasoor) on yours truly for not warning you before hand.
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