Director-producer Anurag Kashyap is known for making small-budget films with newcomers or small time actors. Now the writer wishes to work with stars

"I know Shahrukh for a very long time. Longer than anyone. Firstly, we are from the same college and we also played for the same hockey team, but we have never worked together. I want to work with him. I want to work with Ranbir Kapoor, I want to work with Hrithik Roshan," says the 39-year-old filmmaker.He has so far made films like Black Friday, Dev D, Gulaal and Udaan. Now Kashyap is looking for exciting ideas before approaching big names in filmdom. "I really wanted to work with Amitabh Bachchan, but it has to be one thing he is excited by. If I meet him, it does not mean that I am doing a film with him. I am trying to figure out what can I pitch to anyone so that they get excited and make a film," he said.

"I really want to make a big film but the other party should also be excited. So, let me first propose an idea," added the filmmaker whose production venture Shaitan was appreciated by the audience this year. Meanwhile, Kashyap is busy filming thriller, Ugly, which has Rahul Bhatt, Ronit Roy and Tejaswini Kolhapure. He is also working on Gangs of Wasseypur and is co-producing Rani Mukerji and Prithviraj starrer Aiyaa.

Related TagsAiyaa

Click to Comment January 19th, 2012 By IANS

Ranbir Kapoor, who recently bagged a Screen award for the best actor for his performance in Rockstar, says winning honours is important, but the process of making a film is more important. "Awards are important because it's an acknowledgement. We work very hard for a film. But I think, for me, the process of making the whole film is more important," said the 29-year-old who is happy to have worked with names like late Shammi Kapoor, A R Rahman and Imtiaz Ali in Rockstar. Both critics and moviegoers loved his character of Janardhan who transforms into Jordan in the hit film, but Ranbir doesn't hope to win all the awards this season. "I don't think so, but if I get all of them I will be happy," said Ranbir who is currently filming for Anurag Basu's Barfee. The Kapoor boy is also, reportedly, doing a film based on the life of legendary actor-singer Kishore Kumar.

 

Related Tags18 Annual Screen Awards

Shooting Har Pall with Shiney Ahuja may not have been a cherishable experience for Preity Zinta. But a lot has happened since then. Times have changed. Shiney has been to hell and back. And Preity who had apparently vowed to stay away from all things to do with Shiney, has now decided to promote their film together.

Confirming this Shiney says, "We're looking at May or June for release because before that Preity is busy with the IPL. As far as I'm concerned there was never any problem with Preity. She's a lovely person. When I was going through my legal stress she had sent across a message of support. I've finished my dubbing for Har Pall and so has she. We will now work towards releasing the film. It's an important film for both of us, and for the director Jahnu Baruah who's internationally recognized."

Shiney refuses to accept that the makers of his stalled films were playing the wait-and-watch film. "I don't think my personal problems affect my work. People won't watch Ghost or Harr Pall because they feel sympathetic towards me. Neither will they stay away because they dislike me."

Remind him that leading ladies invariably had a problem working with him and Shiney responds softly, "I was and I continue to be a professional on the sets. The problem, as you describe it, was never from my side. I got along with all my leading ladies from Chitrangda to Sushmita Sen to Preity Zinta and Kangna. In fact Kangna has gone on record after my troubles to say she would gladly work with me again. So I don't know who were the leading ladies who had a problem with me. I was always fully focused on that stretch of time between 'action' and 'cut'. And I still am."

Shiney has been given back his passport. And he is free to travel anywhere he wishes. He divides his time between Mumbai and Delhi. He and his supremely supportive spouse Anupam are now closer together than ever before.

"My only concern during those dark days in prison was my wife and daughter's safety. In fact when all hell broke out I remember my first thought was, 'Will this affect my child's future?' I've survived because of God and my wife. And she withstood the ordeal because of my parents and her parents. My parents and my in-laws live close to each other in Delhi. So the family circle never wavered in my absence."

Shiney has truly put the stress of conviction and incarceration behind him for now. "If you ask me, my life is back to normal for now. I went to innumerable cities to promote my latest film. Nowhere was I asked about my legal crisis. It's only now when you ask me about it that I'm reminded of the sword that hangs over my head."

Shiney says the thought of returning to jail is inconceivable. "The first time I didn't know what lay in store for me. Now I do. It's like your car rams into a truck. You spend months in hospital and then when you've recovered you're told you've to get back into that car and get rammed by that truck again."

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Barely two months old, Beti B is all set to fly abroad and take a break from the media frenzy around her in India. Abhishek and Aishwarya might zero in on London

Confined to home during her much talked-about pregnancy and two months after giving birth to the most anticipated baby in B-town, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan now needs a break. After the disappointing response to Players, we think Abhishek too needs a fresh start. And Beti B, after much hoopla over her starry birth needs a vacation too, where she along with her super-star parents can relax and breathe easy! So that the Bachchan trio is set to get away from the prying eyes of media and spend quality time most probably in London.

Since Ash's baby is still nameless, we started wondering what her name on the passport will be, but thankfully she's too young to need one! Anyway, the Bachchans had put the naming ceremony on hold since they believed that the period up to January 15 was astrologically inauspicious. But the inauspicious phase is over now and we hear that the couple will head out of the country soon after the naming ceremony is conducted. Looks like the suspense is just about to end!

 

Related TagsAbhiash's baby girl

Cricket and Bollywood are the two major religions in India, and the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), a mixture of both, kick-started Season 2 in Sharjah on Jan 13. After a disastrous outing the last time round, Mumbai Heroes featuring our very own B-town stars began Season 2 in much better fashion. The match between Salman Khan's Mumbai Heroes led by Suniel Shetty and the Chennai Rhinos witnessed the Mumbai Heroes powering past the Rhinos by 23 runs. Incidentally, Chennai Rhinos were the winners of CCL last season.

Mumbai Heroes skipper Suniel Shetty won the toss and opted to bat first on a pitch that promised a cracker a match for those present at the picturesque stadium in Stadium.

Raja was the top scorer with a swashbuckling half-century and he was well-supported by Aftab Shivdasani who made a valuable 26. The duo ensured that Mumbai Heroes set a stiff target of 148 for the team from Chennai film industry. However, Chennai Rhinos found it too much of a target to chase and eventually lost the match.

During the post-match presentation ceremony, Salman was presented with a special memorabilia which was a bat signed by Pakistan team that played the 200th ODI at Sharjah against Sri Lanka in November last year.

 

National Award-winning Adaminte Makan Abu did not get nominated at the Oscars' next round. Meanwhile, Cineswami also gives his take on UTV Motion Pictures' 2012 slate of films

Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 84th Academy Awards or Oscars to you and I. Sixty-three films had originally qualified in the category, including India's entry Adaminte Makan Abu, the Malayalam film directed by Salim Ahmed. Sadly, not having the nous of an Aamir Khan, Ahmed was unable to parlay the selection into a place in the shortlist, let alone a nomination in the final five. Thus, Lagaan, Salaam Bombay and Mother India remain the only Indian films to receive Oscar nominations.

Cineswami was invited to an exclusive preview of UTV Motion Pictures' upcoming 2012 slate of films and is pleased to report that bar some, they are all worth looking forward to. Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor's Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu seems a safe Valentine's Day bet; Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana looks to be an edgy comedy as befits a film from Anurag Kashyap's stable with the added bonus of a clean shaven (and dentally fixed) Kunal Kapoor; Prabhu Deva's Vikramarkudu remake Rowdy Rathore seems like a worthy addition to the Wanted/Singham genre in spite of Akshay Kumar; and the most pleasant surprise of all being Anurag Basu's Barfi that despite having a storyline that reads like a bad Bhansali film gone horribly wrong is in reality a slapstick, sweet Chaplinesque or Raj Kapoorish piece of whimsy replete with pratfalls and the like.

We'll reserve judgement on Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine featuring a newly flabby Kareena Kapoor because no matter how much effort she puts in, it's by-the-numbers Bhandarkar behind the camera. The footage that elicited a very public

The Krrish actor declares that she's absolutely fine with people noticing her style more than her acting prowess

We understand when someone like Sonam Kapoor says something like that because she's an actor who's well aware that her fashion acumen is way better than her emoting capability. We also think she does an intelligent job by not delving too much into the scripts and stories arena. Instead she continues sticking to the nuts and bolts of fashion – something she's really good at. But when someone like Kangna says this, it does shock at least a li'l bit (not that we care much!). No doubt we love the babe's spunk and the courage to experiment with her looks every now and then, but considering she's a decent performer, we think the actor should think twice before making a statement like that

The veteran music composer, to whom the song My name is Anthony Gonsalves was dedicated, passed away last night. He was 84.

Anthony Gonsalves, a Goan orchestra maestro and the man to whom the Amitabh Bachchan's legendary Bollywood song My name is Anthony Gonsalves was dedicated, is no more. Gonsalves was suffering from pneumonia for the last few days, and died in hospital at the Goa Medical College Wednesday night. An orchestra maestro and a capable music arranger and known for his magical violin skills, Gonsalves had worked with well-known composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal, who dedicated the Amar Akbar Anthony song to the Goan musician.

The veteran had also worked with legendary music director SD Burman and was associated with Guru Dutt's Pyaasa and BR Chopra's iconic film Naya Daur among several other chartbusting films of the time. Gonsalves who used to play the violin in the choir at the Majorda church, 45km from Panaji, migrated to Mumbai in the pre-independence era and earned his laurels with Naushad, a great music director of the time.

Gonsalves is survived by his wife Melita, son Kiran and daughter Laxmi.

Related TagsAmar Akbar Anthony

The ongoing India-Australia series may be bit of a damper, but back home cricketer Zaheer Khan's life seems to be going great. According to the latest reports, Zaheer is all set to marry his long time girlfriend Isha Sharwani this year.

Their families met and have finalized the wedding details. If all goes well the couple will get married at the end of March, but if they can't do the preparations so fast they will tie the knot in October. The final decision will be made after Zaheer returns from the ongoing Australia tour.

Zaheer first met Isha in 2005 and but after two years of dating they decided to end their relationship. They got back together in 2010 and have going strong ever since.

Click to Comment January 19th, 2012 Spotted at the airport, along with beau Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ms Balan seems to be having the time of her life teasing the paparazzi and playing around with the shutterbugs

Cheap thrills or guilty pleasures, whatever you call it, but we think Ms Balan is back to her childhood days. There are celebs who resort to pretty serious measures (and expressions!) in trying to signal the media to stay away and stop taking their photographs. But Vidya, who was recently caught sitting next to boyfriend SRK aka Sidharth Roy Kapur in the car, seemed to be enjoying playing hide and seek with the media.

It's one thing to shoot films in foreign locations and enjoy their hospitality, and quite another to flout the country's rules. Abbas-Mustan's Players, shot predominantly in New Zealand, has run into trouble for doing exactly that

The Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu thriller was in big enough trouble after performing miserably at the box office and now, even after it is out of the theatres, there's more in store. A majority of the people working on the New Zealand schedule of Players were locals. The collaboration between the two countries was made to pave way for more Bollywood productions in NZ. But Prime Minister John Key doesn't seem too keen on that any more.

Apparently, during the filming of Players, the local crew was made to work 30 to 32 days at a stretch and did not receive their remuneration on time either. A li'l birdie tells us that damages to the property and certain locations where the shoot took place were also ignored. Local business also complained that the production did not take into concern the safety and the health hazards, and have violated many of the country's laws. After all this, we wonder if the New Zealand authorities will still allow a B-town film to be shot there. Tch tch

IST Vidya Balan is certainly on a high post her award winning act in The Dirty Picture. Now the super-talented actress is all set to do her first item number in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's home production Ferrari Ki Sawaari.

The director of the film Rajesh Mapuskar along with Raju Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra thought Vidya would be the perfect choice for this song. It may be recalled that Vidhu Vinod Chopra was the first one who gave Vidya her first break with Parineeta and there was no way the actress could refuse this offer.

Here's hoping Vidya once again makes us go Ooh La La with this item song.

Shriya Saran tried her luck in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies, but it was the unprecedented box-office success of Tamil film "Shivaji: The Boss" that she feels gave her acting career a new lease of life.

"Shivaji changed my life completely. It did give me a lot of respect. It did open a lot of doors for me. Deepa Mehta saw me in 'Shivaji' and took me for 'Cooking With Stella' and again in 'Midnight's Children'. A lot of Hindi movie directors approached me after 'Shivaji', " Shriya Saran, 29, told.

The 2007 movie that had matinee idol Rajinikanth in the title role was one of the top earners of the year.

Though she has made it big in southern cinema, Shriya is still struggling for name and fame in Bollywood and her last Hindi release was 2009 movie "Ek: The Power of One".

After a three-year break, she will be seen in a Hindi movie titled "Gali Gali Shor Hai" which she said "is a political satire. It's not that we are slapping the system. It's just that we are trying to bring a change."

Shriya has teamed up with Mugdha Godse and Akshaye Khanna in "Gali Gali Shor Hai", which is hitting screens Feb 3.

"Don't know whether it's a comeback or a long gap, but when I am doing a Telugu film people often ask me, 'Why aren't you doing Tamil films? When I am doing a Tamil film, they ask me why aren't you doing Hindi films. It was never a conscious effort. I would like to do Hindi films as I am comfortable talking in Hindi, " she said.

Not only Hindi, she speaks other languages effortlessly.

"Hindi comes naturally to me because it's my mother tongue. Of course, even English! Telugu I have learnt and it is my third language. I have also learnt Tamil but Malayalam is difficult."

Celebrity talk show host Oprah Winfrey dragged herself into a controversy on Thursday as her bodyguard allegedly beat up few video journalists in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura city.

The incident occurred while the internationally acclaimed TV host was shooting for her show 'Next Chapter' in Mathura.

According to media reports, Oprah's bodyguards allegedly hit the video journalists when they tried to get close to her.

The American talk show host is in India for a week and Bollywood stars were seen spending some quality time with her.

Within few hours of arriving in Mumbai, Oprah headed towards the Bachchan residence, perhaps to meet the new arrival in the Bachchan family. After spending an hour there, superstar Amitabh Bachchan himself drove the lady to a private party hosted in her honor by acclaimed Indian socialite Parmeshwar Godrej.

Clad in a beautiful orange saree, believed to be gifted and then draped by Aishwarya, Oprah was accompanied by the entire Bachchan clan including son Abhishek and mother Jaya.

The party saw almost every big celebrity of tinsel town including Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Priety Zinta, Lara Dutta, Shilpa Shetty, Anil Kapoor, Imran Khan, Neha Dhupia, Sameera Reddy, Hrithik Roshan, Kangna Ranaut, Dino Morea, Ashutosh Gowariker, Javed Akhtar along with wife Shabana Azmi and children Farhan and Zoya Akhtar, Arjun Rampal among others.

Also present were novelist Shobha De, business tycoon Anil Ambani along with wife Tina Ambani and jewelry designer Farah Khan Ali etc.

On Tuesday, Oprah toured a slum in the Colaba neighborhood close to the Taj Palace hotel where she is staying. This visit was an endeavor to get a broad view of all facets of the country.

She is in India for her new show

Posted on 12. Jan, 2012 by Ashu Pareek in Bollywood News, Hot News, Katrina Kaif, Rajinikanth

Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif has previously worked with the Khans and now she is going to work with South superstar Rajinikanth.

Katrina is working first time with Rajinikanth in the film "Kochadian". Rajinikanth's daughter Sondarya is directing this movie "Kochadian".

Sources revealed, "Yes, it is true that Katrina Kiaf is going to work with Rajinikanth. We believe that South Star and North Star will make a big magic together. She is currently busy with Yash Raj Films but she is ready to work with us and have given the dates.

On the other hand film director and Rajinikanth's daughter Saundrya said, "Yes, we are in talks with Katrina, and very soon we will announce it officially".

Some parts of the film have been shot already. Rajinikanth is playing the role of a king who is a devotee of Lord Shiva in the film. Katrina will be seen in romancing with Rajinikanth. The film's music will be given by AR Rahman. AR Rahman called 130 musicians from Germany for the background music of the film.

It will be a major challenge for Katrina Kaif but she always wanted to work with Rajinikanth. First look of the film is expected to be released in the third week of January.

Now let's see that what wonders Katrina will make with Rajinikanth after working with Khans.

In an age dictated by short attention spans that demand continuous stimulation, is it any wonder A-list heroines are grabbing their three minutes of onscreen time?

Going by the film's promos, one can be forgiven for assuming that Katrina Kaif has a prominent role in the upcoming Karan Johar production, Agneepath.

Many of the film's trailers revolve around her undulations to the chartbuster Chikni Chameli. But the truth behind this impression is that Kaif is only making a special appearance in the film.

Of course, Kaif nails the showstopper, alternating spurts of vigorous athleticism with eroticised grace. Ergo the buzz.

Kaif enthuses, "The response to Chikni Chameli has been fun. It is a great song, and we have all had a blast doing it. I hope it goes on to become really popular." No worries there -- the song's popularity is already another bingo moment for the actor.

Little wonder then that the formula has taken Bollywood by storm. Kaif is only the latest in a line of A-list heroines to perk up a movie by performing a high-wattage dance, and then disappearing from the film.

Mallika Sherawat who is expert in kissing her co-star in films will give Vivek Oberoi a lesson as how to lock-lips on screen for their new flick, 'Kismat, Paisa, Love, Dilli'. The script demands a lip-locking scene and intense love between them but Vivek who has not locked lips before is bit nervous about the idea but Mallika made him ease. She told Vivek she wouldl teach him how to kiss.

Our source says, "When Mallika read the scenes she was more than okay with the idea, but Vivek was a little skeptical. He has never kissed on screen before, but she told him that it would be no big deal."

Adds the source, "Most people know that she has no qualms about doing sensual sequences."

IN KPLD, Mallika will play a Delhi guy and Mallika a Haryani. Undoubtedly, the intimate scene will be too loud and intense. The scene will be shot at Buddha Gardens in Delhi, which is a popular lovers spot.

Says a source, "Vivek plays a hardcore Delhi guy and Mallika plays a Haryanvi. So the romance between them is also pretty loud and in your face.
 
The writers thought this would be an ideal location since people would be familiar with the surroundings and therefore will look natural."

The film will be produced by Amit Chandra and Kishen Chowdhary.

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