Malaika Arora (Munni) turns 37

 MUMBAI: Bollywood item girl Malaika Arora Khan, who has delivered another raging hit with the song " Munni badnaam hui", turned 37 today.

Malaika Arora has gone for a family holiday to celebrate her 37th birthday.

Malaika's younger sister Amrita revealed the plans on Twitter, but chose not to disclose their destination.

"Takin a family holiday after really long. My parents, sister, friends, Arbaaz, Arhaan! Phewww ... 18 of us going ... can't wait! It's Malaika's birthday on the 23rd. So she wanted to take her family with her," Amrita shared on the micro-blogging site.

Amrita, who married long-time beau Shakeel Ladak and now has a son named Azaan, says Malaika "truly deserves it (the holiday)."

"Never met a more hardworking girl," she added

Amitabh, Vidya to star in Kabulliwallah

MUMBAI: Vidya Balan and Amitabh Bachchan conjured up a terrific screen chemistry in the film ‘Paa’ where they played mother-son. And while that film went on to give ‘Auro’ his national award, the word is out that Vidya and Amitabh are teaming up again.




And yet again, they are not playing the romantic pair (which is surprising given that Amitabh has romanced younger lots like Tabu and Jiah Khan in ‘Cheeni Kum’ and ‘Nishabd’ respectively).



Well! Renowned Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh is all geared up to bring on celluloid the tale of Kabulliwallah penned by the Noble Award winner Rabindranath Tagore. Amitabh shall play the protagonist Kabulliwallah who woos the young girl Mini with his baadam pistas and akhroths. Vidya shall play the grow-up avatar of Mini.



Vidya Balan is pretty gung ho about this project as Kabulliwallah is one of her favorite stories. Vidya often wonders what may have happened to the character of Mini post her marriage. This is, surely, a touching, moving tale of an old man and an inquisitive girl and deserves a celluloid immortality by the likes of great actors like Amitabh.



AB Corp Ltd's " Paa", which starred Vidya along with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, not only received rave reviews, but also won four National Awards - best actor for Big B, best supporting actress for Arundhati Nag, best make up artist award for Christein Tinsley and Dominie Till and best Hindi film.



Vidya is also said to be one of the favourites of Jaya Bachchan. According to a source, when the two met at Shabana Azmi's birthday party, they greeted each other warmly.



"At Shabana's party, Jayaji hugged Vidya and was so glad to see her there. She is very fond of Vidya and considers her to be lucky for the production house since 'Paa' did extremely well," said a source.

Ajay Devgan to star in 'Speed' remake

MUMBAI: Bollywood hero Ajay Devgan will next be seen in an action thriller inspired by Speed and set on the London Underground.




The film is currently being shot in London following extensive negotiations with the transport authorities, the Hindustan Times has reported.



Director Priyadarshan told the site: "It was imperative to shoot in an actual train to give the film a realistic touch. It wasn’t easy to get permission."



He added that the actors and crew had difficulties in getting work permits because the film was perceived to be about terrorism.



"It’s about a headstrong man (Ajay Devgan) wanting to show his power over the establishment and hence, holding a moving train to ransom," Priyadarshan said.

Meryl Streep's Margaret Thatcher depiction to be 'sympathetic'

Meryl Streep's Margaret Thatcher depiction to be 'sympathetic'




LONDON: Meryl Streep is set to depict ailing former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in a "sympathetic" light in the upcoming biopic The Iron Lady.



The Oscar-winning legend will take on the role of the famously tough ex-leader, who divided opinion throughout the 1980s and early 1990s when she battled with trade union leaders and declared war on Argentina over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.



However, according to co-star Jim Broadbent - who will portray the ex-leader's devoted husband Denis- Streep is determined to show Thatcher's softer side in the movie.



"Of course it will be a sympathetic portrayal, that's what he was, he was very sympathetic. It'll be a sympathetic portrayal of Margaret as well," the Daily Express quoted him saying.



And Broadbent is convinced American Streep is the perfect choice to play the steely politician - insisting she'll be as good at the English accent as his Bridget Jones's Diary co-star Renee Zellweger.



"She'll be fantastic. She'll be as good as Renee Zellweger was playing Bridget Jones. For me it's a real treat," he added.

Deepika playing two contrast roles in two films

MUMBAI: The “Om shanti Om” actress, Deepika Padukone, is playing two challenging contrast roles in two of her forthcoming films. She is playing the strong and passionate Kalpana in “Khalein Hum Jiye Jaan Se” and the happy-go-lucky Aaliya in “Break Ke Baad”.




The actress said that playing two contrastive characters was really challenging for her.



Deepika Padukone did both the films immediately one after another. The plots of both the films are dissimilar to one another. While Ashutosh Gowarika’s “Khalen Hum Jee Jaan Se” is a period thriller and Kunal Kohli’s “Break Ke Baad” is a contemporary love story. In an interview Deepika said, "I did Break Ke Baad and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey immediately one after the other. So I think it was very challenging for me in terms of my mind space to shift from the character in a romantic modern-day love story to the one in a period film."



The upcoming romantic number “Break Ke Baad”, directed by Danish Ashlam tells the story of a young couple who breaks and tries to unite later. Deepika is playing opposite Imran Khan in the film. Being a great a great admirer of Sharukh Khan, the actress along with Imran will be seen paying tribute to SRK in their upcoming film. When asked to Deepika if the character Aaliya have any similarity to the character Meera in “Love Aaj Kal”. The actress revealed that both the characters are completely different and opposite to each other.



Gowarika’s, thriller “Khalein Hum Jee Jaan Se”, is based on the book “Do or Die” by Manini Chaterjee. Beside Deepika Padukon, Abhishek Bachchan will feature in the film.



Deepika’s radical gesture made the director signed the actress for the film. After seeing the trailer of the film one may be regretful why Deepika and Abhishek were not cast together before in any film.



Deepika said that though the stories of both the films are different but the two characters have some core qualities in common. Both Aaliya and Kalpana are independent, strong-minded and optimistic girls. The actress said, “They are girls who have their own set of ideals, girls who want to be independent; so in that way I have identified with both characters."



With films like “Lafange Parindey” and “Housefull”, the year, 2010 have been a great year for Deepika Padukon. Hope with the upcoming two films, Deepika’s coming year is unveiled with success and great hits.

Ali Zafar comes to Katrina’s rescue

MUMBAI: Neither Salman Khan nor Ranbir Kapoor and not her co-star Imran Khan could come to her rescue when she needed it the most. But it was the Pakistani singer turned actor Ali Zafar who became her saviour as Katrina had a minor accident.

It all transpired on the sets of ‘Mere Brother ki Dulhan’. As per reports, Katrina was standing close to a pedestal fan and all of a sudden her hairs got entangled and were being sucked in. A huge mishap may have occurred had Ali Zafar not instantly leapt to her rescue.

Ali Zafar helped her hair get untangled and in the process himself suffered from bruises.

A local spot boy also played his part and got injured. Katrina was overwhelmed with gratitude and gave Ali a tight, warm hug. However, the spot boy wasn’t that fortunate.

It was Katrina’s way of professing her gratefulness and of course, Ali is not complaining.

On hindsight, he must have enjoyed the hug. Ali, who made his Bollywood debut with ‘Tere Bin Laden’ is playing Imran Khan’s brother in ‘Mere Brother ki Dulhan’ which is, currently, in the pipeline.

 

Bollywood looks for Diwali success

MUMBAI: Bollywood is gearing up for a slew of new releases over the Hindu festival of Diwali, with expectations high that they will provide some cheer after a lacklustre year at the box office. At least 10 big films are due to hit the screens in the coming weeks, with hopes of success pinned on the comedy "Golmaal 3" and the time-travel romance "Action Replayy" that will be released on Diwali itself on November 5. Like the Christmas period for Hollywood, Diwali has traditionally been seen as a money-spinner for India's Hindi-language film industry, as studios look to attract the holiday crowd with well-trailed movies featuring big name stars. Industry watchers estimate that Bollywood could make four billion rupees (90 million dollars) by the end of the year. "The year has not been so good," said leading analyst Amod Mehra. "The success ratio has been very low. The worst period for the industry was in May and June when two films, 'Kites' and 'Raavan' bombed badly. "The losses from these two films was two billion rupees and it was a huge blow. "A ray of hope has been provided by two films, 'Dabaang' (Fearless) and 'Robot'. Things are looking very promising this festive season." "Dabaang", starring Salman Khan, grossed 10.8 million dollars during its opening weekend last month, surpassing the record of Aamir Khan's hit "3 Idiots", which took nine million dollars earlier this year. The sci-fi fantasy adventure "Robot", made in three languages and starring the South Indian film legend Rajinikanth, opened two weeks ago and took more than double that, according to industry figures. Trailers for "Golmaal 3" have been well received, amid hopes it can repeat the success of previous editions of the comic capers of a group of young friends. "Expectations are huge from 'Golmaal 3'," said critic Komal Nahta. "It's a sure shot winner. It's the same with 'Action Replayy'." "Golmaal 3" stars Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor with a return to the screens for veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, "the Indian James Bond", whose spy films from the 1980s have become cult hits. "Action Replayy" sees Akshay Kumar go back in time to the 1970s to try to save his parents' ailing marriage. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan -- fresh from her success alongside Rajinikanth in "Robot" -- also stars, with a supporting cast of huge flares, wing collars and platform shoes. A successful Diwali would raise spirits in Bollywood, which was hit last year by a producers' boycott of multiplex cinemas, swine flu fears and a string of big budget failures. The economic downturn also affected overseas takings. Overall revenues fell 14 percent to 89.3 billion rupees in 2009, consultancy KPMG said in a report for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The chief executive of the Star India group, Uday Shankar, told Businessworld magazine this month that only 14 of the 235 films released in the 12 months to August this year made a net profit. Concerns have been expressed about the fees demanded by some leading actors and the need for studios to diversify revenue streams through cable and satellite television rights, the DVD home rental market and music downloads. Salman Khan also echoed another long-standing worry in an interview with Businessworld. "Perhaps not enough attention is paid to the script or sometimes viewers just don't like the film," he was quoted as saying. "There are many entertainment options these days. It is a difficult phase for the industry but the show must go on." AGENCIES