Priyanka Chopra has revealed that money is not a driving force in her life.
A daily recently questioned the actress that after 9years in the industry, what keeps her going? Is it the fame or the meaty pay package which acts as a driving force?
The actress, who turned 29 yesterday said, "I come from a middle class background and fame hasn`t changed me as a person. I make decent money now but money was never a driving factor for me. I am doing films because it`s like spirituality to me. I am passionate about working in films and that is what keeps me going".
Guess the right attitude of the actress has led her to such fame and popularity in the film industry.
We all know that Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt will be making a cameo in Shah Rukh's upcoming film Ra.One. Well, Dutt who willingly did the cameo in the film for free was 'repaid' with a thoughtful gift by SRK.
Dutt, whose passion for bikes is well known, received a gift worth approx Rs. 15 lakhs in the form of a high-end Italian cruiser bike from SRK! Speaking about this, Dutt said "I really appreciate what Shah Rukh has done. It's a thoughtful gesture."
And that's not all. Priyanka Chopra shot for Ra.One yesterday, despite it being her birthday. The shoot went on till late night. SRK however, thanked Priyanka in his own sweet way. Since Priyanka loves musical instruments, he gifted an expensive acoustic guitar to the actress, after the shoot.
Sameera Reddy, who has been travelling the world, was back in Mumbai recently after about 40 days, for her stage performance at an event. That was where the actress had to field quite a few questions about her disappearing act. But the smart girl that she is, Sexy Sam in turn counter-questioned the press about filling her in on Aamir and Salman Khan.
An eyewitness said, “Someone asked her to react on Aamir’s statement about Salman being handcuffed and taken to a mandap. Sameera quite unabashedly agreed that he should be forced into marriage. She even suggested that Sallu should have an arranged marriage.” While it’s understandable for Aamir to be playful with his close buddy Salman, Sameera, however, is no laughing matter for Sallu. “And from what we know, they aren’t really the best of friends. Her inane comment seems to have irked the eternal bachelor,” added the source. Perhaps Sameera should consider keeping her expert advice to herself for a while.
Guess who's back to playing party poopers in Shah Rukh Khan's life? It's the one political party (you guessed it right the Shiv Sena!) that has never really warmed up to India's most popular superstar.
When King Khan celebrated the release of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara on July 15 with close friends from Bollywood, little did he think that he would be accused of being insensitive towards the Mumbai bomb blast victims.
The Shiv Sena mouthpiece Samna referred to him as a 'villain' saying, "Even a popular star like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan declined to receive an honour bestowed upon her by the French government.
But Shah Rukh Khan did not have the heart to cancel the party." However, for people from the within industry, it is a baseless accusation against the star.
Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says, "I can understand the outrage if Shah Rukh indulged in a celebration on the very day of the blasts.
But when the entire city moved on the very next day, why would you expect people from the film industry to put their lives on pause?
Political parties only need a reason to use tragedies for publicity, and that is exactly what the Shiv Sena is doing."
Adds Farhan Akhtar, who was present at the party, "It is very unfortunate to single him out and target him for wanting to watch the film with us.
It was a simple party with 20-25 of us and that's about it. The timing was unfortunate, but all we wanted to do is celebrate my sister's film with friends and family."
The actor has been on the Shiv Sena's blacklist ever since he advocated the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the IPL last year.
Those protests spilled over to his film My Name Is Khan, where thousands of Sena workers burnt film posters and even threatened the janta against watching the film.
Adds Bhatt, "It is very evident that this is a continuation of their past animosity against him."
Twitteratti
@Breaking views4u: Can't blv
@iamsrk partying harder days after horrible #mumbaiblasts, don't they value peoples' lives? I am with Shiv Sena this time
@divyatweets: Poor Shiv Sena. Getting attention only through SRK. They know SRK is the only way to get attention from everyone. It's call the Don Power.
@shereegg: SRK's party was in bad taste, but what gives the Shiv Sena the right to attack him? Do something more productive people!
....And Shiv Sena loves to love Aamir
So if Shah Rukh sincerely wishes to stay out of trouble with the Shiv Sena, he could perhaps take some tips from Aamir Khan.
The latter's equation with the so-called crusaders of the Marathi manoos couldn't be more politically correct. It is well known that everytime Mr Perfectionist has an upcoming release, a special screening for both Raj and Uddhav Thackeray is always organised.
The Thackeray family was also spotted at Aamir's nephew Imran Khan's wedding reception last year. And apparently, the actor is also helping Smita Thackeray with her film based on the Babri Masjid demolition.
The actress gets Farhan Akhtar to teach her the tricks of the trade Yes, you heard us right. Not satisfied with just a successful acting career, Katrina Kaif now wants to turn director.
And she's pulling out all the stops to make sure this dream comes true, including roping in her her Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara co-star, Actor/Director Farhan Akhtar, to teach her the tricks of the trade.
Says Farhan, "Katrina has always been someone who's very eager to learn. In fact, I think we are all always learning in some way or the other. I don't really consider myself qualified enough to be a mentor, but yes I would love to help in whatever way I can."
The camaraderie between the actors is evident, and not just on screen. At Kat's request, Farhan is now letting her edit one of the sequences of his forthcoming film Don 2. "She wants to learn about post-production, and I was more than happy to let her edit one of the scenes in Don 2. Of course, I also warned her that I won't promise to include that sequence in the film," he grins.
For over a year now the actress has been looking to broaden her horizons and look beyond the screen.
First, she wanted to turn producer by purchasing the rights of a French film, and now she wants to play the captain of the ship with a directorial debut. Clearly, a film like Zindagi directed by a woman director has inspired her even more.
Power-puff women Katrina says, "This is my second film with a female director after Farah Khan, and I have to say Zoya comes with her own sensibilities.
I don't know if it's just because she is a woman, but working with her was a once- in-a-lifetime experience." Well, one life to live is the philosophy of Zindagi... and we have to say Katrina is implementing it to the tee.
Neha Dhupia is back in the news again for the argument she has put forth regarding her upcoming film From Gandhi To Hitler. It seems some critics have lashed out at the film for certain linguistic issues. And to counter them, the actress has raised a question that if illiterate characters are shown speaking in English in Slumdog Millionaire, then why can’t her character in FGTH speak Hindi even though she plays a German.
“We haven’t spoken German throughout the film because we didn’t feel the need to. I don’t think many minded when the uneducated, poor characters in Slumdog Millionaire spoke fluent English. I am not saying we should have objected to that. But then if we accepted that, there is no reason why Hitler or Eva can’t speak in Hindi. After all, once you are 10 minutes into a film, language becomes rudimentary,” says Neha who plays Eva Braun, Hitler’s wife.
This is Neha’s first-ever biopic, that too one where she essays the challenging role of Hitler’s lover and wife for 40 hours. The film brings alive the last few days of the dictator’s life when he spent some heartfelt moments with Eva. She strongly defends the makers of the film who didn’t compromise on any account at the cost of the product.
“In an industry, where everyone makes a romcom the moment they have the money, hats off to my directors who chose to take a different road. It is so unfair when instead of coming out with good support for such ventures, some of us are being critical on flimsy grounds. Can we not get trapped in this mentality please?” Will her pleas go some way in saving her flailing career? We can only wait and watch as the drama unfolds.
Actress Reemma Sen’s Bengali movie Iti Srikanta, where she’s played the sensational role of a commercial sex worker, was talked about for her bold bedroom scenes.
The film is now being dubbed in Tamil and will be called Ilavarasi. A period film set in 1910, the movie is directed by ace Bengali filmmaker Anjan Das and has Soha Ali Khan and Adil playing lead roles.
Reemma plays a girl called Rajalakshmi who is from a poor family and comes to be sold by her mother to a landlord for money. Later, she is named Daasi by the landlord and forced into prostitution.
Sources reveal that the lovemaking scene between Reemma and Adil created a big stir when the Bengali original was released. The movie has won two awards – one for art direction and the other for sound effects.
Although Reemma does not have any films in hand in K’town, the makers of Iti Srikanta feel that her hot and bold act will work the necessary magic at the box-office.
The Censor Board has cleared Ilavarasi with an A Certification.
Katrina Kaif brought in her birthday on July 15 by booking a table for herself at a fancy Chinese restaurant two blocks away from her own home.
Present for the dinner were Arjun Kapoor(Boney Kapoor's son)Ayan Mukerjee(Wake Up Sid), Kabir Khan( New York) and Alvira Agnihotri(Salman's younger sister).
The next day July 16(her birthday) Katrina spent a part of her day promoting ZNMD as is reported in the media. But what no one knows is that she then drove to Salman's house(Galaxy Apartments, Bandstand) for a special birthday lunch.
The menu was kheema-pav, rajma-chawal and a lot of other specialities that the Khan household is famous for.
Says a source, For once Kat ate to her hearts content with no diet constraints. Later in the evening, she spent time with her personal assistant Sandhya and her team planning the look test for her film Ek Tha Tiger. Today Katrina will spend the day doing her look test. Salman Khan is on his farm at Panvel
And though he was expected to join Kat for the test, he is likely to rehearse for a song for his next release Bodyguard instead.''
It's been two months since Bollywood's model couple John Abraham and Bipasha Basu ended their nine-year-old relationship.
While John has spoken about it on TV, Bipasha has kept to herself. Reports of her schmoosing stars from both Hollywood and Bollywood have done the rounds, yet the sexy actor maintains she is single.
In a candid chat she talks about going through heartbreak and emerging as a naughty 16-year-old with the world at her feet.
How has being single changed life?
It's is a weird thing. The first month was really scary. By the second month, I started getting excessive male attention; I couldn't deal with it. It was like a bumper sale at a departmental store. After the third month I actually started enjoying all the attention. It made me feel special.
Has a whole new world opened up for you?
The world was always there; I chose not to look at it. Now I see what I was missing, and I love every bit of it.
You sound liberated. Do you wish this had happened earlier?
It had to happen when it did. I don't like to live in regret. I was in a relationship by choice. When I was in it, I was fully into it. Now I am not there. Once I move on, I don't look back.
You've been very miserable in the past...
Who doesn't get miserable in a relationship once in a while? There are high and low points.
You seem to be linked with lots of men these days, including Shahid Kapoor?
Yeah. If the man is cute I don't mind being linked to him. The moment I am linked to someone who is 'ugh', I will protest!
So is a relationship with Shahid in the realm of possibility?
Anything is possible. After what has happened to me I firmly believe that. And I always say, never say never. I'm touched people feel that I'm supposed to have gone into the serial dating zone, immediately after a long relationship. First there was some Russian guy...then there was Josh.
Is there any truth to the rumours about Josh Hartnett?
It wasn't practical. You can't have a relationship with a human being living in another part of the world.
A week back, John spoke on a TV show about the end of your relationship...
I've no comment to make on what he said. It's his life, his version of what happened and his mouth saying it.
Why haven't you spoken about why you broke up?
I am not interested. It's over and done with. I suffer from a weak memory. And I like it that way.
How can you erase years of your life?
I'm blessed, don't you think? Unpleasant things get erased automatically; this took some time. But finally practical considerations and self-respect helped me move on. I will never use a public platform to prove how good I am or how much I'm suffering.
Forgetting 11 years?
It was nine years. The media keeps getting the number confused. He (John) is no more a part of my life and I don't want to talk about him. He's doing enough talking.
All your friends say that you made John's world your own...
Yes, that's what they said. But until you see it for yourself you don't do anything about it. Everything happens at the right time.
How do you feel now after the breakup?
Like a naughty 16-year old brat! I am restless, fidgety. I'm doing interesting work, travelling, meeting friends and giving time for my family. I'm a hugely gregarious person. I don't judge people. I befriend them blindly.
Who are your friends?
Dianne Pandey and designer Rocky S. These are rock-solid presences in my life. Rocky is like a brother; he can't see me unhappy. He looks like a crazy party animal, but to me he's an anchor. Dianne is an older sister.
You are cagey about your personal life...
I'm a little bit more guarded about my personal life now. I can't answer questions like, 'Whom were you seen with last evening?' I might even lie. I want to keep my private space to myself.
The actress makes her foray into direction with a huge project the life of Gautam Buddha She has been known to do the unpredictable, and now we hear Manisha Koirala will soon be taking on another challenging role in Bollywood, this time behind the cameras.
The Nepali-Indian actress is all set to make her directorial debut with a film based on the life of Gautam Buddha.
Following inspirations A well-placed source reveals, "Manisha is highly inspired by the life of Buddha. When she was approached to direct the film, she immediately agreed. The film is being produced by a Sri Lankan producer and will be shot in Sri Lanka. The script is going through a few changes. If all goes well, the film will go on the floor by the end of this year."
Bollywood projects on the renowned Buddhist spiritual teacher have been jinxed for quite sometime now. The subject drew many filmmakers, but for one reason or the other the ventures failed to take off.
Nearly 12 years ago, Mira Nair abandoned her Buddha movie because Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci beat her to it with his Little Buddha starring Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha. Shyam Benegal was supposed to direct it in 2007 with Hrithik Roshan as Buddha.
Then, filmmaker Ashutosh Gowarikar revived the project and conducted a nationwide hunt for a newcomer to play the lead. A lot of high profile international technicians were roped in for the magnum opus, but it hit a roadblock since it went over-budget. The film was co-produced by industrialist B K Modi.
Finally, the project may see the light of day. While Manisha was unavailable for comment, her manager confirmed, "Yes, it is true that she is turning a director soon. I am told that it is in the scripting stage. Manisha is coming to Mumbai soon to start work on the film."
Actors who turned directors Aamir Khan Ajay Devgan Sohail Khan Anupam Kher Naseeruddin Shah Pankaj Kapoor Hema Malini Kamal Haasan Deepti Naval Deepa Sahi
