"What's creating more dhoom is the audience. It's so nice these days that we can do any kind of film because the audience is not ready for stereotypes," said the 31-year-old actress.

"Whether you do a 'Delhi Belly', or a 'Dirty Picture' or a 'Pappu Can't Dance Saala' or 'Mission Impossible 4' - there is an audience for everything. The only thing that's causing dhoom in the industry is a good script, and then.

..

the audience decides," she added. Neha's new film "Pappu Can't Dance Saala" has just hit the screens.

Meanwhile, be it Vidya Balan or Kareena Kapoor - Bollywood's 30-plus actresses have been lately stealing the thunder Neha feels age is irrelevant when it comes to quality work. "I think age has got nothing to do with it.

..

Whether you're 20, 30 or 40. It all depends on the kind of cinema you are doing," said Neha at the Gillette Saluting Soldier event here.

Neha made her Bollywood debut with the action flick "Qayamat: City Under Threat" and later did a mix of commercial and off-beat films. She was last seen in "Gandhi To Hitler" (less)

The 69-year-old iconic Indian actor, whose feet most KBC participants touched reverentially, is taking a break from work right now. He revealed in an e-mail interview with IANS that the Nov 16 birth of his granddaughter - the child of son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya - has caused everyone in the Bachchan household to adjust their time around "the little one".

Excerpts from the interview with IANS: Q : How has the interaction with the small town on Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) 5 affected you as a person and as a star? Amitabh Bachchan : I do not differentiate between a "person" and your mention of "star". To me they are both the same and equal and that really sums up my interaction with those who come on the KBC Hot Seat in front of me.

I like to treat them like I would a guest in my house. I am pained to learn the plight of those that come from small towns, the conditions they live in and their extreme circumstances.

It has been very moving emotionally to hear their stories and there's a feeling of great inadequacy for being unable to do something for them. We keep contributing and supporting many causes, but surely the extent of their requirement is much, much greater than what we can possibly do.

One feels so helpless in their company, but seeing their drive, confidence and will to do better is motivational not just for me as an anchor but, I am certain, as a viewer of KBC as well. I feel we are so unaware of what the 'real India' is all about.

Yes, we read about them through the media..

.but meeting them personally, talking to them, being a part of their emotions and thinking has been most revealing and at times most rewarding.

Rewarding, because we learn so much from their spirit, their beliefs and their sense of morals. Q : KBC is about knowledge and it's different from movies and ads; so did you find it an intellectually stimulating experience? Amitabh Bachchan : Yes, indeed! Knowledge learnt from KBC is also of great benefit.

But to say that movies and ads are bereft of such knowledge is also not entirely correct. Each has a beginning, a middle and an end.

They have a story to tell, drama, suspense, excitement, exhilaration and celebration, despair..

.In many ways both the entities are somewhat similar.

Aarakshan , my last film, was a great educator for me in the chapters of reservation and caste politics. Many other similar films also touch upon subjects that are intellectually stimulating.

Q : Will there be a KBC 6 ? If yes, what do you think should be the focus next time? Amitabh Bachchan : Yes, I am contracted to do another season, which should begin by July-August 2012 and, no, I am not aware of what and where the focus will be for the show. That the creative team at Sony decides.

Q : Apart from KBC , would you consider any other TV project? Amitabh Bachchan : Yes, I would. Q : You have signed Ashutosh Gowariker's film.

Share something about your role. Amitabh Bachchan : Yes, I have accepted Gowarikar's next film and I play a detective in that, but that is as much as I can reveal about the film at this stage.

It is expected to be on the floors by the middle of next year. Q : You have played a role in Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby , your first international project.

How was the experience? Amitabh Bachchan : Baz Luhrmann and Gatsby is more a friendly gesture for a minute cameo of just one scene in the film. But the experience of working in an international project with such luminaries as Leonardo Di Caprio and Toby Maguire has been fantastic.

The amount of effort put in detail and the time spent in getting every possible angle correct in the most professional manner has been extraordinary. My work has been wrapped up.

Q : Any plans to sign more international projects? Amitabh Bachchan : There are no offers at the moment, but were they to come, I would consider them. Q : How has the ambience in the house changed after the granddaughter came home? What would you like to call her, if not formally, then at home? Amitabh Bachchan : The ambience at home is one that would reflect the entrance of a new member in the family in any other home.

There is excitement and happiness all around and our time is now adjusted to the little one and her habits. We do not have a name yet, but shall soon.

Informally, she is the "little one". Tweet (less)

"I am quite busy with my books, man! I don't mind scripting, but my books are, in any case, being turned to film scripts. There are a lot of people who can write scripts, but very few who can do that as books.

..

so I would like to be in my space of being a book writer," Bhagat, 37, told IANS over phone from Mumbai. "Besides, in today's world of smartphones and apps, and what not, I think it is important to retain the charm of books.

There are people who want to read and I want to keep that urge in them alive," he added. So far, two films have been inspired by his books.

His first novel, "Five Point Someone", about the college life of three engineering students, went on to become the 2009 blockbuster "3 Idiots", while his "One Night @ the Call Center", around a group of six call centre employees, was made into "Hello". It released in 2008 to a mixed response.

His other two books - " The 3 Mistakes of My Life" and "2 States: The Story of My Marriage" are also set to be converted into movies. The former has found the fancy of "Rock On!!" director Abhishek Kapoor and, about the latter, he said: "I don't know.

..

I guess Sajid Nadiadwala is taking it forward seriously. I have been told 'Two States' has a lot of potential for a movie.

..

so let's wait and watch." Bhagat is hoping "Revolution 2020", which takes a look at corruption in the non-elite institutes in the Indian education sector with a love story in the backdrop, will also find its way to the big screen.

It came out in the market Friday. "I think 'Revolution 2020' will interest filmmakers as it is topical.

I'm quite sure it will have takers from Bollywood," he said. The IIT graduate's popularity has grown manifold over the years thanks to his books and also the films made on them.

In fact, the lead characters of David Dhawan's recently released comedy film "Rascals" were named Chetan (played by Sanjay Dutt) and Bhagat (Ajay Devgn) respectively. Bhagat says he felt "flattered".

"It was honestly quite amusing. I am an English language author, after all.

..

and to find a place in any way in a mass market movie like 'Rascals', which would reach so many people, is fascinating. An English author getting such popularity in India was unheard of some years back, but really, it is fascinating and very flattering," said the writer, who is deeply saddened by the death of Steve Jobs Wednesday.

Bhagat says there's a lot that he took from Jobs' way of working. "He always tried to make people happy, he believed in simplicity and originality, and he never went overboard with advertising.

..

it was mostly word-of-mouth publicity, which worked for him. "Similarly, I care a lot for my readers, I write simple books and I don't advertise my work loudly.

I don't need to..

.my books have a big buzz around them already.

I imbibed these things from him, and I will continue being like this," he said. (Radhika Bhirani can be contacted at radhika.

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Our world class modern stations and hi-tech, super speed trains are best locales for film shooting and promotion," said Reliance Infrastructure Limited president Anil P. Gupta.

Already, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has allowed film shooting inside the metro for Bollywood movies such as Paa , Bewafaa , Dev.D , Love Aaj Kal , Black And White and Delhi-6 .

"Shooting at the world class terminals and coaches is quite economical compared to metros of foreign cities. Moreover, AME provides world class, hi-tech facilities to the film producers at very cost effective prices," a Reliance Infrastructure official said.

"At the same time, the shootings will take place in such a way that it will not affect the commuters," he added. Delhi Airport Metro Express will also host a promotional campaign Wednesday at Shivaji stadium metro station for Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming Ra.

One movie. Built at a cost of Rs.

5,700 crore, the 23-km Airport Metro Express line has six stations: New Delhi Railway Station, Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Aero City, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Dwarka Sector 21. Tweet (less)

"Yes, but I'm supposed to be, I am an artist. We wallow in loneliness and solitude our whole lives in search of the answer to hundreds and millions of questions that run through my mind.

Yes, I'm lonely. But I'm married to my loneliness," she said.

Gaga said that she would always be prepared to sacrifice love for her music, as she would die if she wasn't able to release songs into the world. "I would choose my work.

I would die without it and I could never be reborn. My biggest fear is missing out on a creative idea because of a lack if time," Gaga said.

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"I don't want to talk about Shah Rukh Khan. He is a big star.

I am nowhere near him or any other star. Whenever I talk about him it seems as if I am trying to gain publicity and that is not the case.

So, it is best if I don't discuss him at all," Nikhil told PTI. Though his debut film didn't do so well, Nikhil's police act in the 2010 film 'Ravaan' was appreciated despite the film bombing at the box office.

The actor says the Mani Ratnam film was a "step up" for him. "I am very proud of Ravaan.

It didn't do well at the box office but for me it was a step up. My performance was noticed even though the role was small," he said.

The actor also received both critical acclaim and a thumbs up from the audience for his role in 'Shor in the City', where he played one of the three main characters. "It is satisfying to know that my work in 'Shor in the City' was appreciated.

The film was both critically and commercially successful. It was a double bonanza for me.

" "Every film that I have done so far has helped me in some way or the other. I am at such a point in my career from where I only have to make my way up.

I know I am on the right path," Nikhil said. The actor is all set to reprise the role of Sunny Deol in the remake of 1985 film 'Arjun' and will also be seen in a love story with a twist.

"I am working in the remake of 'Arjun'. Other than that I am also doing a violent love story.

It is not blood and gore. There will soon be an announcement," he said.

He recently married his long-time girlfriend Gaurie Pandit in a glitzy ceremony. Nikhil says that there hasn't been any "drastic change" in life post-marriage.

"Life has not changed drastically. The only difference now is that I share my home with someone else and I have become more responsible and sensitive towards her," Nikhil said.

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Jaswant Sisodia (Manoj Bajpayee) rules supreme in the town of Bijnor and one of his indulgences involve forcing a girl Anshu (Tia Bajpai) to be his mistress. Anshu's parents are as helpless and humiliated as the vulnerable victim, who ironically gets willfully raped every night by Jaswant.

Jaswant's close aid (Arjan Bajwa), who he as well considers his younger brother, comes to the town and supervises his illicit operations. His loyalty towards Jaswant remains integral until his empathy towards Anshu overpowers it.

That's when he decides to betray his mentor. Visibly Tia symbolizes Sita, Manoj Bajpayee represents Raavan, and Arjan Bajwa stands for Vibhishan in this selective depiction of Ramayana.

And through its dense drama, the film justifies Vibhishan's stand to stand against the morally wrong Raavan. Where debutante director Maqbool Khan's expertise comes is in giving Manoj Bajpayee's character a poised tone wherein, on one hand he is despicable for the heroine, on the other hand he is role model for the hero.

As an audience, you relate to both the extreme shades in his personality, which can also be immensely attributed to Bajpayee's persuasive hold on the character. The plotline isn't entirely inventive and one has seen thematically similar interpretations, notably in Rakesh Roshan's Koyla (1997) or more recently Kites (2010).

How it steers clear from other cinematic adaptations of Ramayana is from the fact that it intentionally avoids incorporating Ram as the ideal protagonist and substitutes it with Vibhishan who might not be perfect yet opposes evil. So the entire essence of the film lies in the camaraderie between Raavan-Vibhishan (Bajpayee-Bajwa) and their subsequent conflict.

Thereby the director keeps the romance track between Arjan Bajwa and Tia Bajpai to the minimal and thankfully the narrative never branches out into their individual love story. A better alternative would have been to restrict their bonding only till empathetic emotions (like in Emraan Hashmi's Awaarapan ) over the avoidable streak of romance.

The focus is more on the conflict between men than highlighting the trauma inflicted on the woman. Thereby the lust and obsession that fuels Jaswant's desire to dominate Anshu, both, physically and psychologically, remains peripheral to the plot and doesn't register effectively enough.

In fact their back-story is never fleshed out. Somewhere there is more amity between the male leads than animosity with Arjan Bajwa's duty-bound character being a mute spectator for the major runtime before he rebels in the very end.

And post his revolt, the film comes to a quick end with a solo climactic confrontation scene between the men. The climax, however, seems hurried and convenient in the bigger picture.

It's sad then that what could have been shown as a rare account of ethical unfaithfulness ends up being a generalized preachy epilogue on how men should treat woman with respect and how wronged woman should not lose hope and continue their fight against injustice and blah blah blah. It almost changes the tenor of the male-dominated drama to a woman-liberation film.

Shashank Dabral's writing is fairly interesting to the extent that it never strikes your engaged mind that Arjan Bajwa's character name is never mentioned in the film. However the political nexus in the narrative isn't seamlessly integrated with central plot and rather runs parallel to it.

Also the dialogues could have been more effective over the trite lines. The film is completely designed in and around Manoj Bajpayee's character and the actor justifies the immense scope he gets with an authoritative performance.

He has a menacing attitude, his eyes speak volumes, he laughs hysterically and thankfully never goes overboard (despite a strong tendency to ham). Arjan Bajwa is impressive as the man of few words and despite Bajpayee's towering persona; he still commands good screen presence.

Fortunately Tia Bajpai is given the least lines, scenes and footage in the film and one doesn't complain. Yateen Karyekar as the defenseless father is impressive.

The immensely talented Manish Chaudhari doesn't get much scope here. Yashpal Sharma is regular.

Director Maqbool Khan shows restraint and refinement in crafting his first film. This Lanka, though not full of gold, has some shining moments.

Finally there's a film about Raavan which belongs to its Raavan! Verdict: Good (less)

As an actor, post the accolades he got for ZNMD, new doors are being opened to him. Excerpts from an interview.

Your performance in ZNMD got you noticed as an actor by both the trade and the janta. I admit a lot more awareness has been created about me as an actor.

It's nice to be present in people's consciousness as a casting option now. You are no longer just a casting option.

There are roles being written for you. No one ever comes and tells me they've written a role for me.

So it is dangerous to start thinking like that. It is better not to let your mind wander into these areas.

But yes, I am happy that Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra thinks that I am best suited to play Milkha Singh in Bhaag Milkha. So Rakeysh did think of you while writing the part.

..

Actually, as filmmakers we tend to write a script with an actor in mind. When I was writing the first part of Don, I wrote it with a certain actor in mind.

When I was halfway through, I felt it was best suited to another actor, and when I finished I felt it suited a third one. Scripts take on a life of their own.

It happens very naturally. When you are writing, you do start imagining someone because you need to.

One writes keeping some kind of personality or body type in mind. There has to be a face.

If I have become a face for people to write towards, I am happy. Are you splitting your actor's fee with Zoya because she's the one who gave you ZNMD? Splitting the money with my sister? No.

Zoya made all the money on ZNMD. I have still not been paid my acting fees! What excites you more - acting or directing? My social networking pages have all kinds of comments on them.

Some say acting karo, direction chhod do; others say why are you acting, concentrate on making movies. Everyone has their own take.

My inner voice says I should do whatever excites me - whether it is acting or directing. So what excites you? It is very difficult to say.

I am excited about finishing Don 2 . I am getting increasingly excited about starting Bhaag Milkha.

That takes care of a year and a half of my life. I haven't thought beyond that.

To sustain one's enthusiasm for a year and a half is very difficult. So you will do just one film at a time? Yes, especially because Bhaag Milkha has such a specific look.

It is very difficult to even think of anything else. Besides, it is always nicer to finish something you start before moving on.

It is also fairer to the people who are making the film that you give them one hundred per cent of your time, commitment, whatever is on offer from your end. Whether I direct or act, it will be one film at a time.

Contd. on pg10 You are also in talks with Abhishek Kapoor, isn't it? Abhishek is excited about doing a sequel to Rock On!! I have heard the story and it is very good.

A screenplay draft is being worked on. As an actor, is there a specific genre you see yourself excelling in? I can't do Don.

It is too iconic for an actor like me. When I think of Don, I think of SRK.

I would love to do an action movie and a thriller. I've grown up watching it.

What about the romance, masala movie? There are songs in Bhaag Milka as well. Songs are a part of Hindi film culture, but as far as genres go, the classic love story is my least favourite; in terms of watching, directing or acting.

Unless it is something spectacular, I will be drawn to something else. Having said that, I must add that scripts come with their pros and cons.

Sometimes you can't say no because it is so amazing. So who is Farhan the actor's favourite actor? I like many actors.

All actors have their own strengths. But I do enjoy watching Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn purely for the fact that when you see their body of work and the body of work of most other actors, you notice that these guys bring something new to the table by way of a story or character.

I love the way Ajay keeps reinventing himself as an actor. I would hate to watch the same kind of performance over and over again.

An actor must keep challenging himself if he wishes to have a really long innings. Even as a filmmaker, I believe in mixing genres.

A film must be entertaining. When I say entertaining, I don't mean that you should only make people laugh.

You can enthrall them with drama or comedy. There should be a sense of variety in storytelling and performance.

meena.iyer@timesgroup.

com (less)

1Enter the Dragon: Bruce Lee A legend in every sense of the word, this film opened my eyes and changed my path. In fact, Bruce Lee inspired my life to the point that I fear if he had never existed neither would I! My favourite martial arts film always.

2Die Hard: Bruce Willis Every young man's Saturday night action flick. Boys wanted to be him, men wanted to copy him and women wanted to be with him! 3Predator: Arnold Schwarzenegger The film that stopped people from trekking in the jungle.

Arnold's most deadliest film till date, it had an amazing concept and visuals that made even the bravest men cringe and the woman run to the kitchen. Awesome action and ultimate climax.

Schwarzenegger's finest! 4Leon: Jean Reno The most touching sniper film Hollywood has ever made. Jean Reno introduced to the world to the soft side of a killer.

It was also probably Natalie Portman's best role ever. One of the only action films to actually bring a tear to many a man's eyes.

5Kung Fu Hustle: Stephen Chow The funniest, most extreme Kung Fu film I've ever seen. The characters were outstanding, the idea superb, the axe dance unforgettable, the old landlady still haunts many husbands, the action and effects brought a new light to the whole martial arts film.

6Ong Bak Hero: Tony Jaa Groundbreaking emotional action. Tony Jaa is an action God, his talent, his skills, his speed is unbeatable.

He makes us martial arts lovers look slow and non-versatile. He is really inspiring.

It's a film I'll never forget. 7District 13: Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle and Tony D'Amario Greatest Parkour film that few have seen but it is extraordinary in the world of raw action.

These guys are fearless, insanely brave, immensely talented, and inspirational to all adventurous people. They made a film many action heroes would die for, but would probably die trying.

8 Kick Ass: Aaron Johnson , Nicholas Cage and Chloe Grace Mortez The most unexpected action film in a long time. I love this film because I remember taking my son for it and we had no idea it was going to be this good.

The girl is outstanding and kicks ass more then most guys can. 9Rambo: Sylvester Stallone This list wouldn't be complete without either Sylvester or Rambo in it.

The Italian that brought silent anger to the world of action, he was mean, fierce, and made bandannas look cool. He was the underdog that made everyone sit up and appreciate him.

Raw, real, a genuine all time favourite action film. 10Kill Bill Vol 1&2: Uma Thurman One of Quentin Tarantino's finest and the greatest female action film ever.

I've never seen an untrained Hollywood actress perform martial arts as well as her. The passionate vengeance in this film is addictive.

The world desperately wanted to know what happens next. 11Sholay: Amitabh Bachchan , Dharmendra Deol and Sanjeev Kumar It is the perfect mixture of action, romance, drama, acting and changed millions of lives.

Being a small boy, I remember doing so many household chores just so I could earn enough pocket money to sneak off and go see it over and over again. 12 Bourne Identity Trilogy: Matt Damon The film brought heroism to being a spy.

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the 007 of recent times. The kind of expensive action these films featured still hasn't been copied.

Matt came into his own in these films and made boys stay at home at weekends to watch it. 13Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang The most cinematic Chinese film ever made.

It changed the face of stunts, brought techniques that nobody knew about in India. I think the world is still trying to copy what they created 10 years ago.

It had talent and grace you'll never witness in kick ass films. 14Khiladi 420: Akshay Kumar The most dangerous action film I've shot in my career yet! The stunts I performed in this film are ones I swore I would never do again.

I'm lucky I survived the first time around! It gave a boost to my career, as people recognised that I was prepared to do anything for my films! 15Kick Ass: Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Cage and Chloe Grace Mortez The most unexpected action film in a long time. I love this film because I remember taking my son for it and we had no idea it was going to be this good.

The girl is outstanding and kicks ass more then most guys can (less)

One" and " Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara " not only satiated the moviegoer's appetite but also yielded profits for the Hindi film industry. Here IANS lists the top 10 movies of the year: 1.

"Bodyguard": Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor's "Bodyguard" broke the opening day records by earning Rs.22 crore on the first day.

Although the story of the film, directed by Siddique , didn't have much to say, the music as well as the action sequences worked in its favour. Salman's signature dialogue - "Mujh par ek ehsaan karna ki mujh par koi ehsaan na karna" - once again struck a chord with fans.

2. "Ra.

One": World class VFX, amazing graphics, innovative marketing, tie-ups with multiple brands and Shah Rukh Khan as the superhero made sci-fi thriller "Ra.One" a profitable venture.

Another highlight of the film was its music, especially the song "Chamak challo" sung by international rapper Akon. And the marathon promotion by the superstar helped bring people to the theatres.

3. "The Dirty Picture": Her sensuous look shocked, her itsy-bitsy clothes astonished and her double meaning dialogues left audiences gasping for breath, but all this nothwithstanding, Vidya Balan swept both the classes and the masses off their feet with her bold avatar in Ekta Kapoor's "The Dirty Picture".

An unofficial biopic of southern sex symbol Silk Smitha, the film broke the myth that only movies with "Khans" work at the box office. 4.

"Ready": Romantic comedies have been a staple of Hindi films and this year Salman Khan's "Ready" used the recipe to earn profits. Shot in exotic locales of Thailand , director Anees Bazmee's drama about mistaken identity saw Salman romancing Asin Thottumkal amid all the hotch-potch in their lives, thanks to their onscreen relatives.

5. "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara": Focussing on three bachelors dealing with their friendship and romance, the well-scripted film, with a resemblance to real life episodes, was supported by beautiful performances by the talented cast - Hrtihik Roshan, Abhay Deol , Farhan Akhtar , with Kalki Koechlin and Katrina Kaif as their love interests.

Kudos to director Zoya Akhtar for bringing liveliness, happiness and joyfulness with such deftness on screen through an adventurous road film mostly based in Spain. 6.

"Singham": An out-and-out action film, the success of "Singham" proves that there are takers for such films. Based on the "good wins over evil" theme, the actioner takes a dig at the corruption within the police department through two main characters - honest cop Ajay Devgn and Prakash Raj as a corrupt politician.

Director Rohit Shetty's film also marked southern actress Kajal Aggarwal's debut in Bollywood. 7.

" Rockstar ": Give him a good role and he can sink his teeth into it. Ranbir Kapoor proved that again by stepping into the shoes of a musician.

From a cute and simple college boy to a crazy lover to a successful but cynical singer, the young actor proved his mettle in every frame. The film appealed despite a faulty script, which had too many loose ends.

In short, it was Ranbir's film, which launched American Pakistani model in the Bollywood business. Other high points of the movie were A.

R. Rahman's music and Mohit Chauhan's singing.

8. "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan": Not good, not bad - that is how Yash Raj Films' "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" could be described.

Thanks to Imran Khan , Katrina Kaif and Pakistani singer-actor Ali Zaffar's tangled love story woven against the backdrop a wedding, the romantic comedy managed to pull the crowds. The film got mixed reviews, but managed to enter the top grosser list of the year.

9. "Delhi Belly": Replete with cuss words, weird situations, witty dialogues, the experimental movie in the English language targeted the urban audiences, who hailed this free will adult comedy as they identified with the characters of Imran Khan, Kunal Roy Kapoor and Vir Das in the movie.

If director Abhinay Deo faced failure with "Game", this film pulled him out of darkness and Aamir Khan once again proved that he has a knack for choosing the best scripts as a producer. 10.

"Yamla Pagla Deewana": After the 2007 release "Apne", the Deol trio - Sunny, Bobby and Dharmendra - returned to the big screen with the comic caper "Yamla Pagla Deewana" by director Sameer Karnik. Though a small budget film, it received an overwhelming response.

The impeccable comic timing between the father and sons struck a chord with the audiences (less)

She has done marvellous action. This is the first time where she is doing action of such kind," Rajeev told IANS.

In the movie, there is a kid called Krishna and an animated Lord Krishna. "The sequence shows that she saves the kid Krishna from the goons," said Rajeev who had previously made My friend Ganesha .

Hrithik Roshan will also make a special appearance in it. Same as "My Friend Ganesha", it is also made with composite animation where an animation character will be seen interacting with a live characters.

"The film also shows that Lord Krishna is a big fan of Hrithik Roshan and he is eager to meet him. The whole climax is around Hrithik.

How Krishna comes and meets Hrithik, interacts with him etc, etc," said Rajeev. Releasing Diwali, the film has Juhi Chawla in the lead role.

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A Chaplinesque tramp with holes in his shoes, too-short pants and a slightly goofy hat skips down a country road and sings these lines in Hindi: "My shoes are Japanese/These pants are English/On my head is a red Russian hat/But still," he says, pointing to his chest and delivering the kicker, "my heart is Hindustani." That heart belonged to Raj Kapoor, and his song -- a simple statement of patriotism in a globalizing world -- struck a chord with audiences in the young Indian republic when it appeared in Shree 420 (1955).

And not just in India; it was a hit in the Middle East and the Soviet Union too. Some middle-aged Russians can still sing it.

Kapoor (1924-88), called the Great Showman -- no small tribute in an industry besotted with showmanship -- looms large over the Indian film landscape. But how to explain him and his work to those who didn't grow up with Hindi movies? As an actor, Kapoor was a leading man who played poets and misfits and lovers.

With the actress Nargis, he made up one of Hindi movies' great romantic couples. And he could be comic too, as in Shree 420 , in which his everyman tramp is not above the old slipping-on-a-banana-peel gag.

(No one is spared: Nargis takes a tumble too.) As a director and producer, eventually with his own studio, Kapoor lived the auteur's dream.

In a mostly formulaic and conservative industry, he made inventive, personal films that were entertaining and accessible but also something more. Socially conscious and Socialist-inclined with nation-building themes, they resonated in -- and maybe even helped to define -- a newly independent India busy inventing itself.

For those who have never seen a Hindi movie or are curious about Kapoor, the Museum of Modern Art's well-chosen eight-film series Raj Kapoor and the Golden Age of Indian Cinema, opening on Friday, is an excellent place to start, focusing mainly on Kapoor's heyday, the late 1940s to '50s. And for those already familiar with Kapoor, the series offers a rare opportunity to see his films as they should be seen: on the big screen, in new 35-millimeter prints.

With its restless hero and inventive visuals, Aag ( Fire , 1948), made when its director-producer-star was just 24, announces a new voice on the scene that all but shouts, "Look at me!" Filmed in gorgeously stylized black and white -- pools of darkness are broken by shafts of light, and eyes glow out of faces cast in shadow -- it combines expressionism and homegrown melodrama to tell the story of a soulful upper-class young man (Kapoor) who breaks with his conventional family to pursue a career in theater. Living on his own terms, the hero searches for truth and beauty and long-lost love.

But this isn't just his story, he says, it's the "story of youth." He knows that "creating your own destiny isn't easy" -- are you listening, young India? -- yet prefers a path full of obstacles to the comfortable life he would lead in his father's house.

Set in Kashmir, Barsaat ( Monsoon , 1949), a moody romance, also takes place in a world of inky black and whites, of shadows and light and backlighted haloes. With songs by the team of Shankar-Jaikishin, whose music would become the sound of Kapoor films, Barsaat follows the parallel stories of two city boys, a poet (Kapoor) and his romantically cynical friend (Prem Nath), who fall in love with country girls.

Kapoor is paired with Nargis, and while there's no kissing -- this is Hindi cinema, after all, which had a long-running ban on it -- Kapoor the director finds ways to give their scenes an erotic charge beyond the actors' obvious chemistry. Watch as he rubs her head or grabs her hair or calls her to him with the siren song of his violin.

(She even licks his fingers, calloused from playing.) In Awaara ( The Vagabond , 1951), perhaps his best movie, Kapoor tries out for the first time his tramp persona, though briefly, in the title song.

Both song and film were enormous hits abroad, especially in the Soviet Union, where bands serenaded Nargis and Kapoor with the tune when they visited; in China, Mao was said to be a fan. Here Kapoor's not a pampered upper-class fellow, but a fatherless boy, Raju, raised in the Bombay slums, who falls into a life of crime.

Written by K. A.

Abbas (who also wrote Shree 420 ), the movie mixes mythological themes (the story of Raju's parents, told in flashback, echoes the epic the Ramayana) with social ones: Can a good man come from the gutter? Can the cycle of poverty and crime be broken? Can a man be judged by who his father is -- or isn't? There's also a class-crossing love story, another favorite Kapoor theme, as Raju falls for Rita (Nargis), a lawyer and the ward of a magistrate who just happens to be the father who cast out Raju and his mother. (Kapoor's real father, Prithviraj Kapoor, a distinguished stage actor, plays the magistrate.

) If Awaara is his best movie, Shree 420 ( Mr. 420 ), a clown-rags to well-tailored riches tale, is probably his most emblematic.

Looking for work, his outsider tramp lands in the big city, Bombay, where he finds a home along a footpath with other poor people and falls for a schoolteacher, played of course by Nargis. Their moonlit, rain-soaked love song, delivered as they wander along the footpath, the city glittering just beyond, is a justifiably famous four-minute distillation of movie magic.

The tramp, though, becomes corrupt, a city-slicked swindler. (The number in the title refers to the section of the Indian penal code that deals with cheating and fraud.

) But he's redeemed at the end, making common cause again with the poor and powerless as they rise up to agitate for the simple right to housing. The MoMA series also includes two later color films made at a time when Hindi movies were becoming Bollywood -- the term was coined by journalists in the '70s -- and Kapoor was struggling to recover his place in the industry.

Meera Nam Joker ( My Name Is Joker , 1970), a maudlin working through of the tramp and clown themes, was a colossal flop. An older, puffier Kapoor looks ill matched with his young leading ladies.

But Bobby (1973), a teenage love story starring Dimple Kapadia and Rishi Kapoor (Raj's son), was a colossal hit that ushered in a vogue for tales of young love. Bollywood movies today don't look much like the Kapoor films from what MoMA calls the Golden Age.

But the Kapoor dynasty stills flourishes. Raj's brothers and sons have been stars, and now two of his grandchildren, Kareena and Ranbir (they're cousins), are hard at work in the family trade.

Both are actors, but both -- is anyone surprised? -- may have a not-so-secret dream: to direct. Tweet (less)

Our world class modern stations and hi-tech, super speed trains are best locales for film shooting and promotion," said Reliance Infrastructure Limited president Anil P. Gupta.

Already, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has allowed film shooting inside the metro for Bollywood movies such as Paa , Bewafaa , Dev.D , Love Aaj Kal , Black And White and Delhi-6 .

"Shooting at the world class terminals and coaches is quite economical compared to metros of foreign cities. Moreover, AME provides world class, hi-tech facilities to the film producers at very cost effective prices," a Reliance Infrastructure official said.

"At the same time, the shootings will take place in such a way that it will not affect the commuters," he added. Delhi Airport Metro Express will also host a promotional campaign Wednesday at Shivaji stadium metro station for Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming Ra.

One movie. Built at a cost of Rs.

5,700 crore, the 23-km Airport Metro Express line has six stations: New Delhi Railway Station, Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Aero City, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Dwarka Sector 21. Tweet (less)

If she doesn't shape up in two months, she apparently could find herself out in the cold, replaced by a more suitable heroine to play the title role! Confirms a source, "Yes, Sudhir has issued her an ultimatum. Chitrangada will have to master the speech, body language, clothes, culture and ethos of a Muslim girl in post-Partition India within a couple of months.

This is proving difficult as not only is she completely unaware of the era and culture she must embody as Mehrunissa , but till very recently she was also actively preparing for the svelte, futuristic role in Rakesh Roshan's next (which she is no longer doing). Now, the actress has to go back in time, all the way to 1947, fast and rigorously.

" And Mishra's demands don't end just there. He has, apparently, asked her to make a trip to Pakistan to get a feel of the country's culture before they starting shooting.

"Playing a Muslim girl from 'undivided' India won't be a question of only getting the language and the clothes right. The director wants her to fly down to Pakistan and get a first-hand feel of the atmosphere and people," adds the source.

Incidentally, Nikhil Advani, who has written the script of Mehrunissa , was not too convinced about Chitrangada being the right choice for the role. But since Advani trusts Mishra's judgement implicitly, he has agreed to see how far the actress can go with the character of a girl with whom both Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor's characters are supposed to fall in love with in their youth.

The actress, who has a packed work schedule as well as a family event to attend to before the year is through, is running against time. But the director, it seems, is confident of his girl.

"The role requires intense preparation. She is already preparing for the part and I think she can pull it off," he says.

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Not that it could be mistaken for anything other than what it is: a Bollywood epic with a magpie appetite and, of course, songs and dances. (The catchy, clubby Chammak Challo , featuring Akon, is already a hit.

) For all its cost, digital effects and virtual reality feints, Ra.One is a traditional, if somewhat undercooked, Hindi movie confrontation between good and evil.

After all, the villain is named Ra.One (for Random Access Version 1.

0), which can be pronounced Raavan, like the 10-headed demon in the Ramayana. And G.

One, the hero, is also Jeevan, which means life. Sporting a wig of floppy curls, Shah Rukh Khan, the film's star and guiding force, plays Shekhar, a nerdy computer game designer in London.

(Even the thieves speak Hindi in this town.) To win the admiration of his son, Prateek (Armaan Verma), he creates a game in which the bad guy, Ra.

One, is more powerful than the hero, G.One.

But Ra.One breaks into the real world and wants to kill Prateek, which sends the boy and his mother (Kareena Kapoor, looking great with a few new pounds) to India with G.

One (Mr. Khan again, sans curls), who has also come to life.

Ra.One , directed by Anubhav Sinha, works hard with its money.

(The Times of India has reported the budget as $30 million.) Full of digital effects, wire work and things that go flying (cars, men, supermen) the movie is technically as sophisticated as anything Bollywood has produced.

A standout is G.One's rescue of Kareena on a runaway train that crashes rather spectacularly out of Victoria Terminus in Mumbai.

You can see the money on screen, if not in the screenwriting. The exposition is longwinded and confusing, as are the rules of the game, in the virtual and the real worlds.

The bumbling Shekhar is too clownish; Ra.One is a dud demon (Raavan is invoked to little effect) who disappears for chunks of time; and you probably won't hold your breath as good fights evil.

But if the storytelling disappoints (shocking!), the film mostly doesn't. It relies on action and effects and Bollywood's trump card, star power, to carry the day.

This is Shah Rukh Khan's movie, and once he sheds Shekhar's droopy locks, he shines as the deadpan, action-hero robot with digital snot and smooth moves on the dance floor. Tweet (less)

A source told Mumbai Mirror, "Vishal Bhardwaj is known for making his actors go through a complete image makeover. Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi in Omkara being one of the best examples.

Vishal is a very meticulous director. He looks into every minute detail.

He likes to sketch different characters and wants his actors to get into the skin of their character." Talking about Imran's makeover for the filmmaker's next project, the source revealed, "Imran will have to meet the requirements.

He will be on a high carbohydrate diet to gain the extra kilos. He will be appointing a special trainer soon.

" According to sources, Vishal Bhardwaj wants Imran to look rugged and tough. "Apart from gaining weight, Imran has to go through a makeover to look rustic as well.

His clothes will also have to change. The way he talks and walks too will have to different for the film," claimed the source.

This will also be a first for Imran Khan, who has played the quintessential city boy in most of his films except Kidnap. While Imran remained unavailable for comment, his spokesperson confirmed, "Yes, Imran is required to go through drastic changes.

He has to increase his weight by about 15 kg. It is too early to decide how he will go about it.

He will soon have a meeting with Vishal on this and work it out accordingly." Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola stars Imran opposite Anushka Sharma.

Vijay Singh and Vishal Bhardwaj are the co producers of the film (less)

She has done marvellous action. This is the first time where she is doing action of such kind," Rajeev told IANS.

In the movie, there is a kid called Krishna and an animated Lord Krishna. "The sequence shows that she saves the kid Krishna from the goons," said Rajeev who had previously made " My friend Ganesha ".

Hrithik Roshan will also make a special appearance in it. Same as "My Friend Ganesha", it is also made with composite animation where an animation character will be seen interacting with a live characters.

"The film also shows that Lord Krishna is a big fan of Hrithik Roshan and he is eager to meet him. The whole climax is around Hrithik.

How Krishna comes and meets Hrithik, interacts with him etc, etc," said Rajeev. Releasing Diwali, the film has Juhi Chawla in the lead role (less)

The format of the special show is different and in her exclusive interview, Simi presents Lady Gaga's life story interspersed with her interview and her chartbusting music that has put her on the international map in no time. The maverick singer, who is known for her bizarre fashion sense and outlandish hairstyle, opens up to the veteran host about her love for India besides other things.

On being asked if she aware there is massive craze about her visit to India, the singer said she is aware but is sad about the mis-reportage of her. She added money has never been her criteria.

"I don't have money - whatever I have I spend on my shows," she added. On her plans of coming to India, Simi says, "She was quite upset at the media reports that she will not be doing a concert in India because she wants more money.

She said it was entirely untrue. She is dying to connect to India, loves Indian food and she knows she has hordes of fans in India.

So she is coming to India in October, she said, not for a concert, as she has to shoot for her new video, but for a promotional tour". What may take Lady Gaga's Indian fans by surprise is that she not only is aware of Indian film industry but finds Bollywood interesting and wants to know more about it too.

The singer confessed on the show that she is in awe of Bollywood. "I love it.

It's completely surreal and genius," she said. Lady Gaga's love for India is not just limited to Bollywood, as the 25-year-old singer also vows her love for Indian cuisine.

"I love Indian food. I love spicy curry.

I used to eat Indian food in New York," she says. As a special gift, Simi gifts Lady Gaga Farah Khan's Bollywood dances DVD.

And this is what Simi had to say about it, "You know I had a feeling, with her pace of life, Gaga couldn't have seen much of our Bollywood stuff. Who better to give an introduction to Bollywood dances & songs than Farah Khan? So I asked my dear friend Farah to please make a DVD for Gaga.

Farah got it done for me overnight. I specially asked her to put Chaiyya, Sheila, Munni, Dhoom Tana and Gaga was thrilled to get the DVD! "Oh my God I would love to see this!' she said, 'I'm going to watch this tonight!' She gave it to her assistant, 'Please give this to me tonight'.

Again, I put all Farah's contact details on the label. You never know when good things can happen.

" And that's not all, Simi also gifts Lady Gaga a beautiful lehnga designed by Anamika Khanna. The lehenga is black in colour and fully encrusted in pearls, gold and silver and weighs as much as 10 kilos! Later on in the show, Lady Gaga compliments Simi for her dress.

She said: "You are not dressed regularly. You look like a fashionista in my eyes.

" Gaga, who is popular for making outrageous comments every now and then also said, "All my lashes are in the shower. Every morning I obsessively line them up.

" And while she may be the reigning pop star and have the world swooning to her numbers, but Lady Gaga claims that she is a loner at heart. "I'm lonely and married to loneliness," Lady Gaga said.

The singer also disclosed her greatest fear on the show. "I am afraid of missing out on a creative idea because of lack of time.

" Gaga claims that music is her life and that "I would die without my work. I'm reborn every time with my new song and new album," she said.

The Born This Way singer is scheduled to visit India soon but it isn't clear if that includes a performance. Tweet (less)

"What's creating more dhoom is the audience. It's so nice these days that we can do any kind of film because the audience is not ready for stereotypes," said the 31-year-old actress.

"Whether you do a Delhi Belly , or a Dirty Picture or a Pappu Can't Dance Saala or Mission Impossible 4 - there is an audience for everything. The only thing that's causing dhoom in the industry is a good script, and then.

..

the audience decides," she added. Neha's new film Pappu Can't Dance Saala has just hit the screens.

Meanwhile, be it Vidya Balan or Kareena Kapoor - Bollywood's 30-plus actresses have been lately stealing the thunder. Neha feels age is irrelevant when it comes to quality work.

"I think age has got nothing to do with it..

. Whether you're 20, 30 or 40.

It all depends on the kind of cinema you are doing," said Neha at the Gillette Saluting Soldier event here. Neha made her Bollywood debut with the action flick Qayamat: City Under Threat and later did a mix of commercial and off-beat films.

She was last seen in Gandhi To Hitler . Tweet (less)

The director, after his last film Rocket Singh - Salesman Of The Year, decided to take a sabbatical from direction and go back to where he started from - film editing. A source informed Mumbai Mirror, "The break to edit Mira Nair's film is Shimit's way of going back to his roots.

And his job in The Reluctant Fundamentalist is going to be tougher that it seems. He would have to make Delhi look like Lahore.

Also, Mira needed shots of Old Delhi and other crowded parts of the city. So, she persuaded Shimit to handle the second unit.

Shimit was reluctant since he is editing the film. But Mira dragged Shimit into directing the second unit" Keifer Sutherland comes to India Needless to say, the key actors, including Kiefer Sutherland (better known as Jack Bauer, his character in the American television series 24) was in the national capital with his co-actors to shoot for the film.

In fact, the actor, who left the country last week after finishing his part in the film, became a talk of the unit with his camaraderie with Azmi. Sutherland and Azmi not only bonded over their common passion - acting, but also their common friend Anil Kapoor.

Sutherland who worked with Kapoor in the tele-series 24, was seen chatting with Azmi about the very man. "Riz Ahmed, Shabana Azmi and Keifer Sutherland talked a lot about Anil Kapoor.

They also chatted about the diaspora and Indian cinema. Om Puri however, remained largely aloof from the idle talk, lost in his own world," revealed a source.

Creating Lahore in Delhi The Delhi schedule of The Reluctant Fundamentalist is however, not all about happy friendships. After trying her best to get permission to shoot in Lahore, the place the novel is based, Mira Nair finally decided to recreate the Pakistani city in Delhi.

However, this decision too seemed to pose a problem for the filmmaker. Though, Nair obtained the necessary permission to shoot in Delhi, the fact that the national capital has to masquerade as Lahore, did not go down too well with certain sections of the government and bureaucracy.

A source close to the film revealed, "We're shooting in Delhi. But it's meant to be Lahore.

We can't broadcast this fact. Any hint of the geo-political translocation could cause trouble.

So we've all been sworn to complete secrecy. No one mentions the 'L' word on location and we are not supposed to give out the locations where we're shooting even to our close family and friends.

Strictly no visitors and guests allowed." (less)

Not that it could be mistaken for anything other than what it is: a Bollywood epic with a magpie appetite and, of course, songs and dances. (The catchy, clubby Chammak Challo , featuring Akon, is already a hit.

) For all its cost, digital effects and virtual reality feints, Ra.One is a traditional, if somewhat undercooked, Hindi movie confrontation between good and evil.

After all, the villain is named Ra.One (for Random Access Version 1.

0), which can be pronounced Raavan, like the 10-headed demon in the Ramayana. And G.

One, the hero, is also Jeevan, which means life. Sporting a wig of floppy curls, Shah Rukh Khan, the film's star and guiding force, plays Shekhar, a nerdy computer game designer in London.

(Even the thieves speak Hindi in this town.) To win the admiration of his son, Prateek (Armaan Verma), he creates a game in which the bad guy, Ra.

One, is more powerful than the hero, G.One.

But Ra.One breaks into the real world and wants to kill Prateek, which sends the boy and his mother (Kareena Kapoor, looking great with a few new pounds) to India with G.

One (Mr. Khan again, sans curls), who has also come to life.

Ra.One , directed by Anubhav Sinha, works hard with its money.

(The Times of India has reported the budget as $30 million.) Full of digital effects, wire work and things that go flying (cars, men, supermen) the movie is technically as sophisticated as anything Bollywood has produced.

A standout is G.One's rescue of Kareena on a runaway train that crashes rather spectacularly out of Victoria Terminus in Mumbai.

You can see the money on screen, if not in the screenwriting. The exposition is longwinded and confusing, as are the rules of the game, in the virtual and the real worlds.

The bumbling Shekhar is too clownish; Ra.One is a dud demon (Raavan is invoked to little effect) who disappears for chunks of time; and you probably won't hold your breath as good fights evil.

But if the storytelling disappoints (shocking!), the film mostly doesn't. It relies on action and effects and Bollywood's trump card, star power, to carry the day.

This is Shah Rukh Khan's movie, and once he sheds Shekhar's droopy locks, he shines as the deadpan, action-hero robot with digital snot and smooth moves on the dance floor. Tweet (less)

Audiences have gasped in horror at what happens to Gwyneth Paltrow. Before it was out, the movie made real-life disease investigators anxious, too, though for a different reason: They were worried the filmmakers would take so many artistic liberties with the science that the result would be an incredible movie that was not credible.

Well, cue the applause. "It's very plausible," said Dr.

Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which would investigate such an outbreak. A new virus jumping from animals to humans? Nothing fictional about that.

Global spread of a disease in a few days? In this age of jet travel, absolutely. A societal meltdown if things get bad? Plan on it.

Yikes. The only bit of relief here is that several experts think the odds are pretty long that a new virus could be both so deadly and contagious at the same time.

The team behind the film used several expert consultants and went to other lengths to get scientific details correct. That included working with esteemed Columbia University epidemiologist Dr.

W. Ian Lipkin to create the fictional MEV-1 virus.

It's modeled on the Nipah virus - a dangerous bug first seen in Malaysia a dozen years ago that spread from pigs to farmers. Efforts also involved actress Kate Winslet sitting down with a female CDC disease investigator so she could correctly copy such things as the investigators clothes, mannerisms and even how the scientist might wear her hair on a field assignment.

Overall health officials say they were very pleased with what resulted. During an advance screening for CDC employees in Atlanta last week, some in the audience laughed appreciatively to see visual details and even lingo that they never imagined would be used in a mass-market motion picture.

"It was very accurate. It kind of made us all chuckle because there were things that we thought only people at CDC might get," said Laura Gieraltowski, an expert in foodborne illnesses.

Indeed, CDC officials have embraced the film. The agency allowed the movie's makers to film at their main campus - the first time the agency has allowed a major motion picture studio such access.

And CDC officials have opened up their schedules for media interviews, panel appearances and live Internet chats to talk about the movie and potential real-life contagions. It's a far better reception than their reaction to Outbreak , a popular 1995 movie starring Dustin Hoffman, the last time Hollywood took a major stab at telling a story about a nation-threatening, non-zombie epidemic.

Like Contagion , that film had a respected director and an all-star cast, but the scientific miscues were laughable. Some experts still shake their heads at how much time was spent finding an infected monkey and how little time it took - seemingly just a few minutes - to make, test and distribute a life-saving vaccine.

Contagion fares far better in the experts' eyes. That said, the scenario painted in the new movie is also considered highly unlikely.

A thriller telling a complex story in roughly two hours, it portrays some things that are doubtful at best. Among them: - The government dispatches only one disease investigator to Minnesota to check out the outbreak.

In reality, the government would throw a lot more people at an emerging problem like this. When the first two swine flu cases were reported in San Diego in 2009, neither of them fatalities, the CDC sent five such scientists along with other staff.

- The fictional virus kills more than 1 in 5 of the people it infects. That's extremely high for an epidemic that goes global.

The infamous Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19 - used as the modern-day measuring stick for a terrible international contagion - killed more like 1 in 100. Something this deadly and fast-moving has never materialized, possibly because a bug that kills too efficiently limits its ability to spread because its victims don't have much time to make contact with many other people.

- When a vaccine is released to the public, distribution of initially limited supplies was decided through a lottery based on date of birth. In reality, health officials would prioritize vaccine for people who were deemed most susceptible to the virus.

Also at the head of the line would be health-care workers and others essential to keeping emergency response systems running. The movie didn't indicate measures like that.

- As a vaccine to protect against the new disease is being developed, the movie seems to suggest that initial human testing of it hinges largely on a CDC scientist injecting herself and then visiting her diseased father's bedside to see if she gets sick. Officials say a more realistic portrayal would show weeks or months of safety and effectiveness testing in many thousands of volunteers.

Also, "we don't inject ourselves with (experimental) vaccines," said Dr. Ermias Belay, a CDC official who oversees lab scientists handling dangerous pathogens.

Lipkin was involved with the movie for years and even reviewed film clips during production. When an Associated Press reporter reviewed the list of unrealistic points with him, he responded; "It's a movie.

" But he also chafed at the idea that this kind of global epidemic won't occur just because we haven't seen one before. "Nobody expected Nipah.

Nobody expected HIV. Nobody expected SARS," he said.

One other significant plot point seems pretty implausible, too - how well the epidemic investigation goes. When new infections start popping up in multiple cities at about the same time, finding the origin can be a nearly impossible task.

Yet the movie's disease detectives zero in on the "index case" very quickly. "In a real-world investigation, that would be a lucky guess," said Dr.

Douglas Hamilton, who heads the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service. In their discussions about the movie this week, some CDC officials are making a point of noting that recent budget cuts are threatening their ability and that of state and local health departments to respond as well as the movie portrays.

Just one CDC investigator assigned to the scene of a major outbreak? "Maybe this reflects the future," said Dr. Ali Khan, the agency's director of emergency preparedness.

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For the film, he teamed up with young director Imtiaz Ali, known for making films like Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal . The musical drama with Delhi as its backdrop tells the story of Janardhan Jakhar (Ranbir), a Jat boy living in the middle-class locality of Pitampura who dreams of becoming a famous rockstar like Jim Morrison.

He tries hard to prove himself as a singer but instead of appreciating him, the audiences ridicule and humiliate him. While contemplating his failed attempts, it occurs to Janardhan that most of the famous musical stars have something in common--tragedy.

So, Janardhan, who is leading a happy life, decides to bear pain to become a well-known singer. He approaches Heer Kaul (Nargis Fakhri), who is rich, beautiful and arrogant.

She has broken many hearts. Hoping she will break his heart too, Janardhan starts following her.

The story then moves forward as the happy-go-lucky boy leaves behind Janardhan and becomes Jordan after going through various ups and downs in life. His transformation from a simple naive individual to a tortured soul, from a college campus in Delhi to the international stage.

His fulfils his dream, but in his quest for fame he loses his heart forever. Ranbir is said to have left no stone unturned to make his character believable on the screen.

From learning to play the guitar to staying with a Jat family and from eating at local dhabas to milking cows - the 29-year-old did all to bring authenticity in his character. Co-produced by Eros International and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision, the film, made on a budget of more than Rs.

60 crore, has been extensively shot in Delhi in locations like St. Stephen's College, Connaught Place and Nizamuddin, among others.

One of the songs that mark the turning point in the film has been shot in the Nizamuddin dargah. Some portions of the film have also been shot in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai.

Imtiaz also shot the film offshore--in the Czech Republic and Italy. The music, composed by Oscar winner A.

R. Rahman, is already a rage and the promos of the film have received a positive response.

Ranbir and Imtiaz have been extensively promoting the film with city tours. The team was recently part of the concert where both Rahman and Ranbir performed live on stage for their fans.

They are also planning a show in Kashmir and London. Rockstar will introduce two new faces to the Indian film industry--Pakistani-American model Nargis will be seen for the first time as Ranbir's love interest and it will also launch Brazil based Moufid Aziz, born to parents of Portuguese and Arabic origin.

After RA.One , movie buffs are eagerly looking forward to the release of this film, but whether it will be able to strike a chord is yet to be seen.

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The purpose is not to show off, but to get the show going in accordance with the demands of the story and the character." The singer certainly didn't mind giving us an exclusive sneak preview of his abs.

All he said was, "as long as my guitar is with me". He admitted, "The scene for which it was required comes as a pre-climax in Paris.

It's an intense scene, and so it was physically and emotionally draining, but that's the fun of filmmaking. You live through your characters.

And I want each of my characters to look different from the last, so I had to work a lot on my look. I had to undergo training and was on a special diet for 10 days.

" How did it feel to join the brigade of shirtless heroes? He smiles and says, "It's not the first time I've taken off my shirt on screen. I have done it before for mymusic video, " Ek Pal ".

Ali, who will make his debut as a music composer in "LPNY", was in Delhi to launch the film's music on Monday. "I feel honoured to be given this opportunity to compose, sing and write for the film,"he told us excitedly, adding.

"It was an exciting opportunity for me to explore new talents like Aditi Rao, who is also the lead actress of the movie. I made her sing two tracks.

" Ali recently performed at the 57thIdea Filmfare Awards and shared his experience, "It was a great moment for me to share the stage with such legendary actors. I also sang a song from my music album "Jhoom".

The crowd's response will be etched in my memory forever." Ali , who will be leaving for Pakistan on Thursday to visit his family, will unfortunately not be able to celebrate Valentine's Day with his wife, Ayesha, as he'll be back on February 9.

He said, "I don't think you need a reason to celebrate love. Love can be celebrated everyday (less)

For the film, he teamed up with young director Imtiaz Ali, known for making films like Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal . The musical drama with Delhi as its backdrop tells the story of Janardhan Jakhar (Ranbir), a Jat boy living in the middle-class locality of Pitampura who dreams of becoming a famous rockstar like Jim Morrison.

He tries hard to prove himself as a singer but instead of appreciating him, the audiences ridicule and humiliate him. While contemplating his failed attempts, it occurs to Janardhan that most of the famous musical stars have something in common--tragedy.

So, Janardhan, who is leading a happy life, decides to bear pain to become a well-known singer. He approaches Heer Kaul (Nargis Fakhri), who is rich, beautiful and arrogant.

She has broken many hearts. Hoping she will break his heart too, Janardhan starts following her.

The story then moves forward as the happy-go-lucky boy leaves behind Janardhan and becomes Jordan after going through various ups and downs in life. His transformation from a simple naive individual to a tortured soul, from a college campus in Delhi to the international stage.

His fulfils his dream, but in his quest for fame he loses his heart forever. Ranbir is said to have left no stone unturned to make his character believable on the screen.

From learning to play the guitar to staying with a Jat family and from eating at local dhabas to milking cows - the 29-year-old did all to bring authenticity in his character. Co-produced by Eros International and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision, the film, made on a budget of more than Rs.

60 crore, has been extensively shot in Delhi in locations like St. Stephen's College, Connaught Place and Nizamuddin, among others.

One of the songs that mark the turning point in the film has been shot in the Nizamuddin dargah. Some portions of the film have also been shot in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai.

Imtiaz also shot the film offshore--in the Czech Republic and Italy. The music, composed by Oscar winner A.

R. Rahman, is already a rage and the promos of the film have received a positive response.

Ranbir and Imtiaz have been extensively promoting the film with city tours. The team was recently part of the concert where both Rahman and Ranbir performed live on stage for their fans.

They are also planning a show in Kashmir and London. Rockstar will introduce two new faces to the Indian film industry--Pakistani-American model Nargis will be seen for the first time as Ranbir's love interest and it will also launch Brazil based Moufid Aziz, born to parents of Portuguese and Arabic origin.

After RA.One , movie buffs are eagerly looking forward to the release of this film, but whether it will be able to strike a chord is yet to be seen.

Tweet (less)

"My trips to Delhi have become more frequent this year because of more work, but I've never spent that much time here apart from Paharganj. But I came here once before everything started, when I was a teenager.

I came on my own, as a tourist with friends ," she says. And what memories does she have of that trip? "Oh, we were very tourist-y.

We went to all the gates and everything, very boring." Boring? "Yes, I'm sorry, but it was really boring.

I hate looking at monuments and stuff. But then after that, we also did a crazy amount of things.

We had amazing food. Like biryani, momos, golgappas, chola bhaturas.

I went to my first club with friends. I must have been 18 or something.

I may have gone to a club with my parents before, but this was the first time I was going with friends, wearing short skirts and having the people bullying us in the train," she says. Which train, we ask her.

"This train in Delhi? Wasn't it the Metro?" she asked back. But there wasn't any Metro at that time.

She thinks and replies, "I have this memory of being in a train and people harassing us." Why? "Because, pretty young girls and all that, you know.

That's typical," she says, matter-of-factly. So has she ever been harassed as an actress by her fans? "I'm lucky.

I've never had a really unpleasant experience with fans. Everyone has been decent and well-behaved.

But I don't think I'm that famous," she says, as people in a small crowd fight among themselves to get a picture clicked with her (less)

Neil, 29, who was last seen in 7 Khoon Maaf took to his twitter account to talk about the release. Players is releasing on the 9th of December.

It's an Abbas Mustaan film. And is the official remake of the Italian Job ," he posted.

Apart from Neil, the action-thriller stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Bobby Deol, Sonam Kapoor, Omi Vaidya and Sikander Kher. The film has been shot in New Zealand, Russia and India.

Italian Job , starring Donald Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton and Charlize Theron, is about a bunch of robbers, who plan to pull off the heist of their lives by creating Los Angeles' largest ever traffic jam. Tweet (less)

I don't have a specific plan. I have good fortune to work with good directors, like Imtiaz Ali.

Next I am doing a movie with Anurag Basu. It will be instrumental in my growth as an actor.

I believe if I work with good directors I will become better at my job. I have tried to do it all through my career.

I did "Rajneeti" at the same time I did "Rocket Singh", I always try to do different characters that interest me. If you are honest to your work, your heart, your audience will like you.

What is " Rockstar " about? It's an intense film about a boy and his musical journey. With "Rockstar" we have spent lot of time, energy, sweat, and blood.

We have made it with heart and we have all surrendered to Imtiaz's vision. I am playing a Jat boy in the film.

I just surrendered myself to the character and performed. It's a musical journey spanning over 10 years.

And slowly, as the film progresses, he is exposed to different cultures, different places, certain elements are added. As he surrenders himself more to the music, his physical appearance stops mattering to him.

The journey and the growth of a wannabe Jat boy from Pitampura, in Delhi, studying in Delhi University , who later turns into a Sufi musician, and finally loses himself to music, that's "Rockstar". The character seems to be completely different from the real you.

I am basically a grounded person, so that wasn't a problem for me. We wanted to show the journey through his costumes and styling.

There is no designer stuff as the story revolves around an earthy character and I just tried to stay true to my character and his surroundings. Do you think the film will open well? These days, that's all that seems to matter, grand openings.

..

I don't know about the opening. We don't make films for openings.

There are certain stars or let's say mega stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan , whose films have huge openings. I am not even close to them.

I am just three-and-half years old in the industry. The song "Sadda Haq" seems to have connected well with the youth.

The song is to show how the character goes through a lot of changes. He is kind of questioning the society and asking them, 'Why do you keep questioning me?' The way Rehman composed it, Mohit sang, and Imtiaz shot it, we could see the audience connecting to it.

I enjoyed it a lot. There is a lot of angst, and lot of agony that is expressed through the song.

I also feel really connected to the song. You've also pulled off a Shammi Kapoor in one of the songs.

..

Yes, I've reprised Shammi dadaji's song from the film "Kashmir Ki Kali". I had called him before the shoot, saying that I am feeling very nervous and asked him what to do.

He told me, 'You just don't dance, let the music command your expressions.' And I did exactly that (less)

Rakyesh says that with India's strengths and the population, the country should get at least "50 medals in the Olympics," but this is a distant dream. Not that it has anything to do with the "lack of facilities", but has everything to do with "the lack of focus as a nation," something that is apparent in the wonky education system of the country too.

Rakeysh told DT, "You'll kill me for it, but I was ashamed the other day when I found out that at my college, Sri Ram College of Commerce, the cutoff list ended at 100%. I said 'Oh my god, what are we doing?' I think you really need to open up avenues for youngsters.

They just can't be going to coaching classes. Studying is now like a race.

It's about, 'Who is scoring how much and what's the percentile?' It would be such a boring nation if we only had engineers in the country..

. it'll kill the nation.

" "I can't think of an educational institution which is just honouring a marksheet. It can't be a more shallower organization.

..

then you're not creating citizens, you're not creating great human beings, you are creating very uni-dimensional robots who are good in one subject and specialization of that one subject and in that syllabus. It's crazy.

I wish I can do something with the education system." There's something he did try and do - write a script called "96.

7". "We'd started work on "96.

7", till I realized it had become redundant, and I should work on a subject called 100%. It was about the education system.

Perhaps I'll make it once I understand the whole system..

. perhaps my views are very lopsided right now.

But the seeds have been sown," he says. Rakeysh feels that addressing the system is the need of the hour.

"I hope they hear me -Delhi University - whether it's SRCC or St. Stephen's or Hindu, they need to get their acts together.

You can't take kids based on percentages..

. you are already dividing the country and you are not letting people come together.

So, take 50% like that and 50% like that..

. it's complex, but you'll have to derive a way of doing it.

Something really needs to be done..

. this is not a problem, I don't see it as a problem.

This way, we'd just be creating another world, a world full of ignorance." "Imagine if Shakespeare goes to DU and he's told, 'We can't take you based on stories you've written as your marksheet isn't that cool.

' Or if a Leonardo, or Rabindranath Tagore goes there, and writes something called "Gitanjali" and they tell him, 'Mr Tagore, it's nice to write things such as 'Where the head is held high', but where is your marksheet?" Movie on Dhaula Kuan rape case While Rakeysh is taking on Delhi University , there is another one being made which has a Delhi connect. Delhi-based actor Sharhaan Singh, known for tele serial "Uttaran", tells us that he's playing a baddie in a movie which is based on the Dhaula Kuan rape case.

Talking about the movie, which has been named "Dily Dily Dily", Sharhaan discloses, "We'll be shooting the final climax scenes of the movie in Delhi on November 26." "I am playing a negative character in the film, which is based on the real life story of the Dhaula Kuan rape case that shook Delhi a few years ago.

The movie will also have Nasir Abdullah, Mukul Nag, Abhijit Dutta and others." Sharhaan had to grow his hair and beard to get the typical goonda look for the movie which was mainly shot in Delhi and Manali.

Piyali Dasgupta (less)

For the film, he teamed up with young director Imtiaz Ali , known for making films like "Jab We Met" and "Love Aaj Kal". The musical drama with Delhi as its backdrop tells the story of Janardhan Jakhar (Ranbir), a Jat boy living in the middle-class locality of Pitampura who dreams of becoming a famous rockstar like Jim Morrison .

He tries hard to prove himself as a singer but instead of appreciating him, the audiences ridicule and humiliate him. While contemplating his failed attempts, it occurs to Janardhan that most of the famous musical stars have something in common - tragedy.

So, Janardhan, who is leading a happy life, decides to bear pain to become a well-known singer. He approaches Heer Kaul ( Nargis Fakhri ), who is rich, beautiful and arrogant.

She has broken many hearts. Hoping she will break his heart too, Janardhan starts following her.

The story then moves forward as the happy-go-lucky boy leaves behind Janardhan and becomes Jordan after going through various ups and downs in life. His transformation from a simple naive individual to a tortured soul, from a college campus in Delhi to the international stage.

His fulfils his dream, but in his quest for fame he loses his heart forever. Ranbir is said to have left no stone unturned to make his character believable on the screen.

From learning to play the guitar to staying with a Jat family and from eating at local dhabas to milking cows - the 29-year-old did all to bring authenticity in his character. Co-produced by Eros International and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision , the film, made on a budget of more than Rs.

60 crore, has been extensively shot in Delhi in locations like St. Stephen's College, Connaught Place and Nizamuddin, among others.

One of the songs that mark the turning point in the film has been shot in the Nizamuddin dargah. Some portions of the film have also been shot in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai.

Imtiaz also shot the film offshore -- in the Czech Republic and Italy. The music, composed by Oscar winner A.

R. Rahman , is already a rage and the promos of the film have received a positive response.

Ranbir and Imtiaz have been extensively promoting the film with city tours. The team was recently part of the concert where both Rahman and Ranbir performed live on stage for their fans.

They are also planning a show in Kashmir and London . "Rockstar" will introduce two new faces to the Indian film industry -- Pakistani-American model Nargis will be seen for the first time as Ranbir's love interest and it will also launch Brazil based Moufid Aziz, born to parents of Portuguese and Arabic origin.

After "RA.One", movie buffs are eagerly looking forward to the release of this film, but whether it will be able to strike a chord is yet to be seen (less)

On the eve of Deepika Padukone's birthday, let's see what the future holds for the sexy siren in 2012. Astro-numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi analyzes, "Deepika was born on 5th January, 1986 which makes her a Number 5 (Mercury) person in numerology.

She is a Capricorn (ruler Saturn - Number 8) and her destiny number adds up to Number 3 ( Jupiter )". "Being ruled by Number 5 (Mercury), Deepika is upright frank , honest in her speeches, talkative, communicative and very adamant in her decisions.

With the influence of Saturn (Number 8), she has really worked hard to achieve what she has and she is proud of the fact that she has made it on her own terms at such a young age. Being also ruled by Number 3 (Jupiter) ensures that she is very practical as far as money is concerned and would work only on her terms.

No wonder she is paid much more than any other actress in her league - be it films, endorsements, fashion shows etc", explains Bhavikk further. "Deepika will now be entering the 27th year of her life and since she is primarily ruled by Number 5, she will have a decent 2012.

On the film front, her next film which is a Saif Ali Khan production (tentatively titled 'Cocktail') and Ayan Mukherji's next where she is starring opposite ex beau Ranbir Kapoor is most likely to do well. Even in 'Race 2', her role will be a meatier one amongst the ensemble cast.

But 'Rana', where she's paired opposite superstar Rajnikanth, will prove to be a damp squib at the box office", he adds further. "One more negative aspect in her life could be her break off with current boy friend Siddharth Mallya as they make a completely incompatible couple as there is simply no chemistry between Number 5 (Mercury) and Number 7 (Ketu - Sidhartha - 7th May 1987) and what you see now (they seem to be madly in love), all may just perish in to thin air".

"Wearing a Yellow Sapphire (above 4 carats) set in gold on her right hand index finger on a Thursday evening (one hour before sunset ) will help her deal with this much more strongly and make sure she remains clear and focused when it comes to such decisions of life", signs off Bhavikk on an advisory note (less)

Sreedharan hanged up his boots Saturday after an eventful 15-year tenure as the Delhi Metro chief, IANS takes a lowdown on the films associated with the easy mode of transport. The star-studded cast of Abbas-Mustan's Players -- Abhishek Bachchan, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Sonam Kapoor - stepped into the Airport Express Metro to promote the movie, releasing Jan 6, 2012.

Even superstar Shah Rukh Khan kept aside his star status and travelled like the Delhi common man to spread a buzz about his mega production RA.One .

He also took the Metro route with Priyanka Chopra, director Farhan Akhtar and producer Ritesh Sidhwani for Don 2 - The King Is Back . Actors Manoj Bajpayee, Tia Bajpai and Maqbool Khan started their Metro promotional ride from the capital's Shivaji Stadium for their film Lanka , and actor Emraan Hashmi chose the busiest, Rajiv Chowk Metro station for promoting The Dirty Picture .

It's quite a feat to plan such marketing gimmicks at such locations considering thousands of commuters pass through each day. Some star-struck passengers love the surprise chance to see their favourite celebrity, while some feel it delays the travel as celebrity events tend to create chaos at times.

However, that has not deterred filmmakers from getting permission to shoot films either at the Metro stations, or even within the Metro itself. In 2006, Subhash Ghai's Black and White was shot in the Metro.

But it was in 2008 that most filmmakers were tempted to shoot at the new, attractive spot. Anurag Kashyap's Dev.

D , Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi-6 and Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal were shot in the capital's Metro. In the next year, R.

Balakrishnan also decided to shoot bits of a song sequence for Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Paa in the Metro. Most recently, the team of Mahesh Bhatt's Jannat 2 shot in the Airport Express, with Emraan Hashmi and Randeep Hooda in the frame.

Now, Mallika Sherawat and Viveik Oberoi-starrer Kismat, Love, Paisa, Dilli , is expected to be shot at the Airport Express too. Tweet (less)

..

Bollywood has witnessed a successful run of sequels to film series like Dhoom, Munnabhai, Golmaal, Hera Pheri and Murder to name a few. Even Hollywood is trying to earn big bucks with 75 sequels scheduled for release this year.

Maybe it is the tried and tested formula that attracts filmmakers, 2012 has a big line-up of sequels awaiting their fate at the box-office. Sajid Khan's Housefull 2, Kunal Deshmukh's Jannat 2, Ramesh Taurani's Race 2, Sachin Yardi's Kya Super Cool Hai Hum, Vikram Bhatt's Raaz 3 and 1920-The Evil Returns, Milan Luthria's Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai 2 are just a few sequels awaited this year.

As soon as a movie earns good moolah at the box office, a sequel to the movie is immediately announced. Says director Vikram Bhatt, "It is like the franchisee of any famous food outlet.

You know what food you will get there. Similarly if I talk about the Raaz franchise, people know that if there is a Raaz 3 being made, it will be about horror, love, lust and music.

" Following up a hit movie with a sequel has surely become a common trend. But in most movies, the actors are different from their respective prequels.

Ajay Devgn in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai has been replaced with Akshay Kumar in the sequel. The leading ladies in Housefull have been replaced by Asin and Jaqueline Fernandes, Sonal Chauhan in Jannat has been replaced by Esha Gupta in the sequel.

Even the cast of Raaz 3, Race 2, Kya Super Cool Hai Hum and Dhoom 3 has changed according to the story. Director Sajid Khan says, "The reason why the movie is called Housefull 2 is because it belongs to the same brand franchisee.

It is not in any way connected to the original film. The story is different, so the characters are also different.

" New faces are seen portraying essential characters in these movies. Sanjay Khanduri's sequel to Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local has Viveik Oberoi and Mallika Sherawat in the lead roles.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh feels that the sequels have a different plot vis-a-vis the earlier film and promise to deliver extra entertainment. He says, "This norm has been observed in Hollywood as well.

The sequels may or may not have the same actors. It depends on what the story demands.

It is all about the brand value of the film." But if the storyline and actors are different, why not have a different name altogether? Vikram Bhatt says, "It is all about selling an experience.

A person invests a lot of time and energy in making and marketing a movie. In sequels, more than half of the job is done.

It might go wrong also. People know what to expect.

When a family goes to watch a movie and shells out so much money, they would be happier to know what they'll see rather than it being a complete surprise." With sequels to Partner , Dostana , Ragini MMS , Rajneeti , Force , Rock On , No Entry , Judwaa , Tanu Weds Manu , Krrish , Ishqiya , Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 2 and Ab Tak Chappan also declared as 'Coming Soon' in B-Town; whether these films with new stories and newer characters succeed in impressing the audience, only time will tell (less)

Having completed filming in Atlanta and New York, Mira is expected to being shooting in Delhi sometime very soon. Nair's movie narrates the story of a young Pakistani (played by Riz) working on Wall Street whose life drastically changes following the 9/11 attacks, when he leaves behind his adopted country and the American woman (played by Kate Hudson ) he had fallen for.

Filming began in the end of September. Days later, Nair mentioned on a microblogging site "Kate Hudson and @rizmc - kya chemistry hai!".

By October 14, filming of the US portions was over. Meanwhile, photos of the Hollywood star shooting in New York or spending time with son Ryder and fiance Matthew Bellamy have grabbed attention.

Her new hair colour (or wig?) as well as how trim she looks just three months after the birth of her son (Bingham Hawn Billamy) with Matthew have also become a talking point. While the debate over whether Kate looks better as blonde or brunette continues, there is also speculation over whether Kate and Liev (Naomi Watts' partner) will be flying down to Delhi, where a Pakistani setting will be recreated.

Riz, who had earlier filmed for Michael Winterbottom's "Trishna" with Frieda Pinto in Rajasthan, will be coming down to Delhi soon though he didn't divulge the filming dates in this country when CT got in touch with him. What he did say, however, was that he would be performing in a gig in Pune in November.

Said Riz, who is as passionate about music as he is about acting, "I am playing in Pune on November 20." The cast includes Shabana Azmi , Om Puri and Adil Hussain (of "Life of Pi" fame).

Industry sources said that Adil, who is now in New York to film "English Vinglish" with Sridevi , is expected to return to India on November 10. The actor will be playing the character of Mustafa and will begin filming his portions in Delhi from November 21.

Another interesting Indian connection for the film is that "Chak De! India" director Shimit Amin will be editing the movie (less)

While her debut in Bollywood has been talked about extensively, it has taken a long time for Dharmendra and Hema Malini's daughter to decide on her first endeavour in the industry. However, a source revealed to Mumbai Mirror that Ahana has finally found a launch vehicle in Viacom 18's romantic comedy, which will be directed by Shoojit Sircar .

The source said, "Ahana was very apt for the role. It is a romantic comedy on a road trip.

It is not a typical boy-meets-girl story, but a complex love story where the characters discover themselves during the journey. The film is expected to go on floors early next year.

" Reportedly, the filmmakers are still in search of a male lead. The source informed that Prateik was supposed to do the film, but it didn't work out due to conflicts with his schedule.

Apparently now the filmmakers are looking for a fresh face to complement Ahana. "The film will definitely create buzz because it's Ahana's debut film.

The makers are looking for the right male lead. In fact, auditions are in process and a male lead will be finalised by the end of October," added the source.

Apparently Ahana, born into a film family, has been taking cues from her parents. Hema Malini and Dharamendra have been actively involved in every step of their daughter's dream debut.

In fact, they were the ones who gave the green signal to this project. The untitled film will reportedly be shot in one schedule across northern India (less)

Neil, 29, who was last seen in 7 Khoon Maaf took to his twitter account to talk about the release. Players is releasing on the 9th of December.

It's an Abbas Mustaan film. And is the official remake of the Italian Job ," he posted.

Apart from Neil, the action-thriller stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Bobby Deol, Sonam Kapoor, Omi Vaidya and Sikander Kher. The film has been shot in New Zealand, Russia and India.

Italian Job , starring Donald Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton and Charlize Theron, is about a bunch of robbers, who plan to pull off the heist of their lives by creating Los Angeles' largest ever traffic jam. Tweet (less)

. I don't believe in measuring the success of a year based on my professional life.

For me, a year is fantastic only if I've achieved my goals, personally and professionally. The year 2011 will be a high point for me because it was the year I married Avantika.

My journey with her has been great. I couldn't have asked for more.

Yes, on the professional front too, both my films "Delhi Belly" and "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" did well at the box office..

. So, yes, the year has been good.

So you expect the good run to continue this year as well? Well, in our business you never know what to expect. Everything is so unpredictable that no matter who you are - big star or small -you have to leave everything to fate.

As far as I'm concerned, I believe in giving my best. After that I just sit back and let the audience decide the fate of the film.

But yes, as an actor I do try to do something different each time. "Delhi Belly" was different from the usual Imran Khan fare.

But then after that you did "MBKD" and now, "Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu". Critics say it's a return to your comfort zone.

I don't think so. Look, I believe in striking a balance as an actor.

With "Delhi Belly" I went risque and then to balance that out I did "MBKD", which was a complete masala flick. Similarly, now I'm doing "EMAEK", which is a typical commercial fare that the usual movie-goer likes.

After that I'll be starting work on Vishal Bharadwaj's "Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola", which again is not commercial. Yes, post "DB" people expected me to do movies like that, but no one knows that the film sat in the cans for three years with no one willing to buy it.

I don't believe in restricting myself at all. And honestly it's tough to know what the audience will like.

So how do you decide on your films? Like I said, you cannot second guess the audience. You make a film and by the time it reaches the theatres, it's almost a year and by then, the tastes of the audience has changed.

So, I chose my films depending on what I would like to see. I ask myself if this is the film I would watch and only then do I sign on the dotted line.

Apart from that, the script, director and producer are very important to me. The script has to be appealing and entertaining.

The director - even if he is a first-time filmmaker - needs to know how to translate the story on celluloid. And finally a good producer is important to market your film well to the audience.

See, it's tough to make a movie relevant with times. I think it's a movie that makes time relevant.

Look at "DDLJ" or "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak" - people watch them even today. Coming to "EMAET", many are drawing similarities to the Hollywood flick "What Happens in Vegas".

The only similarity between our film and "What Happens In Vegas" is that the characters get married in Vegas after a drunken night in town. But this premise has been used in other films as well - "Hangover", "Two to Tango" heck, even in an episode on "Friends", Ross and Rachael get married after a drunken night.

But that's where the similarity ends. "EMAET" is a coming of age film.

My character is rather sad, because he has never done anything fun in life. He has only done what his parents tell him.

And this changes after he meets Kareena's character. So, rest assured, there are absolutely no similarities between our film and the Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz flick.

The film is also been talked about for your pairing with Kareena. Ah! Working with Kareena is such a joy.

I've been friends with director Shakun Batra since my "Jaane Tu..

." days and he wrote the script keeping Kareena and me in mind.

When I read the script, I knew exactly why the movie needed an actor like Kareena. Her character has shaped up so well and to tell you the truth, no one could have played that role other than her.

Do you mind playing second fiddle to an actress in a film? I always believe in one thing - there are no small parts, only small actors. I would love to do a role in a heroine-centric film.

Look at what Vidya did in "The Dirty Picture". She carried the entire film on her shoulders and it's one of the top grossers of 2011.

You know, there is no dearth of good leading ladies in our industry. It's only the scripts that fail them.

Once you have a strong script for them in place, it works wonders. Hats off to directors like Milan Luthria who came up with "TDP".

Priyanka propelled "Fashion" to number one slot, Vidya did the same with "TDP", and now Kareena will steal the show with "Heroine" later this year. Any wish-list for 2012? I don't have any expectations as such.

I don't believe in them. I only hope that my endeavors bear fruit this year too.

As a person, I'm very optimistic in nature. I take life head-on and see the best in it.

Hopefully, the outcome of this year too will be great (less)

The 45-year-old actor says he still believes that a good script makes or breaks a film and he is going all out to promote the movie so that it reaches the maximum audience. "I would like it if people talk about the film's story and the characters rather than the promotional tools I am using.

Don't put my film down to promotional strategies only. I am just a small-time actor who is struggling to make people like his films.

If the film doesn't have a good story to tell, there is no point promoting it. So many people have put their efforts behind Ra.

One that I thought I need to ensure it reaches maximum audience," said Shah Rukh Khan. And to do so, the 'Baadshah' of Bollywood has been to cities like Ludhiana, Bhopal, Vadodara besides Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai to promote his movie.

He even took a ride in the new Delhi Metro Airport Express Line today and entertained fans at the Shivaji Stadium station here. SRK, who was born and educated in Delhi, said his mode of transport while he was living in the Capital was a cycle.

The film is due for release in six days but Shah Rukh said they are still busy with post-production work. "I am having to juggle between the studio and various other cities I am travelling to.

It has left me extremely exhausted and tired." He is hoping Ra.

One becomes a Diwali blockbuster, but Shah Rukh, who's superhero avatar in the movie is seen performing daring stunts, is scared of crackers. "I got burnt about 15 years ago while trying to burst a cracker.

I still have the mark. I am extremely scared of crackers now and want everyone to be careful while bursting them," he said.

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"It's a wonderfully high-class problem to have. All these people want you to be in their movie.

Or work with you. Or maybe they want to kick you in the balls.

Half the time I don't know. But it's better than wondering if I have to write a play and direct it myself just to get that next job," Renner said.

Although he has signed up to star in huge movie franchises - including 'Bourne Legacy', replacing Matt Damon, there are certain films he wouldn't want to appear in, such as Transformers , because its stars have to interact with CGI characters. "I'm blessed to have cool roles in these big movies.

Because nothing against Transformers , but thank God I don't have to do a monologue to a robot. I don't know how Shia, God bless him, does that," he said.

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Says director Ishraq Shah, "How can Anna Hazare die? It somehow doesn't seem proper to let my hero of the masses (whom I've modelled after Hazare saab) die, when in real life the character is more alive than all of us put together. He has awakened humanity from a deep slumber.

Raghubir Yadav plays Hazare in the film. In the earlier ending, the protagonist, finally dies.

Shah is now re-working the story to go with the mood of the moment. "The film about politics and corruption is dedicated to Anna Hazare," he says.

Raghubir Yadav plays Hazare in the film. In the earlier ending, the protagonist, finally dies.

Shah is now re-working the story to go with the mood of the moment. "The film about politics and corruption is dedicated to Anna Hazare," he says.

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Shilpa, who is playing an Oddisi dancer in her next film The Desire: A Journey of A Woman , has apparently indulged in some seriously bold sequences with co-star Xia Yu in the film. "I had no qualms in doing these scenes as these sequences are an integral part of the film, and have been aesthetically shot," says Shilpa.

It does looks like one of the most interesting characters Shilpa has essayed in her 17-year-long career. Which is why it is not surprising that the actress would go to any lengths to make herself look convincing enough on screen.

Says a source, "In the film, a world famous Chinese painter is madly in love with Shilpa's character Gautami, but she does not really respond to him. These sequences are a part of the story building up to how far their friendship goes.

" The actress, who has been looking for a substantial script to come her way since her much-acclaimed performance in Anurag Basu's Life In A Metro , seems more than happy with this project. "The film traces Gautami's journey through a number of years.

The love story is beautiful and the passion between the two characters is almost like a painting. I would say that it's my character Gautami, who is bold, and not the scenes per say," explains Shilpa.

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If she doesn't shape up in two months, she apparently could find herself out in the cold, replaced by a more suitable heroine to play the title role! Confirms a source, "Yes, Sudhir has issued her an ultimatum. Chitrangada will have to master the speech, body language, clothes, culture and ethos of a Muslim girl in post-Partition India within a couple of months.

This is proving difficult as not only is she completely unaware of the era and culture she must embody as Mehrunissa , but till very recently she was also actively preparing for the svelte, futuristic role in Rakesh Roshan's next (which she is no longer doing). Now, the actress has to go back in time, all the way to 1947, fast and rigorously.

" And Mishra's demands don't end just there. He has, apparently, asked her to make a trip to Pakistan to get a feel of the country's culture before they starting shooting.

"Playing a Muslim girl from 'undivided' India won't be a question of only getting the language and the clothes right. The director wants her to fly down to Pakistan and get a first-hand feel of the atmosphere and people," adds the source.

Incidentally, Nikhil Advani, who has written the script of Mehrunissa , was not too convinced about Chitrangada being the right choice for the role. But since Advani trusts Mishra's judgement implicitly, he has agreed to see how far the actress can go with the character of a girl with whom both Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor's characters are supposed to fall in love with in their youth.

The actress, who has a packed work schedule as well as a family event to attend to before the year is through, is running against time. But the director, it seems, is confident of his girl.

"The role requires intense preparation. She is already preparing for the part and I think she can pull it off," he says.

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"What's creating more dhoom is the audience. It's so nice these days that we can do any kind of film because the audience is not ready for stereotypes," said the 31-year-old actress.

"Whether you do a Delhi Belly , or a Dirty Picture or a Pappu Can't Dance Saala or Mission Impossible 4 - there is an audience for everything. The only thing that's causing dhoom in the industry is a good script, and then.

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the audience decides," she added. Neha's new film Pappu Can't Dance Saala has just hit the screens.

Meanwhile, be it Vidya Balan or Kareena Kapoor - Bollywood's 30-plus actresses have been lately stealing the thunder. Neha feels age is irrelevant when it comes to quality work.

"I think age has got nothing to do with it..

. Whether you're 20, 30 or 40.

It all depends on the kind of cinema you are doing," said Neha at the Gillette Saluting Soldier event here. Neha made her Bollywood debut with the action flick Qayamat: City Under Threat and later did a mix of commercial and off-beat films.

She was last seen in Gandhi To Hitler . Tweet (less)

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My whole idea is that if it is a nice enough story to be told, then it should be told. There is no choice that I will make my next on a woman again, but I will make a strong and smart story again," Ekta told reporters at a press conference to celebrate the success of The Dirty Picture , which tells the story of an actress's rise and fall.

After making long-running successful saas-bahu soaps Kyunki..

.Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kasautii Zindagii Kay , she took a plunge into moviemaking and produced hit crime thriller Shootout At Lokhandwala , based on a real story, underworld saga Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai , and experimental Love Sex Aur Dhokha .

Once again she is going back to her first love and said: "This week I am going back to TV. There are many TV shows.

The movie work is for next year now." For next year Ekta's production house Balaji Telefilms has an interesting line up of movies - Kya Super Kool Hai Hum, Rock The Shaadi, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2 and Shootout at Wadala .

Ekta has been producing TV serials since 1995 and her first serial Hum Paanch was a super hit. Tweet (less)

And Shah Rukh promptly remarked, "Then the female Don can be called Donald Duck !" A few weeks back, a journo repeatedly asked SRK the name of the new puppy he had acquired. Without losing his cool, he grinned, "If you don't stop asking me this silly question, I will name my dog after you.

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She has done marvellous action. This is the first time where she is doing action of such kind," Rajeev told IANS.

In the movie, there is a kid called Krishna and an animated Lord Krishna. "The sequence shows that she saves the kid Krishna from the goons," said Rajeev who had previously made My friend Ganesha .

Hrithik Roshan will also make a special appearance in it. Same as "My Friend Ganesha", it is also made with composite animation where an animation character will be seen interacting with a live characters.

"The film also shows that Lord Krishna is a big fan of Hrithik Roshan and he is eager to meet him. The whole climax is around Hrithik.

How Krishna comes and meets Hrithik, interacts with him etc, etc," said Rajeev. Releasing Diwali, the film has Juhi Chawla in the lead role.

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She has done marvellous action. This is the first time where she is doing action of such kind," Rajeev told IANS.

In the movie, there is a kid called Krishna and an animated Lord Krishna. "The sequence shows that she saves the kid Krishna from the goons," said Rajeev who had previously made My friend Ganesha .

Hrithik Roshan will also make a special appearance in it. Same as "My Friend Ganesha", it is also made with composite animation where an animation character will be seen interacting with a live characters.

"The film also shows that Lord Krishna is a big fan of Hrithik Roshan and he is eager to meet him. The whole climax is around Hrithik.

How Krishna comes and meets Hrithik, interacts with him etc, etc," said Rajeev. Releasing Diwali, the film has Juhi Chawla in the lead role.

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The 45-year-old actor says he still believes that a good script makes or breaks a film and he is going all out to promote the movie so that it reaches the maximum audience. "I would like it if people talk about the film's story and the characters rather than the promotional tools I am using.

Don't put my film down to promotional strategies only. I am just a small-time actor who is struggling to make people like his films.

If the film doesn't have a good story to tell, there is no point promoting it. So many people have put their efforts behind Ra.

One that I thought I need to ensure it reaches maximum audience," said Shah Rukh Khan. And to do so, the 'Baadshah' of Bollywood has been to cities like Ludhiana, Bhopal, Vadodara besides Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai to promote his movie.

He even took a ride in the new Delhi Metro Airport Express Line today and entertained fans at the Shivaji Stadium station here. SRK, who was born and educated in Delhi, said his mode of transport while he was living in the Capital was a cycle.

The film is due for release in six days but Shah Rukh said they are still busy with post-production work. "I am having to juggle between the studio and various other cities I am travelling to.

It has left me extremely exhausted and tired." He is hoping Ra.

One becomes a Diwali blockbuster, but Shah Rukh, who's superhero avatar in the movie is seen performing daring stunts, is scared of crackers. "I got burnt about 15 years ago while trying to burst a cracker.

I still have the mark. I am extremely scared of crackers now and want everyone to be careful while bursting them," he said.

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Sreedharan hanged up his boots Saturday after an eventful 15-year tenure as the Delhi Metro chief, IANS takes a lowdown on the films associated with the easy mode of transport. The star-studded cast of Abbas-Mustan's Players -- Abhishek Bachchan, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Sonam Kapoor - stepped into the Airport Express Metro to promote the movie, releasing Jan 6, 2012.

Even superstar Shah Rukh Khan kept aside his star status and travelled like the Delhi common man to spread a buzz about his mega production RA.One .

He also took the Metro route with Priyanka Chopra, director Farhan Akhtar and producer Ritesh Sidhwani for Don 2 - The King Is Back . Actors Manoj Bajpayee, Tia Bajpai and Maqbool Khan started their Metro promotional ride from the capital's Shivaji Stadium for their film Lanka , and actor Emraan Hashmi chose the busiest, Rajiv Chowk Metro station for promoting The Dirty Picture .

It's quite a feat to plan such marketing gimmicks at such locations considering thousands of commuters pass through each day. Some star-struck passengers love the surprise chance to see their favourite celebrity, while some feel it delays the travel as celebrity events tend to create chaos at times.

However, that has not deterred filmmakers from getting permission to shoot films either at the Metro stations, or even within the Metro itself. In 2006, Subhash Ghai's Black and White was shot in the Metro.

But it was in 2008 that most filmmakers were tempted to shoot at the new, attractive spot. Anurag Kashyap's Dev.

D , Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi-6 and Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal were shot in the capital's Metro. In the next year, R.

Balakrishnan also decided to shoot bits of a song sequence for Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Paa in the Metro. Most recently, the team of Mahesh Bhatt's Jannat 2 shot in the Airport Express, with Emraan Hashmi and Randeep Hooda in the frame.

Now, Mallika Sherawat and Viveik Oberoi-starrer Kismat, Love, Paisa, Dilli , is expected to be shot at the Airport Express too. Tweet (less)

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My whole idea is that if it is a nice enough story to be told, then it should be told. There is no choice that I will make my next on a woman again, but I will make a strong and smart story again," Ekta told reporters at a press conference to celebrate the success of The Dirty Picture , which tells the story of an actress's rise and fall.

After making long-running successful saas-bahu soaps Kyunki..

.Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kasautii Zindagii Kay , she took a plunge into moviemaking and produced hit crime thriller Shootout At Lokhandwala , based on a real story, underworld saga Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai , and experimental Love Sex Aur Dhokha .

Once again she is going back to her first love and said: "This week I am going back to TV. There are many TV shows.

The movie work is for next year now." For next year Ekta's production house Balaji Telefilms has an interesting line up of movies - Kya Super Kool Hai Hum, Rock The Shaadi, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2 and Shootout at Wadala .

Ekta has been producing TV serials since 1995 and her first serial Hum Paanch was a super hit. Tweet (less)