Sanjay Mishra's (An NSD pass-out) directorial venture, Pranam Walekum, will see other NSD graduates Tigmanshu Dhulia and Irrfan Khan coming together. A source informed Mumbai Mirror, "Last week, some scenes were shot in Film City, where Tigmanshu, who isn't part of the project, directed few scenes.

Even Irrfan Khan has done a guest appearance. The other junior artistes in the film are also from the same film school.

" When contacted, Dhulia said, "I know Sanjay from our drama schooling days and we are from the same batch of NSD." Irrfan, who did a cameo added, "Being a senior to Sanjay at NSD, I am very happy that Sanjay has moved into direction.

" (less)

One at Film City on Monday was a suitably glittering affair. We learn the rights for telecasting the film's music launch has been sold to a television channel, surely a first.

At the packed venue, SRK lifted a noticeably heftier Kareena who had come in late, and joked: 'She no longer has time for me, yeh aaj kal sirf chote chote Khans ke saath kaam karti hain.' Bodyguard, anyone? (less)

Our source closely associated with Nariman Films alleged, "Nariman Films are the original producers of the Film "DON" released in 1978 starring Amitabh Bachchan . In the year 2005 Mr.

Shahrukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar approached Nariman Films for the remaking rights of the original film "DON" through Mr. Javed Akhtar .

We had given them remaking rights only for Don - The chase Begins Again in 2005. We have never given remaking rights for "Don-2 The chase continues ".

Therefore we have raised our objection upon the Infringement on our Copyright of our film "Don" through our Advocates Mr. Digvijay Chopra and Miss Iva Bansal of Film India Corporate Legam Law Firm.

" Advocate Digvijay Chopra confirmed the news saying, "A legal Notice has been sent to Excel Entertainment , Red Chillies Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment , Shah Rukh Khan , Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani , Baba Arts for Infringement of Copyrights . The remaking rights were only given for the film 'Don- The chase begins again' starring Shah Rukh Khan.

It was granted by an agreement which expired in year 2009.Thereafter they never renewed the said agreement or took prospective rights from Nariman Films.

" Counsel Advocate Iva Bansal added, "Without any renewal of remaking rights Excel Entertainment and Red Chillies have made the film Don 2 ,the chase continues, Not only have they Infringed upon the title registered to Nariman Films i.e "Don" and "Don-2 - the Return of the King" which is in this matter second infringement .

The first infringement is the Film Don-2 itself made without taking necessary rights as per law." You see the Title Don -2 has already copyrighted in name of Nariman Films way back in January 2005.

Reliance Entertainment has taken the distribution without any NOC from Nariman Films who hold the negatives of the original film Don and is there copyright. We shall also extend our objection to Don 2's overseas distributors Paramount Films.

" Don 2 is slated to release in the last week of December 2011 (less)

The film is about the journey of an elderly Muslim couple trying to go to Haj and the problems they face. In the film the couple are grandparents but the Hindi version will be tweaked to suit SRK.

The original film was directed by debutant Salim Ahmed and starred Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead roles. Salim Ahmed will also be a part of KJo’s film.

After the success of My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh and Karan want to do another Islam-centric film. Sphere: Related Content Posted in (less)

Says a source, "Aamir is upset that several people, including the cast and crew of the film, are referring to it by that title. A few crew members recently referred to the film as Dhuan since media has started calling it that.

Aamir immediately sent out a text to everyone working on the film saying, 'Dhuan is not the title of our film, please don't refer to it by this name.' He, along with the producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, are still looking for an apt title.

Apparently they have zeroed in on three options and are approaching those who have thr rights to those titles. The team has been instructed to finalise a title in a month's time.

" The source adds that the unit has completed shooting a very complex underwater sequence in London. "Initially they were supposed to shoot this sequence in Khandala, but for certain requirements the makers realised it would be better to shoot in London.

Aamir and one of the leading actresses in the film were involved in the underwater sequence. It is not an action scene but a very important mystery sequence that is key to the suspense plot.

" (less)

Our source says, Don-2 producers went to town saying that they were due to collect an ex-amount of money(a huge fee) for the satellite rights of the film. Yes it is confirmed that Don-2 did get a big price against satellite.

But what is also true, is that there allegedly is a clause in the contract that says that SRK-PC would compere the awards night for the channel that has picked up the airing rights of Don-2; and their emceeing fee is also allegedly adjusted against the full price of the satellite sale.'' While the technicalities of SRK and PC's fee for their emcee act may or may not interest people; or may or may not be exactly the way our source tells us; what is truly interesting is the fact that these two superstars have been sold as a package item.

Ahem! (less)

Titled Tagore , the film starred Chiranjeevi as an anti-corruption crusader who starts a vigilante organisation called Anti-Corruption Force. It as old as 2003, and was quite forgotten, but suddenly there was a high demand for its remake rights, say sources.

The producers of Tagore jacked up the remake rights of the film to a staggering Rs 10 crore. What's more, Mantena is believed to have paid up the amount.

When contacted, Mantena said he is in the process of acquiring the rights for the film. "I love the title and I love the message of the film.

I think it's far more relevant today than it was when it was made seven years ago." Interestingly, Tagore itself is the remake of a 2002 Tamil film called Ramanna .

AR Murugadoss, who directed Ghajini for Mantena, had also written Tagore . According to sources, Mantena wants to cast Aamir Khan in the role of the anti-corruption crusader.

While not denying this bit of news, Mantena refused to talk about the subject. He said, "I can't talk about the casting.

It's too early." Tweet (less)

"We haven't decided if that would be my next film. It all depends on 'Mehrunissa'.

If that takes off, then I'll do the film for Anubhav next," Mishra said when contacted. Apparently Sinha's friend Shah Rukh Khan is being persuaded to play the main lead, while Irrfan Khan , Arunoday Singh and Vidyut Jamwal are being slotted into the other parts.

A source said: "The script (of Mishra's actioner) is a kickass combination of cerebral and physical action, a kind of 'Bourne Identity' meeets Jackie Chaan . It will have a huge star cast and some of the most elaborate action scenes seen on this side of the Hong Kong Kung Fu films.

" The film is ready to go on the floors. But it may be pushed forward if Mishra gets the final cast of his ambitious project "Mehrunissa" in place however, Amitabh Bachchan is yet to give his final nod to "Mehrunissa" (less)

For this role, he needed to know the background of nuclear science and so he read up material on nuclear physics. He also had lengthy conversations about the subject with director Kabir Khan and experts.

We would've never pegged Salman as a method actor. It must be the effect of his dosti with Aamir Khan .

But we don't think we would be able to handle another perfectionist in the industry (less)

While it's not clear if it will be a full-fledged song or a few lines, the actress is being Ms. dedicated.

After all, she's working opposite Mr Perfect himself - Aamir Khan ! (less)

AR Murugadoss was always to direct the Hindi version of Ramana - a movie that deals with anti-corruption. Shah Rukh is all set to play the vigilante in this one, and has already given a nod to the producer and director.

However, a source informs us that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will indeed be seen playing a part in Bajirao Mastani and not Ramana. he hunt for a female lead in Ramana is still on.

So SRK will be seen in not one but two of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's productions (less)

Director Sanjay Gupta seeks to change that. Says Gulshan, "I am very happy to work again with my dear friend Anil.

Do we play hero and villain? It will depend on the perspective of the viewer." (less)

Produced by Sandiip Kapur, the ensemble cast includes Giselli Monteiro, Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi, Shilpa Shukla, Manoj Pahwa, and Vindu Dara Singh. Sanjay too features in it.

Pranam Walekum will also see actor Irrfan Khan making a guest appearance. Tweet (less)

From Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam to Shah Rukh's home production Chalte Chalte to all his productions including Om Shanti Om and now Ra.One, their friendship has become stronger with every film.

Bhushan is very excited about Ra.One's music, He says, "The music is a sure-shot chartbuster.

Shah Rukh is involved in every aspect of his films. The music is massy and Chammak Challo will be an anthem!" He reveals that the music of Ra.

One has made record sales, "The music directors Vishal-Shekhar have given it a classical touch."adds Bhushan.

About his equation with Shah Rukh, Bhushan says, "The first film of Shah Rukh that I bought the music rights of was Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam. I have known him for eight years now and Shah Rukh, from then to now, has always respected my taste of music.

" Bhushan always buys the music rights for all Shah Rukh's films. "My company has never made any losses when they have taken up a Shah Rukh starrer.

" SRK has words of praise for Bhushan. King Khan says, "No one is bigger than them when it comes to music.

" Bhushan trusts Shah Rukh's music so much that he's now contemplating launching a music album with rapper Akon, who has sung two songs in Ra.One.

Bhushan concludes, "I was completely blown over by them. I am planning to get Akon to come to India and do an album for us.

" Ra. One music (less)

..

And wealth not to forget," Arbaaz posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. Amrita Arora, Malaika's younger sister, also wished her.

"Wishing my darling sis Malaika a very happy b'day..

. Hope she continues to rock always," she said.

Tweet (less)

..

And wealth not to forget," Arbaaz posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. Amrita Arora, Malaika's younger sister, also wished her.

"Wishing my darling sis Malaika a very happy b'day..

. Hope she continues to rock always," she said.

Tweet (less)

Interestingly, word is that several prominent producers were vying for the Bollywood rights of the film, especially now when anti-corruption statements have acquired a profound relevance, thanks to Anna Hazare. A source said, "After acquiring the rights of the Telugu film Vikramarkurdu which he has remade as Rowdy Rathod with its original director Prabhu Deva helming the Hindi remake, Sanjay was not really open to another South remake.

He did Rowdy..

. for the experience.

But then someone recommended Ramana to him. When Sanjay saw the film, he was blown away.

Made nine years ago, it is still as relevant. He had to acquire the remake rights and he had to get the director of the Tamil original to do it.

" The film will be directed by A R Murugadoss, who is said to have already approached Shah Rukh Khan to play the lead. Murugadoss confirmed, "I will be directing the Hindi version of Ramana .

Shah Rukh and I have talked about the film." Ramana featuring Vijaykanth in the lead and directed by the Ghajini maker Murugadoss was an all-time hit in Tamil.

It was remade into Telugu with Chiranjeevi in the lead, and in Kannada as well. Tweet (less)

The film also stars Brazilian model Gisslle Monterio, Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi, Shilpa Shukla, Manoj Pahwa and Asrani. Produced by Sandiip Kapoor, the film will also see Irrfan Khan and Rajat Kapoor in cameo.

"The movie is a situational comedy and though it is based on communal harmony, we are tackling the issue in a very light and healthy way," said Mishra. Tweet (less)

The deal between producer Excel Entertainment and Reliance was finalised last week. A source close to the production house informed Mumbai Mirror, "Rs 90 crore is a huge amount.

Don 2 sold for Rs 80 crore and that was already an established franchise. This however, puts a lot of recovery pressure on Talaash.

" Trade analyst Amod Mehra however, did not feel that the amount was too surprising. "I think it's a reasonable amount," said Mehra.

Excel Entertainment and Reliance remained unavailable for comment (less)

The film is about the journey of an elderly Muslim couple trying to go to Haj and the problems they face. In the film the couple are grandparents but the Hindi version will be tweaked to suit SRK.

The original film was directed by debutant Salim Ahmed and starred Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead roles. Salim Ahmed will also be a part of KJo’s film.

After the success of My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh and Karan want to do another Islam-centric film. Sphere: Related Content Posted in (less)

Said SRK, My producers Ritesh Sidhwani , Farhan Akhtar and I are wondering where such stories come from. Even when we made the original 2006 version of Don; we had done our due diligence and taken whatever permissions where there to be sought from the script point of view.

While my producers are best qualified to give a fitting reply to the whole matter, I as a lead actor can say that as for the sequel, the Amitabh Bachchan Don never had a sequel. So where is the question of us copying anything.

Farhan and his team have worked on the script, I know for a fact that we haven't copied from anywhere and this is an original script.'' SRK added, It is irresponsible even on the part of those reporting to say someone has infringed the copyright because there are always people who raise their heads at the nth hour with allegations.

The media must also look into the merits of the entire case before reporting. After all many people have worked hard on the script.

I have full respect for the media and I know that 99 per cent of the people do not fall for wrong leads; however even that one percent who tend to get swayed must try and hear out both versions of a story.'' Excel Entertainment has not infringed any copyright leave alone that of Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan by producing Don 2.

Further, Excel Entertainment is the bona-fide author and owner of copyright of the Films "Don The Chase Begins Again" (i.e.

Don 1), which has been confirmed by Nariman Films in writing. Excel is also the owner of the copyrights of Don 2.

In 2005, Nariman Films has given rights to Excel Entertainment, in perpetuity, for making "Don The Chase Begins Again". Don 2 is a sequel of "Don The Chase Begins Again" alongwith the ownership to the underlying work therein.

The entire story and dialogue of Don 2 has been prepared by Farhan and the other team members of Excel Entertainment. The title of Don 2 has been approved by AMPTPP in favour of Excel Entertainment.

Excel Entertainment states that there has been no undue influence on persons of Nariman Films. Nariman Films, with their malafide intention and to extort unjustified and unearned monies from Excel Entertainment, have given the legal notice, which is baseless and devoid of merits.

Excel Entertainment is suitably replying to the legal notice sent by the Advocates of Nariman Films. Excel Entertainment shall defend themselves and shall not permit Nariman Films to hamper the release of Don-2 under any circumstances whatsoever.

The fact of Excel Entertainment making Don 2 has been in the public domain since 2009. It seems that it has now become a practice to give notices just before release of a film to extract monies.

We at Excel Entertainment have done nothing wrong and shall stick to the correct legal and moral principals and defend what is right (less)

Instead Deepika chose to make her debut with Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om . After that Priyadarshan stayed away from Deepika until 2008 when Shah Rukh Khan used his clout to persuade Deepika to perform an item song in Priyadarshan's Billu , which SRK's Red Chillies Entertainment had produced.

The thawing of the ice had begun. Now it's time for the director and actress to finally work together.

"We broke the ice during the song in Billu . Now I've a role just right for her," said Priyan.

Priyadarshan, who has directed about 83 films in his 30-year career, had no releases in 2011, but he's ready to make up for the lost year with as many as four films this year. Of these, the 'family comedy' (as he dubs it) which he will direct in July for Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Limited has him specially kicked.

Not only is he working with Abhishek Bachchan for the first time, he has also reached out to Deepika for the female lead opposite the actor. It's a double delight for Priyadarshan since he has never worked with both the actors.

"Abhishek and I have been planning projects together for the longest time. We were supposed to do a bio-pic on Chandrashekhar Azad.

But who watches historicals any more? I've finally zeroed in on the perfect project for Abhishek. We start shooting in July," said Priyadarshan.

Tweet (less)

Kollywood insiders reveal that Salman, after his successful south Indian remakes in Hindi - Wanted, Dabangg and Bodyguard, might be the one to bring the film to Bollywood. Sources close to Raghavendra revealed that the director is insisting on at least Rs 4 crore to sell the remake rights.

And though Salman is eager to remake the film in Hindi, another source revealed that his brother Sohail is against paying such a huge sum to the makers of the film (less)

The company has learnt that the perpetrators not only created a fake company profile on a popular social networking site, but also organised auditions to cast aspiring actors in a film under the said banner. Reportedly, the scam set-up took quite a sum of money from the actors to land roles in the film.

One such aspirant was Mukesh Pal, who explained his plight, "I found the number online. The ad said that it was conducting auditions for UTV films.

I contacted them over the phone and they told me they were in search of fresh faces for the film Call Centre, which will be produced by UTV Motion Pictures and stars Irrfan Khan , Tusshar Kapoor and Kangna Ranaut. The film's supposed director took my screen test and promised me a small role in the film, after asking me to pay Rs 20,000.

It was hard for me to come up with that amount of money, but I have always wanted to work in Bollywood, so I agreed." Reportedly, it was Pal, who brought the scam to UTV Motion Pictures' attention.

And so, UTV Software Communications has filed a civil suit against the fake company on December 12, 2011 for infringement of registered trade mark, passing off and unfair trade competition. In response to which, the Delhi High Court passed an ad-interim injunction yesterday against the fake casting agency running under the name of UTV in Noida, UP.

Siddharth Roy Kapur , CEO, UTV Motion Pictures, said, "Cases like these, where the names of reputed studios are used to dupe unsuspecting aspirants, unfortunately make people suspicious about all casting agencies. We have taken action and we appeal to the authorities to take a strong stance to ensure such incidents do not take place in the future.

" (less)

The film is about the journey of an elderly Muslim couple trying to go to Haj and the problems they face. In the film the couple are grandparents but the Hindi version will be tweaked to suit SRK.

The original film was directed by debutant Salim Ahmed and starred Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead roles. Salim Ahmed will also be a part of KJo’s film.

After the success of My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh and Karan want to do another Islam-centric film. Sphere: Related Content Posted in (less)

It also overtakes what Star Network paid for this year's big Diwali release, RA.One , trade sources said.

Jayantilal Gada, CMD, Pen India Pvt Ltd, the agency that aids the purchase of films for Zee Cinema, justifies the hefty price tag, saying that channels study the production banner's track record on the small screen before pitching to buy the satellite rights. "We chose to buy Agneepath over several other biggies because Karan's (producer Karan Johar of Dharma Productions) movies have always delivered great numbers.

And the promo of this film showed promise," he said. Without commenting on the figures, trade analyst Amod Mehra says, "There are only a handful of leading satellite channels in the market.

Likewise, there are only four or five really bankable stars, and not more than 10 big films a year. Zee has shelled out the money for Agneepath to break the pattern of Karan's films going to either Star or Sony, and to strengthen their market position.

" According to the trade circuit, the TV satellite rights market has grown more than 10 times in the last decade alone. "Big flicks bring channels high TRPs and bumper ad revenue.

And no channel keeps a film to itself. Syndication is a common practice, and it also helps recover costs, that otherwise wouldn't make economical sense," Amod said, recalling that the 2007 hit, 'Jab We Met', was the first film in recent times to be syndicated to different channels.

Tweet (less)

The film also stars Brazilian model Gisslle Monterio, Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi, Shilpa Shukla, Manoj Pahwa and Asrani. Produced by Sandiip Kapoor, the film will also see Irrfan Khan and Rajat Kapoor in cameo.

"The movie is a situational comedy and though it is based on communal harmony, we are tackling the issue in a very light and healthy way," said Mishra. Tweet (less)

Arshad Warsi, the only actor retained from the original cast, is paired with Kangna Ranaut. Tweet (less)

Known for his spontaneous and natural flair for acting, Irrfan's profound dialogue delivery is expected to add a different dimension to the event, especially with the comical Shreyas as the co-host. "This is my first, but I believe in doing different things to keep my craft alive.

I will be hosting sections of the evening with Shreyas who is an excellent actor and has great comic timings. In fact I feel reassured that in case of any problem, he'll take care of me," Irrfan said in a press statement.

The BIG Star Entertainment Awards, conceptualised by Reliance Broadcast Network's intellectual property division, BIG Live, will be the first award function of the season to honour talent in films, television, music, dance and sports. The glitzy evening will see performances by Priyanka Chopra , Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez .

It will be aired for viewers on Star Plus on New Year's Eve (less)

And since the producers of the remake weren't given the rights to make a sequel, Nariman Films has sent them a legal notice and is suing them for copyright infringement. The producers at Nariman Films say, "We have raised our objection through our advocates Digvijay Chopra and Iva Bansal.

" Confirming that a legal notice has been sent to Excel Entertainment, Red Chillies Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment, Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Shah Rukh Khan and Baba Arts, Digvijay Chopra states: "The remake rights were given only for the film Don: The Chase Begins Again , starring Shah Rukh Khan, by an agreement, which expired in 2009. Thereafter, they never renewed it or even take any prospective rights from Nariman films.

" While Baba Arts was not involved in the production, the advocates point out they had originally acquired the rights, which were then sold to Excel Entertainment for Rs 1.25 crore in 2005, with the knowledge of Nariman Films.

Further Iva Bansal explains that without any renewal of the remake rights, Excel Entertainment and Red Chillies Entertainment have gone ahead and made Don 2 . "Not only have they infringed upon the title registered by Nariman Films, i.

e. Don and Don 2: Return Of The King , which in this matter, is a second infringement.

The first infringement is Don 2 , made without taking the necessary rights as per the law," she states. Bansal also explains that the title Don 2 has been copyrighted in the name of Nariman Films in January 2005.

"Reliance Entertainment has taken the distribution rights without any No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Nariman Films who hold the negatives of the original film Don . We shall also legally proceed with Paramount Films as we are informed that they are the overseas distributors," she maintained.

When asked why Nariman Films didn't initiate any action against the makers of Don 2: The Chase Continues , before or during filming, the advocates elaborated: "The reason is because all the production houses and senior and influential members of the film industry made the partners of Nariman films believe by way of undue influence and fraud that they (Nariman Films) have sold all their rights for their original film Don and are in no position to proceed legally to vindicate their right for the Amitabh Bachchan starrer, and even sent a legal notice to Nariman Films to confirm the same." However, Nariman Films has now come to know from various sources that the advocates they first consulted are on the legal panel of the opposite party.

Now the original producers have approached another law firm and have learnt that the case of infringement, undue influence and fraud, is clearly evident in this case. "And after learning the same they have taken legal action," summed up the advocates for Nariman Films.

Chopra and Bansal reiterated that they will be taking legal action against the makers of Don 2: The Chase Continues at the High Court as well as criminal courts for necessary relief. "We will be approaching the courts for stay on the release and promotions as well as confiscating all the Infringed Copies under the Copyright Act," said Chopra and Bansal.

Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment maintains, "Whatever we are doing is legal and their charges are false." Tweet (less)

..

, which originally featured Randeep Hooda, Jimmy Shergill and Mahie Gill, said that Neil has been "replaced" by Irrfan Khan as part of a creative decision. But Neil has another story to tell.

"I opted out. I had already played the horny mean husband in 7 Khoon Maaf .

Doing it again would have made no sense," said Neil. To the producer's claim that Irrfan has stepped into the part that Neil was ousted from, Neil said: "Everyone wants to show that the right to choose is his.

It doesn't make any difference to me." Neil had in principle, said yes to the role for the film, to be directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia.

"But then on paper, the character came out (to be) much older. At this point in my career, I don't want to repeatedly play older, mean characters, specially after 7 Khoon Maaf ," he said.

Neil says there are lots of similarities between the characters in 7 Khoon Maaf and the Sahib, Biwi..

. sequel.

"Before the final draft of the script was sent to me, I was quite kicked by doing the mean act again. But after I read the script, I found a lot of similarities between this script and 7 Khoon Maaf ," he explained.

Interestingly, the sequel purports to bring back Hooda's character from the dead. His character died in the original movie, but he is being touted as a part of the sequel.

Hooda himself is clueless as to how he would return to the film. Significantly, Sunil Bohra, who was a partner in the production of Sahib, Biwi.

..

, has opted out of the sequel. Sources close to Bohra claim he couldn't see eye to eye with the director any more.

Tweet (less)

And since the producers of the remake weren't given the rights to make a sequel, Nariman Films has sent them a legal notice and is suing them for copyright infringement. The producers at Nariman Films say, "We have raised our objection through our advocates Digvijay Chopra and Iva Bansal.

" Confirming that a legal notice has been sent to Excel Entertainment, Red Chillies Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment, Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Shah Rukh Khan and Baba Arts, Digvijay Chopra states: "The remake rights were given only for the film Don: The Chase Begins Again , starring Shah Rukh Khan, by an agreement, which expired in 2009. Thereafter, they never renewed it or even take any prospective rights from Nariman films.

" While Baba Arts was not involved in the production, the advocates point out they had originally acquired the rights, which were then sold to Excel Entertainment for Rs 1.25 crore in 2005, with the knowledge of Nariman Films.

Further Iva Bansal explains that without any renewal of the remake rights, Excel Entertainment and Red Chillies Entertainment have gone ahead and made Don 2 . "Not only have they infringed upon the title registered by Nariman Films, i.

e. Don and Don 2: Return Of The King , which in this matter, is a second infringement.

The first infringement is Don 2 , made without taking the necessary rights as per the law," she states. Bansal also explains that the title Don 2 has been copyrighted in the name of Nariman Films in January 2005.

"Reliance Entertainment has taken the distribution rights without any No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Nariman Films who hold the negatives of the original film Don . We shall also legally proceed with Paramount Films as we are informed that they are the overseas distributors," she maintained.

When asked why Nariman Films didn't initiate any action against the makers of Don 2: The Chase Continues , before or during filming, the advocates elaborated: "The reason is because all the production houses and senior and influential members of the film industry made the partners of Nariman films believe by way of undue influence and fraud that they (Nariman Films) have sold all their rights for their original film Don and are in no position to proceed legally to vindicate their right for the Amitabh Bachchan starrer, and even sent a legal notice to Nariman Films to confirm the same." However, Nariman Films has now come to know from various sources that the advocates they first consulted are on the legal panel of the opposite party.

Now the original producers have approached another law firm and have learnt that the case of infringement, undue influence and fraud, is clearly evident in this case. "And after learning the same they have taken legal action," summed up the advocates for Nariman Films.

Chopra and Bansal reiterated that they will be taking legal action against the makers of Don 2: The Chase Continues at the High Court as well as criminal courts for necessary relief. "We will be approaching the courts for stay on the release and promotions as well as confiscating all the Infringed Copies under the Copyright Act," said Chopra and Bansal.

Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment maintains, "Whatever we are doing is legal and their charges are false." Tweet (less)

The film is about the journey of an elderly Muslim couple trying to go to Haj and the problems they face. In the film the couple are grandparents but the Hindi version will be tweaked to suit SRK.

The original film was directed by debutant Salim Ahmed and starred Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead roles. Salim Ahmed will also be a part of KJo’s film.

After the success of My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh and Karan want to do another Islam-centric film. Sphere: Related Content Posted in (less)

Arshad Warsi, the only actor retained from the original cast, is paired with Kangna Ranaut. Tweet (less)

This Farhan Akhtar directed motion picture has sold its satellite rights for a whopping 37 crores, inform trade sources. It's Zee TV who has bought the satellite rights for this movie.

Apparently, this is one of the biggest satellite deals to take place in the history of Indian cinema. It's the hype of the movie along with the success of it's predecessor that has helped it in scoring this big one at the box office.

It looks like the producers have already started their walk to the bank, smiling (less)

"It is flattering to be called a gay icon," Imran told the magazine in an exclusive interview. "`I have always been a supporter of gay rights.

" When asked if he was ready for a desi Brokeback, he quipped: "Sure, why not!". In the accompanying candid interview, Imran talked about the success of Delhi Belly , his new films with Katrina and Kareena and why he 'locked lips' with dost Ranbir Kapoor on Karan Johar's show (less)

Recently, on a lazy afternoon, the duo walked down from their home in Bandra to a nearby supermarket to pick up groceries. Onlookers began taking pictures of the duo as they went about filling the shopping cart with pastas, veggies and fresh fruit.

When they decided to leave, the staff of the supermarket informed them that a huge crowd had collected outside and it would be best if they called their car to the gate to fetch them. Since they hadn't come in a car, they had to call mamujaan Aamir Khan .

Aamir sent over a car and his guards to take the duo home, to their apartment building, just two buildings away. What an adventure that turned out to be! (less)

The hosts for the evening are Shreyas Talpade and Irrfan Khan, and there are performances from TV stars ranging from Sanjeeda Sheikh, Shweta Tiwari, Ragini Khanna and Manish Paul to Bollywood biggies like Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Jacqueline Fernandez and the first-ever live performance by South superstar Dhanush, who is riding high on the success of Kolaveri Di. This year, the awards show also sees the introduction of a new category where a male and female actor and a film will be honoured for providing entertainment with a social message.

Competing for the award are Amitabh Bachchan (Aarakshan), Rani Mukerji (No One Killed Jessica) and Nandita Das (I Am). The evening promises to be full of glitz and glamour as the stars both entertain and get entertained, ensuring India brings in the new year with panache.

A presentation from the Reliance Broadcast Network stable in association with Star India, the show will air on Star Plus on New Year's Eve (less)

Arshad Warsi, the only actor retained from the original cast, is paired with Kangna Ranaut. Abhsihek Chaubey was always keen to have Madhuri Dixit in the film.

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..

And wealth not to forget," Arbaaz posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. Amrita Arora , Malaika's younger sister, also wished her.

"Wishing my darling sis Malaika a very happy b'day..

. Hope she continues to rock always.

" (less)

Said SRK, My producers Ritesh Sidhwani , Farhan Akhtar and I are wondering where such stories come from. Even when we made the original 2006 version of Don; we had done our due diligence and taken whatever permissions where there to be sought from the script point of view.

While my producers are best qualified to give a fitting reply to the whole matter, I as a lead actor can say that as for the sequel, the Amitabh Bachchan Don never had a sequel. So where is the question of us copying anything.

Farhan and his team have worked on the script, I know for a fact that we haven't copied from anywhere and this is an original script.'' SRK added, It is irresponsible even on the part of those reporting to say someone has infringed the copyright because there are always people who raise their heads at the nth hour with allegations.

The media must also look into the merits of the entire case before reporting. After all many people have worked hard on the script.

I have full respect for the media and I know that 99 per cent of the people do not fall for wrong leads; however even that one percent who tend to get swayed must try and hear out both versions of a story.'' Excel Entertainment has not infringed any copyright leave alone that of Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan by producing Don 2.

Further, Excel Entertainment is the bona-fide author and owner of copyright of the Films "Don The Chase Begins Again" (i.e.

Don 1), which has been confirmed by Nariman Films in writing. Excel is also the owner of the copyrights of Don 2.

In 2005, Nariman Films has given rights to Excel Entertainment, in perpetuity, for making "Don The Chase Begins Again". Don 2 is a sequel of "Don The Chase Begins Again" alongwith the ownership to the underlying work therein.

The entire story and dialogue of Don 2 has been prepared by Farhan and the other team members of Excel Entertainment. The title of Don 2 has been approved by AMPTPP in favour of Excel Entertainment.

Excel Entertainment states that there has been no undue influence on persons of Nariman Films. Nariman Films, with their malafide intention and to extort unjustified and unearned monies from Excel Entertainment, have given the legal notice, which is baseless and devoid of merits.

Excel Entertainment is suitably replying to the legal notice sent by the Advocates of Nariman Films. Excel Entertainment shall defend themselves and shall not permit Nariman Films to hamper the release of Don-2 under any circumstances whatsoever.

The fact of Excel Entertainment making Don 2 has been in the public domain since 2009. It seems that it has now become a practice to give notices just before release of a film to extract monies.

We at Excel Entertainment have done nothing wrong and shall stick to the correct legal and moral principals and defend what is right (less)

It also overtakes what Star Network paid for this year's big Diwali release, RA.One , trade sources said.

Jayantilal Gada, CMD, Pen India Pvt Ltd, the agency that aids the purchase of films for Zee Cinema, justifies the hefty price tag, saying that channels study the production banner's track record on the small screen before pitching to buy the satellite rights. "We chose to buy Agneepath over several other biggies because Karan's (producer Karan Johar of Dharma Productions) movies have always delivered great numbers.

And the promo of this film showed promise," he said. Without commenting on the figures, trade analyst Amod Mehra says, "There are only a handful of leading satellite channels in the market.

Likewise, there are only four or five really bankable stars, and not more than 10 big films a year. Zee has shelled out the money for Agneepath to break the pattern of Karan's films going to either Star or Sony, and to strengthen their market position.

" According to the trade circuit, the TV satellite rights market has grown more than 10 times in the last decade alone. "Big flicks bring channels high TRPs and bumper ad revenue.

And no channel keeps a film to itself. Syndication is a common practice, and it also helps recover costs, that otherwise wouldn't make economical sense," Amod said, recalling that the 2007 hit, 'Jab We Met', was the first film in recent times to be syndicated to different channels.

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A source revealed, "Sajid Khan is one f the top most commercial filmmaker of recent times. After the success of Heyy Babyy and Housefull, he is also one of the most soight after directors.

Vashu Bhagnani had signed him for the project some time back, reportedly, for Rs 12 crore. Ajay Devgn too has been signed for the yet untitled project.

He too has received a big sum of money speculated to be around Rs 15-18 crore." "Sajid Khan is a movie buff and a self proclaimed lover of the 80s classics.

he has always tried to maintain some element of the old films in his directorial ventures. In Housefull for instance, he incorporated the trademark Mithunda pelvic thrust in the Pappa Jag Jayega song.

He is a huge Sridevi fan as well. Himmatwala was an obvious choice for remake.

Everyone loved his idea and the script is now under process," added the source. In fact, Sajid is also trying to get rights for the hit music of the original film.

"In the past, Sajid had bought rights of Apni Toh Jaise Taise for his film Housefull. It is likely that he would buy the rights of the Himmatwala songs like Naino Mein Sapna, Taki O Taki and Ladki Nahi Lakdi Ka Khamba hai.

However, everything is being kept under wraps at the moment. The producers want to make a big official announcement soon," informed another source.

When contacted Vashu Bhagnani the producer of the film said, "Yes I am making a film with Sajid Khan and Ajay Devgn but it will go on the floors next year. Nothing has been finalised yet.

" When asked about the film being a remake of Himmatwala, he said, "It is a commercial action romantic film but it is a fresh subject." Sajid Khan refused to divulge any details either and said, "Vashuji, Ajay and I are coming together for the film.

I had told Vashuji that after Housefull 2 finishes, I will make a film for him and I am standing by my commitment. I am directing the film and it will be a typical Sajid Khan film, which promises wholesome entertainment for the entire family.

As far as the subject of the film goes, it is too early to give any details and I cannot disclose the subject at this point of time." (less)

They might not essentially be flops but turned low on the immense expectations that they came with. As we reach the yearend starts the predictable countdown to the best of the year.

While most award functions will go on to honour the good works of 2011, we go a step ahead to list down some of the most disappointing films of the year. They might not essentially be flops but turned low on the immense expectations and promise that they came with.

Here's the Top 10 list..

. 1.

) Aarakshan Director: Prakash Jha Cast: Amitabh Bachchan , Manoj Bajpayee, Saif Ali Khan , Deepika Padukone , Prateik Babbar With Prakash Jha's past repertoire one may reserve the right to believe that his films are social, sensible, well-researched, hard-hitting and conveys a message. But he proved us wrong with Aarakshan .

This film touched its core theme of educational reservations only partially and peripherally. Jha played safe by barely emphasizing anything about reservations beyond what is common knowledge.

The issue and its implications were seen through the confines of the viewpoint of its principal protagonist (Amitabh Bachchan) and the narrative lacked any broader perspective on the national issue. Not only does the film fail to offer any solution to the issue, it doesn't even illuminate interlinked concerns like the debate over the extent of reservations or the aftermath of compromise on merit.

Moreover the narrative very conveniently overlooks one of the most potent and prevalent hidden-agenda behind the quota system - the vote-bank politics of government. The film reeked of idealism and yet attempted to tackle a practical issue! 2.

) Dhobi Ghat Director: Kiran Rao Cast: Prateik, Monica Dogra , Aamir Khan , Kriti Malhotra What would you call a film whose central characters comprise of an aspiring actor, a photographer, a painter and a videographer? 'Art' cinema! Well jokes apart and with due respect to arthouse cinema, which can be an enriching and exquisite experience, Kiran Rao's directorial debut seems like a pretentious attempt to adapt to the prerequisites of the offbeat genre. Minimalism, as a tool, is effective when it adds merit to the medium.

But here it only leads to nothingness in the narrative. Dhobi Ghat is the kind of cinema where you expect the end-credits to appear after any random scene in the concluding reels.

The long pauses, slow pacing, extended shot-taking, erratic editing and a murky look at Mumbai clearly work towards giving the film its intended artistic aura. However the story lacks the depth that could have added more meaning to this tangential look at the town.

Blame it to the weak chemistry of the characters or the premature culmination of the plot but the melancholy of the characters fails to move you beyond a point. Mumbai is predictably captured by means of ordinary people like housemaid, vegetable vendor, fisherwoman, street rat-killers to the laundryman ( dhobi ) - like how it is regularly portrayed to the international audience in its underprivileged glory.

Unfortunately the depiction of Mumbai as an additional character in the film doesn't add any new dimension to the narrative. All it does is give a new Indian ambassador to the world - so after dabbawala , it's now the dhobi .

Is that what you mean by world cinema? 3.) Game Director: Abhinay Deo Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut, Sarah Jane Dias, Boman Irani Coming from ever-bankable Farhan Akhtar and Delhi Belly director Abhinay Deo, Game was surprisingly a weak attempt.

It only played with our sensibilities. The narrative of Game was as much inconsistent as the continuously changing geography of the plot that kept shifting from Thailand , Istanbul , India, UK to Greece.

Under the guise of an espionage thriller and a slick murder mystery, Game ended up being a formula flick driven by ancient cliched conflicts like badle-ki-aag and jaydaad-ki-ladaai . It was too convoluted, cliched, convenient and coincidental for a suspense thriller.

Surprisingly Farhan Akhtar's dialogues only added to the corniness. The direction was mediocre and storytelling blemished with too many loose ends.

Abhishek Bachchan tried too hard to be cool but he needs to 'get idea' of good scripts. 4.

) Mausam Director: Pankaj Kapur Cast: Shahid Kapoor , Sonam Kapoor What you expect to be a timeless love story turns to be an endless episode in Pankaj Kapur's Mausam . Kapur uses actual unfortunate events from communal riots to terrorist attacks as the backdrop to symbolize changing seasons of love in his coming of age love story.

And the sluggish story makes an attempt to push itself 'only' during these adversities. So disillusioned are you after a point that you hopelessly pray for another catastrophe to strike and thereby end your turmoil.

Sonam Kapoor appears too juvenile for the role and lacks the maturity and range to handle a character which spans a decade and demands diverse emotions. The entire basis of this ill-fated love story heavily depends on the chemistry between Sonam and Shahid but it certainly wasn't of the kind that one could rave about.

And with their mediocre rapport, you don't feel as much for the love birds as one should ideally have. Marred by its unrelenting length, what Mausam serves in its three-hour runtime is so shallow and stretched that you yearn for the onset of the next season.

5.) Rascals Director: David Dhawan Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Kangana Ranaut Rascals is what one can call a 'vacation' filmmaking stint where everyone works on the film as if they were on a 'holiday' and the audience is expected to 'leave' their senses behind.

The actors make least efforts to add conviction to their performances and the patchy writing just allows them to play as they please. Invariably the director tries to camouflage the shallowness in the story by adding depth only in the decibel levels of the dialogue delivery.

The one-upmanship between Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn doesn't work primarily because Kangana Ranaut doesn't share any chemistry with either men and so their persistent pursuit to get the girl falls flat. Also thanks to the dull camaraderie, the viewer never really bothers which hero would actually win the heroine in the end.

The humour lacks imagination or wit and one can easily see through most of the worn-out gags. You laugh more on the corniness of the scenes than the comedy per se.

The tone of humour is consistently loud and commotional. Ajay Devgn keeps screaming most of the time and hams outrageously.

Sanjay Dutt doesn't seem interested. Kangana Ranaut is ill at ease in comedy.

She struggles to hold her own and emerges as a bimbo in her act. Rascals ended up being a silly and stupid comedy! 6.

) Thank You Director: Anees Bazmee Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Irrfan Khan, Suniel Shetty In times when comedy is being redefined with rational and refreshing wit, the likes of Anees Bazmee have demoted themselves to the old school of humour. This is another comedy on the theme of adultery, perhaps with commercial considerations of reviving the success of Bazmee's No Entry .

Akshay Kumar is ruthlessly repetitive and remains in his comfort zone. Knowing that Sonam Kapoor and Bobby Deol can't act for nuts, Bazmee tries to balance it off by giving Irrfan Khan and Rimmi Sen more mileage.

And though the two try their best to salvage the situation with their decent comic timings, the load is too much for them to handle. Sadly this Shaadi No.

1 -meets- Biwi No.1 narrative is adulterated with so many tacky references that you end up saying thank you but no thank you.

7.) Ra.

One Director: Anubhav Sinha Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor , Arjun Rampal Shah Rukh Khan's superhero character takes too long to boot in this science fiction flick. G.

One arrives just five minutes before the interval point by when you have already restarted your system several times, which has been hanging into nothingness. And the film's title character Ra.

One, a skeletal villain, gets a face (Arjun Rampal) even later in the second half. Is it worth the wait? Only intermittently and inconsistently! While the sci-fi film is able to pull off some visual dazzlery, fast-paced storytelling and thrilling action sequences, it relies too much on SRK's stardom than the script.

The title character Ra.One is not half as menacing as it claims to be.

Not only is Arjun Rampal inducted pretty late in the plot, being an 'outcome' of virtual reality he is too shallow and ineffective as the main villain Also the film has a very crude sense of humour and surprisingly the dialogues are more vulgar than witty for a film largely targeted at the family audience. With the theory that anything sells in the name of Shah Rukh, you are served with butt-spanking, crotch-grabbing, cleavage-popping, nose-picking, condom innuendoes, gayish and garish gags.

While any other actor doing that would have been tagged as 'cheap', girls going gaga over SRK would still like to call it 'charming' over here. At best Ra.

One qualified for a 'one' time watch. 8.

) Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji Director: Madhur Bhandarkar Cast: Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Omi Vaidya A love story seen through the male perspective, Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji with three stars in its cast failed to achieve (or even come close to) what Pyaar Ka Punchnama did with its complete new cast (arriving a few months later). That's because the latter had a brilliant story to say while the former didn't.

Surprisingly the makers should have sensed this considering both the films came from the same production house. Madhur Bhandarkar's first attempt at making a lighthearted 'feel-good' film got an adult censor certificate but it certainly turned out to be a certified childish attempt at comedy.

The film tried too hard to be funny but became bland and repetitive after a point. The pacing was too laidback, proceedings too predictable and the graph of the narrative never picked up.

Emraan Hashmi was in his comfort zone. Ajay Devgn seemed uncomfortable.

Shahazn Padamsee irritated with her constant childish demeanour. And the only (unintentionally) funny moment in the film is whenever actor Aditya Raj Kapoor attempts to speak any casual line.

It's good that Madhur Bhandarkar is sticking to his brand of expose cinema (making ' Heroine ' next), because this juvenile attempt has exposed his weakness in handling other genres. 9.

) Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Director: Abbas Ali Zafar Cast: Katrina Kaif , Imran Khan, Ali Zafar It's more than obvious with a self-explanatory title like Mere Brother Ki Dulhan that the story of the film would be about a guy falling for his brother's bride-to-be. Predictability seeps in this Yash Raj romantic comedy from the title itself.

When Imran Khan does a takeoff on the three ruling Khans of Bollywood in the opening credits, you somehow sense that the film has defined its domain. And it isn't long before you realize that the narrative is taking the route of Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge .

By the time the boy comprehends his love for the girl, she is already engaged to someone else. Only this time it's the boy's brother - so it's more of an inhouse affair! With Imran Khan restricted in his range and the immensely talented Ali Zafar being reduced to a second fiddle and grossly underused, it's left up to Katrina to save the ship which she ably does as far as the average script allows her to.

Mere Brother ki Dulhan was relatively old and familiar entertainment. 10.

) Tell Me O Kkhuda Director: Hema Malini Cast: Esha Deol, Dharmendra , Vinod Khanna , Rishi Kapoor Life seems to have come full circle for Hema Malini . In an attempt to reintroduce daughter Esha Deol with Tell Me O Kkhuda , the yesteryear dreamgirl does a spinoff on Dil Aashna Hai (1992), a film with which she attempted to launch herself as a feature filmmaker.

And the outcome is the same - dud! A girl who learns she's an adopted child sets on an aimless, endless and pointless journey to find her biological parents. She has managed to preserve her 24-year old hospital birth tag (phew) that wins her paternal prescriptions from the municipal hospital.

And every time the hospital is refurbished, she gets new options for Daddy dear! Hema Malini's direction is slack, shallow and lacks the dramatic punches when the scene demands and, on the contrary, gets melodramatic when not required. There is no palpable tension when the protagonist confronts any of her prospective papas for the first time.

And by the time Esha Deol walks with 'four fathers' in the climax, you realize that this dull drama dates back to your 'forefathers' (less)

Says a source, "Aamir is upset that several people, including the cast and crew of the film, are referring to it by that title. A few crew members recently referred to the film as Dhuan since media has started calling it that.

Aamir immediately sent out a text to everyone working on the film saying, 'Dhuan is not the title of our film, please don't refer to it by this name.' He, along with the producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, are still looking for an apt title.

Apparently they have zeroed in on three options and are approaching those who have thr rights to those titles. The team has been instructed to finalise a title in a month's time.

" The source adds that the unit has completed shooting a very complex underwater sequence in London. "Initially they were supposed to shoot this sequence in Khandala, but for certain requirements the makers realised it would be better to shoot in London.

Aamir and one of the leading actresses in the film were involved in the underwater sequence. It is not an action scene but a very important mystery sequence that is key to the suspense plot.

" (less)

The film is about the journey of an elderly Muslim couple trying to go to Haj and the problems they face. In the film the couple are grandparents but the Hindi version will be tweaked to suit SRK.

The original film was directed by debutant Salim Ahmed and starred Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead roles. Salim Ahmed will also be a part of KJo’s film.

After the success of My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh and Karan want to do another Islam-centric film. Sphere: Related Content Posted in (less)

The film is about the journey of an elderly Muslim couple trying to go to Haj and the problems they face. In the film the couple are grandparents but the Hindi version will be tweaked to suit SRK.

The original film was directed by debutant Salim Ahmed and starred Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead roles. Salim Ahmed will also be a part of KJo’s film.

After the success of My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh and Karan want to do another Islam-centric film. Sphere: Related Content Posted in (less)

Interestingly, word is that several prominent producers were vying for the Bollywood rights of the film, especially now when anti-corruption statements have acquired a profound relevance, thanks to Anna Hazare. A source said, "After acquiring the rights of the Telugu film Vikramarkurdu which he has remade as Rowdy Rathod with its original director Prabhu Deva helming the Hindi remake, Sanjay was not really open to another South remake.

He did Rowdy..

. for the experience.

But then someone recommended Ramana to him. When Sanjay saw the film, he was blown away.

Made nine years ago, it is still as relevant. He had to acquire the remake rights and he had to get the director of the Tamil original to do it.

" The film will be directed by A R Murugadoss, who is said to have already approached Shah Rukh Khan to play the lead. Murugadoss confirmed, "I will be directing the Hindi version of Ramana .

Shah Rukh and I have talked about the film." Ramana featuring Vijaykanth in the lead and directed by the Ghajini maker Murugadoss was an all-time hit in Tamil.

It was remade into Telugu with Chiranjeevi in the lead, and in Kannada as well. Tweet (less)

The film is about the journey of an elderly Muslim couple trying to go to Haj and the problems they face. In the film the couple are grandparents but the Hindi version will be tweaked to suit SRK.

The original film was directed by debutant Salim Ahmed and starred Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead roles. Salim Ahmed will also be a part of KJo’s film.

After the success of My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh and Karan want to do another Islam-centric film. Sphere: Related Content Posted in (less)

Instead Deepika chose to make her debut with Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om . After that Priyadarshan stayed away from Deepika until 2008 when Shah Rukh Khan used his clout to persuade Deepika to perform an item song in Priyadarshan's Billu , which SRK's Red Chillies Entertainment had produced.

The thawing of the ice had begun. Now it's time for the director and actress to finally work together.

"We broke the ice during the song in Billu . Now I've a role just right for her," said Priyan.

Priyadarshan, who has directed about 83 films in his 30-year career, had no releases in 2011, but he's ready to make up for the lost year with as many as four films this year. Of these, the 'family comedy' (as he dubs it) which he will direct in July for Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Limited has him specially kicked.

Not only is he working with Abhishek Bachchan for the first time, he has also reached out to Deepika for the female lead opposite the actor. It's a double delight for Priyadarshan since he has never worked with both the actors.

"Abhishek and I have been planning projects together for the longest time. We were supposed to do a bio-pic on Chandrashekhar Azad.

But who watches historicals any more? I've finally zeroed in on the perfect project for Abhishek. We start shooting in July," said Priyadarshan.

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