The board is referring to a sequence in the film, where the actor is shown speeding with his automobile at railway crossing to avoid a speeding train. They have now demanded a disclaimer be put at the beginning of the film, as well as a ticker condemning the unlawful act while the scene is on.

All this just days before its release! A letter signed by, Executive Director, Information & Publicity, Railway Board Chandralekha Mukherjee says, ” The act of not stopping before an unmanned level crossing gate when the train is in sight is clearly a punishable offence under section 161 of the Indian Railways Act. The legal provisions notwithstanding, it is a matter of concern that such an act undertaken by Shahid Kapoor, a youth icon, may have tremendous potential of being imitated by impressionable youngsters, thus endangering their lives.

” Mukherjee continues, “The Railways would like to register its protest in the matter and ask that a disclaimer be put in the feature film appropriately saying that the makers do not endorse anybody crossing unmanned level crossings with such carelessness and that such an act should not be attempted/imitated. A word of caution or a scroll during the scene could also be added.

The matter could also be highlighted at press briefings expressing the concern of the Railways and yourself in the matter.” Producer Sheetal Talwar, already under pressure to release the film this weekend, is obviously upset.

He says, “How can we put a disclaimer at this late stage when the prints have already gone? And what about Ra.One, where Shah Rukh Khan is seen doing all those stunts in a train? Or Bodyguard where Salman is on top of a speeding train? Or much earlier, Aamir Khan’s stunt with the speeding train in Ghulam? Were those not dangerous? As far as speeding a car across a railway crossing goes, it’s the character in the film and not Shahid Kapoor breaking the law.

Why blame Shahid?” However, Talwar is willing to put out a press release stating that scene at the railway crossing could be dangerous. It remains to be seen if the Railway Board would be satisfied with his response.

Sphere: Related Content Posted in (less)

"I wish to work with Rajini..

. If I come across a good project I will certainly act (opposite him)," she said.

The 26-year-old actress will be next seen opposite Akshay Kumar in Housefull 2 and the actress is looking forward to the release of the film, which boasts of 22 major actors working in it. "We wrapped up shooting in record time and the film is ready for an April release.

It has shaped up very well. I am looking forward to it," she told reporters at the announcement of the 57th Idea Filmfare Awards here.

Housefull 2 boasts of 22 major actors including Akshay, John Abraham, Riteish Deshmukh, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty. It was a huge challenge for Sajid Nadiadwala and Sajid Khan not just at the scripting stage, but also logistically.

"It was a lot of fun working with Sajid Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala. Both have managed such a huge cast very well.

Everybody had a blast during the shoot," Asin said. "It was also great sharing space with senior actors like Mithun Da, Rishiji, Randhirji, Boman Irani, Johnny Lever and the other girls (Jacqueline Fernandez and Zarine Khan).

With such a big cast, it was literally housefull," she added. Asin said apart from Housefull 2 , she is working in Bol BachchanM starring Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan and directed by Rohit Shetty.

"We have just wrapped up one schedule and shooting is going on," she added. When asked whether she has any plan to act in Hollywood flicks, Asin said, "I think right now I better concentrate on Indian cinema.

" Tweet (less)

He has even changed his trainer to help him achieve the body he wants to flaunt in D3. The trainer who helped Shah Rukh Khan get his six-pack abs in Om Shanti Om and Ajay Devgn his lean and mean physique in Singham - Prashant Nakwe has been roped in to whip AB Junior into shape.

And in just one month, he has managed to make AB's Baby shed nine kilos! Says a source close to Abhishek, "He's had a couple of trainers in the past but he wasn't that committed to working out. It was during the recent Jaipur shoot of Bol Bachchan with co-star Ajay Devgn that got him hooked on to it seriously.

Since then he has been religiously working out for two hours every day. Last week, Bachchan Jr had to shoot a tough action scene for Players so he trained extra hard.

Everyone is now talking about the suddenly-fit Abhishek. At his Diwali party recently, the guests complimented him on his toned physique.

" The toughest part for the actor has been giving up sweets. Reveals an insider, "He's cut off mithai completely from his diet.

It's a big deal as he loves meetha. He wants a lean physique and is not interested in six or eight packs but in building a completely natural bod, without the help of steroids.

" Abhishek confirms getting a new trainer to help him achieve his target, "Being a visual medium I believe we must look our part. I personally like an athletic body.

In order to achieve this you don't need to stop eating. You need to eat sensibly and the right amounts.

Don't go overboard. And if you do, it's not the end of the world, just burn it off in the gym.

The most important thing to do in the gym is to set yourself a target and work relentlessly to achieve it. Yes, it is difficult.

But nobody said it was going to be easy. No pain, no gain!" Tweet'; var stindex=100; var stp=150; var taglen=0; var tmp; var tagcheck = new Array("div","span","br","font","a"); if(storymetalinks==true) { var storydiv=document.

getElementById("storydiv").innerHTML; if(storydiv.

indexOf(" ") > '-1' || storydiv.indexOf(" ") > '-1'){ var beflen=storydiv.

indexOf(' '); if (beflen == '-1'){beflen=storydiv.indexOf(' ');} var befart=storydiv.

substring(0,beflen)+" "+ almtatag +" "; var aftart=storydiv.substring((beflen+8),storydiv.

length); } document.getElementById("storydiv").

innerHTML=befart+aftart; } var storycontent = document.getElementById("storydiv").

innerHTML; var firstpara = storycontent.substring(0,storycontent.

toLowerCase().indexOf("")).

toLowerCase(); function findptt(cnt){ zz++; if(zz == 10)return; var xxx=-1,yyy=-1; var ccnt = cnt; for(ii=0; ii "); if(yyy != -1){ taglen += yyy; stp = stp + yyy; yyy+=1; } break; taglen = taglen + tagcheck[ii].length + 3; } } if(xxx == -1 || xxx >= 150){ return; }else{ var tmp2 = ccnt.

substring(0,xxx); tmp2 += ccnt.substring((yyy+xxx),ccnt.

length); findptt(tmp2); } }findptt(firstpara); if(firstpara.length ")){ }else{ tmpminus = tmpcon.

length - tmpcon.lastIndexOf(" Watch Video'+'';} else {tmpdiV="";} var b1=""; var b2=""; var hid="526"; if(sldemsidcnt>1){imglinksh='View Images';}else{imglinksh='View Image';} var b2 = ''+''+ capt +''+ tmpdiV +''; bellyad.

innerHTML = b2 + b1; (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)

Signs of swelling dissent are already evident. The first promotional trailer of "Tezz" has Ajay Devgn and Anil Kapoor in spotlight, while Mohanlal is seen fleetingly.

This has evoked protest all over micro-blogging sites, creating a mild panic situation in the production team, says a source. "We never expected this kind of an uproar.

Mohanlal has a cameo in 'Tezz', and that's how he was shown in the first promo..

.in fleeting shots! But the uproar from his fans in the south on Facebook and Twitter has taken the producers by surprise.

New trailers are now being planned where Mohanlal will be as prominent as Ajay," said the source. Incidentally, this is not the first time Devgn has been compelled to share poster space with Mohanlal.

In Ram Gopal Varma's "Company", the same north-south divide had transpired. "Tezz" producer Ratan Jain admits to being taken aback by the uproar.

"Frankly we didn't expect this. We didn't mean to undermine Mohanlalji's stature at all.

He sportingly agreed to play a cameo part because of his proximity to Priyadarshan . The heroes of our film are Ajay Devgn and Anil Kapoor.

But if Mohanlalji's fans are upset, we've to do something about it," Jain said. "We're taking care of the situation.

The next promo will feature Mohanlalji prominently." An interesting sidelight to the Mohanlal-Devgn poster war is that "Tezz" was meant to be pitched as Devgn's next action film after "Singham".

But now with the Mohanlal fans demanding attention to him in the promotional footage, it would be difficult to hightlight the action aspect in the plot. "We're looking into it.

We need to be fair to all our actors," said Jain (less)

The move backfired. A complaint was lodged with the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA), as a result of which she promptly changed her mind about the additional remuneration and finished the dubbing over the weekend.

Sanjay Ahluwalia, who is co-producing Rascal with Dutt and Vinay Choksey, confirms, "Yes, Kangna has completed the dubbing even though she had some reservations earlier," he says. While he does not elaborate on what her "reservations" were about, sources had earlier informed that Kangna was just trying to get even with the Rascals team for deliberately excluding her from the film's title track due to her fallout with Dutt.

A source reiterates, "She had walked off mid-way through the dubbing and asked for an additional payment even though her full acting fee had been paid. On Friday night, however, she completed the dubbing at Yash Raj Studios.

No additional remuneration was given. A complaint was lodged with (CINTAA) after she walked out.

I guess after that better sense prevailed and she decided it was better to complete her portion of the dubbing. That complaint has now been withdrawn.

" However, if Kangna thought this move would help her make peace with Sanjay or even the crew, she is wrong. Our source reveals, "The actress will not be included in the film's promotions.

Even though she stays in the movie, Lisa Haydon will be promoted as Dutt and Ajay Devgn's co-star in Rascals ." Tweet (less)

. All this happened while shooting 'Rascals', a film starring Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt .

The two actors known to be pranksters on the sets didn't make life easy for director David Dhawan. At the music launch of this film, Ajay Devgn revealed, "Once David Dhawan was missing.

We looked for him everywhere. He landed up two hours late! Do you know where he was? David was out shopping for bikinis for the actresses.

" Actresses Kangna Ranaut and Lisa Hayden will don a sexy two-piece in the movie. Quiz Dutt on their sexiness and he quick to reply, "Now if David has personally gone and shopped bikinis for them, they'll have to look good only, na?" (less)

The Railway Board has now sent a strongly worded letter to its lead star Shahid Kapoor, condemning him for setting a wrong example to his fans in the movie. The board is referring to a sequence in the film, where the actor is shown speeding with his automobile at railway crossing to avoid a speeding train.

They have now demanded a disclaimer be put at the beginning of the film, as well as a ticker condemning the unlawful act while the scene is on. All this just days before its release! A letter (copy of which is in the possession of the writer) signed by, Executive Director, Information & Publicity, Railway Board Chandralekha Mukherjee says, "The act of not stopping before an unmanned level crossing gate when the train is in sight is clearly a punishable offence under section 161 of the Indian Railways Act.

The legal provisions notwithstanding, it is a matter of concern that such an act undertaken by Shahid Kapoor, a youth icon, may have tremendous potential of being imitated by impressionable youngsters, thus endangering their lives." Mukherjee continues, "The Railways would like to register its protest in the matter and ask that a disclaimer be put in the feature film appropriately saying that the makers do not endorse anybody crossing unmanned level crossings with such carelessness and that such an act should not be attempted/imitated.

A word of caution or a scroll during the scene could also be added. The matter could also be highlighted at press briefings expressing the concern of the Railways and yourself in the matter.

" Producer Sheetal Talwar, already under pressure to release the film this weekend, is obviously upset. He says, "How can we put a disclaimer at this late stage when the prints have already gone? "And what about Ra.

One , where Shah Rukh Khan is seen doing all those stunts in a train? Or Bodyguard where Salman is on top of a speeding train? "Or much earlier, Aamir Khan's stunt with the speeding train in Ghulam ? Were those not dangerous? As far as speeding a car across a railway crossing goes, it's the character in the film and not Shahid Kapoor breaking the law. Why blame Shahid?" However, Talwar is willing to put out a press release stating that scene at the railway crossing could be dangerous.

It remains to be seen if the Railway Board would be satisfied with his response. Tweet (less)

"First, people will make a big deal of us being friends, then they want to break the friendship they themselves created," she is heard to have told a friend of hers. Kangna will be seen sharing screen space with Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt in the film 'Rascals'.

Though she claims to have enjoyed shooting for this film, she also maintains that Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn are still friends of hers. "Everybody is a professional.

We were each other's co-stars, cordial with each other, and had fun shooting for the movie," she said. About her career graph in Bollywood, Kangna is quite happy with the way it's shaping up.

"I'm accepting roles that excite me. I think I've made some good decisions.

" (less)

Says Neetu, "I will co-produce the movie and it will be directed by my brother. The bilingual movie - in Bhojpuri and Hindi - will be based on the life of Mahendra Misir.

He was a folk singer and the pioneer of " Purvi ", a form of Bhojpuri folk singing. He was also a revolutionary from Bihar's Chhapra, who printed currency and used it against the Brits.

Unfortunately, his contribution is not known nationally. The film will be called "Company Ustad".

" Her foray into production was through another bilingual directed by her brother. Neetu says, "I'll be playing a nautch girl in the film.

Misir, being a singer, was in close contact with a nautch girl, Dhelabai, from Bowbazar. There is a story behind her name too.

People, who would queue up to watch her classical dance performances, would even pelt 'dhela' (stone)! We plan to shoot this movie in Chhapra and Kolkata. We'll recreate Bowbazar of 1930s.

" Does she have anyone in mind to play Misir? "Plans are on to approach Naseeruddin Shah, Tabu and Raima for the film. I might approach either Ajay Devgn or Manoj Bajpai for Misir's role," she says.

Meanwhile, there's another Kolkata connect for Neetu. There's news of she being roped in for Dibakar Banerjee's thriller, "Kolkata".

Refusing to divulge the details, she says, "I've two big Hindi movies coming up. I have toured Jharkhand and Bihar extensively with my forthcoming release.

Bihar's CM, Nitish Kumar , loved the film." While professional work is keeping Neetu busy, what about her personal life (read her alleged affair with Randeep Hooda)? Neetu concludes, "I have no complaints about all that's happening in my professional and personal lives.

" (less)

Bollywood has a lot to offer in 2012. TOI picks the 10 hot favourites AGNEEPATH DIRECTOR: Karan Malhotra CAST: Hrithik Roshan , Priyanka Chopra , Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor EXPECTED RELEASE: January 26 The raw, pulsating aggro of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan - portrayed by none other than Amitabh Bachchan in the 1990 classic - will be brought alive on screen by Hrithik Roshan.

For visual relief from the all-out action is the leggy Katrina Kaif as the fetching Chikni Chameli. WATCH OUT FOR: Sanjay Dutt as the bald baddie Kancha Cheena.

EK THA TIGER DIRECTOR: Kabir Khan CAST: Salman Khan , Katrina Kaif EXPECTED RELEASE: August Salman turns tiger for this one, his prowl - sorry, pay - was a whopping 32 crore. Filmed in five countries including Ireland and Turkey , the crew faced some tense moments when an earthquake hit Turkey.

It's touted as a romantic thriller, but will it romance the BO? Let's wait and watch the tiger. WATCH OUT FOR: Kat sizzling opposite her ex.

BARFEE DIRECTOR: Anurag Basu CAST: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ileana D'Cruz EXPECTED RELEASE: July Bolly heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor in a non-star avatar, as happy-go-lucky deaf-mute man, Murphy, while Piggy Chops plays autistic girl Jhilmil. A murder mystery with a fair share of thrills and chills, "B" has been the buzzword in tinseltown ever since it hit the floors.

WATCH OUT FOR: South siren Ileana D'Cruz, who's the narrator of the story. HEROINE DIRECTOR: Madhur Bhandarkar CAST: Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal , Shahana Goswami, Randeep Hooda EXPECTED RELEASE: September Heroine ho aur nakhre na ho? Madhur had a taste of this Bollywood adage as his first heroine, Ash, became pregnant and dropped out.

Madhur went back to his 'first choice' Kareena Kapoor. The film captures the insecurities of a once-famous heroine whose career is on the decline.

WATCH OUT FOR: Echoes of Madhubala and Marilyn's lives. ROWDY RATHORE DIRECTOR: Prabhu Deva CAST: Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha EXPECTED RELEASE: June 15 Akshay returns to full-on action with this remake of the Telugu bumper hit "Vikramarkudu" - and that too in a double role, as a dhaansu police officer and a thief.

Akshay is learnt to be finetuning his martial art skills for this role. Kickass, eh? WATCH OUT FOR: All eyes will be on Sonakshi.

This will be her next release after "Dabangg". And, of course, Pradhu Deva as director.

TALAASH DIRECTOR: Reema Kagti CAST: Aamir Khan , Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukerji EXPECTED RELEASE: June 1 Another cop movie, with Aamir donning khaki for the first time since "Sarfarosh" (1999). Being an Aamir film, the buzz over it is a given.

And Aamir being Aamir, he's making sure that the plot isn't leaked. Fans posted 'inspired' posters online (above), forcing producer Farhan Akhtar to clear the air on Twitter.

WATCH OUT FOR: Kolkata boy Subrat Dutt's performance. BOL BACHCHAN DIRECTOR: Rohit Shetty CAST: Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan , Asin Thottumkal and Prachi Desai EXPECTED RELEASE: July 6 Rohit Shetty had a hit with "Golmaal 3", but instead of another sequel, he announced "Bol Bachchan", which, we now hear, is a tribute to the 1979 "Golmaal", a Hrishikesh Mukherjee classic.

Abhishek is Ram Prasad (Amol Palekar in the original) and Devgn plays Bhawani Shankar (Utpal Dutt). WATCH OUT FOR: LOL lines every minute.

AGENT VINOD DIRECTOR: Sriram Raghavan CAST: Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor EXPECTED RELEASE: March The director has said that it's not a remake of the 1977 film, but it's not every day that you get to see the Nawab of Pataudi romance his would-be begum on screen, right? The only 'wrong' is that the release of the much-hyped film has been delayed a number of times. Pull up your socks Agent Vinod, you have to save the film! WATCH OUT FOR: Thrills, thrills and more thrills.

SHANGHAI DIRECTOR: Dibakar Banerjee CAST: Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi, Kalki Koechlin, Prosenjit Chatterjee EXPECTED RELEASE: April/ May A take on the anti-corruption movement. The hatke political thriller focusses on the revenge of the common man and has been inspired by Greek writer and diplomat Vassilis Vassilikos's book, Z.

Dibakar has raised the bar with films like "Khosla Ka Ghosla" and "Love, Sex Aur Dhoka". We're waiting for more! WATCH OUT FOR: Prosenjit Chatterjee's return to Bollywood.

HOUSEFULL 2 Akshay Kumar is all set to tickle your funnybone in 'Housefull 2' DIRECTOR: Sajid Khan CAST: Akshay Kumar, Asin, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, Riteish Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade and Shazahn Padamsee EXPECTED RELEASE: April 5 "Housefull" had a house full run at the BO. Idea! Why not repeat the success with a sequel? That's how "Housefull 2" happened.

Akshay Kumar's character, Aarush, is supposed to be a comic take on James Bond. Will Sajid get the comic formula right and laugh all the way to the bank? We'll have our eyes glued.

WATCH OUT FOR: Performances by Mithun Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor and even Big B (less)

"I think the way the song was made, it was so wonderful, that only a topmost actress could have done justice to the song. And as far as Katrina is concerned, her USP is that she has never been seen in any film in that kind of zone that Chikni Chameli is in.

So which is why she also stands out in that atmosphere and that is why the song is catching a lot of eyeballs," the director said at the music premiere of Agneepath at a radio station. The men behind the song are composer-brothers Ajay-Atul, primarily known for their work in Marathi films and serials.

Chikni chameli is a song inspired by their own Marathi song Kombadi palali . No wonder Malhotra denies that the song draws inspiration from any other item number.

"No, no girl inspired us for Chikni chameli ," said Malhotra. Meanwhile, Katrina's fast, rhythmic Chikni chameli act has set many eyeballs popping.

Agneepath , a remake of the 1990 film of the same name, is set for release Jan 26 next year. It stars Hrithik Roshan in the lead with Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra and Rishi Kapoor in key roles.

Tweet (less)

Movies that are in the running for the best film category are Rajkumar Gupta's No One Killed Jessica , Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar , Rohit Shetty's Singham , Milan Luthria's The Dirty Picture and Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara . Priyanka Chopra ( 7 Khoon Maaf ), Katrina Kaif ( Mere Brother Ki Dulhan ), Rani Mukerji ( No One Killed Jessica ), Mahie Gill ( Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster ), Kangna Ranaut ( Tanu Weds Manu ), Vidya Balan ( The Dirty Picture ) are competing for best actress in a leading role.

Nominated for best actor in a leading role are Salman Khan ( Bodyguard ), Shah Rukh Khan ( Don 2 ), Emraan Hashmi ( Murder 2 ), Ranbir Kapoor ( Rockstar ), Ajay Devgn ( Singham ). Shreya Ghoshal has bagged two nominations for Teri Meri ( Bodyguard ) and Saibo (Shor in the City) while Sunidhi Chauhan has been nominated for her foot tapping hits Te Amo (Dum Maaro Dum) and Aa Zara (Murder 2) for best singer female.

In the best singer male category Mohit Chauhan is leading with his two tracks - Saada Haq and Naadaan Parindey ( Rockstar ), Akon for Chammak Challo (Ra. One) , Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for Teri Meri (Bodyguard) and Mohammed Irfaan for Phir Mohabbat (Murder 2) .

Actors nominated in the supporting role category are Rana Daggubati, Dum Maaro Dum , Randeep Hooda Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster , Gulshan Deviah Shaitan , Naseeruddin Shah for The Dirty Picture , Emraan Hashmi The Dirty Picture and Farhan Akhtar for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara . Best actress in a supporting role nominees are Parineeti Chopra Ladies V/S Ricky Bahl , Sulagna Panigrahi for Murder 2 , Aditi Rao Hydari for Rockstar , Divya Dutta Stanley Ka Dabba and Swara Bhaskar for Tanu Weds Manu .

In the technical category, films like Ra.One, No One Killed Jessica, 7 Khoon Maaf and Tanu Weds Manu have received the highest number of nominations.

The popular TV show Bade Achhe Lagte Hai has garnered the highest number of nominations for the Apsara Awards 2012 including, best drama series, best director fiction, best actress & actor in drama series, best writer & best ensemble cast in the television category. Tweet (less)

Producer Dinesh Patel confirmed the news, "I am proud that I launched Ajay Devgn with my film Phool Aur Kaante . I am all set to launch the sequel of Phool Aur Kaante with Ajay in the lead.

The film will be titled Phool Aur Kaante 2 ." Patel informed that the lead actress of the original film Madhoo will not be roped in for the sequel.

"I plan to cast Sonakshi Sinha as I share a great rapport with her father Shatrughan Sinha. We are in talks with her.

Sonakshi will make a great pair with Ajay. Since she has not yet been paired with him in any film, it will be the casting coup," he added.

Though Patel refused to divulge whether Kuku Kohli would be brought back to direct the sequel, insiders insist that Ajay has suggested Rohit Shetty (the actor's current favourite) be signed to direct this sequel. Tweet (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)

"" And Devgn swears by Rohit. "" All my films with Rohit have worked and I am proud of him that the guy I trusted in now everybody wants to work with him,"" Devgn further added.

Apparently, Devgn did Rascals for his close pal Sanjay Dutt , who is also the film's producer. And while giving a token affection to David, he said, ""Both, David and Rohit know where it is going right and where it is going wrong.

"" But looks like David didn't know this time. And the seasoned actor, who is shown his mastery at almost every genre, would continue to ""follow his heart"".

""I am comfortable doing films of all genre. If an actor says that he likes one particular genre then he is not a complete actor.

I would like to keep doing and repeating different genres of films. I really don't know what I would like to do next or what remains to be done.

I hear the script, I hear the character and if I really like it I follow my heart. Then I don't think about what genre the film is,"" elaborates Devgn.

With so much success and so many consecutive hits, won't Devgn like to stake his claim like some of his colleagues? ""I wouldn't like to stake any claim, I would only want the love from my audience,"" he smiles. And what do awards and rewards mean to him? ""The day I feel awards are very necessary I will go and buy them.

Or I will go and perform on stage to get one at the award functions,"" he says sarcastically. Devgn is now looking forward to Vishal Bharadwaj's film, then Son Of Sardar which has garnered lot of interest in the industry even before it has started rolling, and Rohit Shetty directed, Bol Bachan , which also has Abhishek Bachchan and Asin in the cast (less)

The entire cast and crew had gathered at Filmcity where the shoot began last week. According to sources, what was supposed to be a longer shoot was stopped within a week.

A source said, "The directors are busy promoting their film Players and also the leads Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone are both very tied up with their other films Agent Vinod and Desi Boyz respectively. Though the cast was all set for the shoot, there seems to be some date issues with the crew.

" This is however not the first time the project has faced a speed bump. Saif was busy with his home productions, Cocktail and Agent Vinod , and so the directors were unable to lock the shooting dates for this film.

There was also buzz about how the actor was giving priority to his productions over this film. The source added, "Now that seems to be out of the way.

However, with a huge cast including John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez, it's difficult to match everyone's dates." Sonakshi Sinha, who was earlier cast for the film had also pulled out suddenly, causing further delay.

The producers were willing to wait for Deepika's dates at all cost. The film was set to release in May next year, but will now release in December 2012.

Tweet (less)

According to sources, Akshay has decided to helm the cast of the film that will have at least 12 other actors in important roles. A source informed Mumbai Mirror, "Like the reality show Bigg Boss, Akshay's film will have 13-14 inmates locked up in a house.

The other actors have not yet been finalised." In fact, Akshay is already in talks with a leading filmmaker to take on the directorial reins of the project.

A formal announcement about the project will be made shortly. A special set resembling the Bigg Boss house will be set up.

The 13 contestants on the show will be essayed by various actors, while Akshay himself is likely to play the role of the host of the reality show. "The film will be a thriller.

A crime will be committed in the house that will get recorded on camera. Every contestant will be the suspect," revealed the source.

Explaining how Akshay decided to make a film on the TV reality show, a source said, "Akshay loves Bigg Boss. He has been thinking about making a film on similar lines.

He has already got a writer on board, who has been working on the script for a while now." Till date, Akshay has produced Singh is Kingg, Action Replayy, Khatta Meetha and Speedy Singhs.

His next production Khiladi 786 starring himself and Himesh Reshammiya in the main roles, has been slated for a Diwali 2012 release. "The film based on the TV reality show will be one of his most ambitious projects till date.

The thought of putting the show on a larger canvas is challenging and thrilling," added the source. Akshay Kumar remained unavailable for comment (less)

The actor-turned-producer, who was in the city, talks about all the new things in his life. "My wife Malaika just gave birth to a lovely, healthy boy.

Zidaan is thrilled to have a younger brother. People have been asking us for pictures, but the women in my family are superstitious.

They believe in auspicious timing, so when the time is right, everyone will get to see the baby. We've decided upon the name Aarez.

It means king or leader," says a beaming Zayed. Career-wise too, he has another 'baby' that's keeping him busy - his own movie production.

Talking about his journey from acting to producing, Zayed, who comes from a filmi background (his father, Sanjay Khan, used to produce, write, edit and act), he says, "I come from a background where I am programmed to understand what happens in every department. I was basically born in the cradle of Bollywood.

For me, it was never just another project or business venture, but a passionate craft. Even as an actor, it's beneficial to know what my director wants or which lens is used for what shot etc.

Producing a film requires you to go beyond the creative side in order to deal with the business aspect." And this is a lot easier said than done, says Zayed, who wouldn't want things any other way.

"From being in touch with the light technicians to checking whether the caterers have sent food on time, I do it all. You need to be in control, it's like being the CEO of a company.

" When it comes to his acting career, Zayed still gets criticized for not choosing the right films and acting only in multi-starrers. "Being in multi-starrers doesn't bother me.

I've had some super-duper films There was "Main Hoon Na" with SRK and Amrita - it was an amazing film..

. so why not? But in all honesty, if people perceive that I haven't yet done what I have come out to do, maybe there is some truth to that," says the actor, who is quite excited about his next acting venture with Priyadarshan.

"I can't reveal much about the film, but I can tell you that when I was younger, I met Priyan at a party and he said to me, 'Zayed, the day you wake up at 5 am, call me'. I haven't the foggiest idea why people would pitch me as a wild person in my younger days.

Now, I guess, things have changed," he quips. Ask him if we can see him producing his own films from now on and Zayed clarifies, "When we believe in the script and get someone else to do the acting, it might send out the wrong message that we are not capable of acting ourselves.

And the role in my home production was apt for Dia and me, so we did act in it. But if a film requires someone else to be cast, then why not? I'm not that narcissistic that only I will act in my own productions all the time.

" (less)

Pitt quickly scooped her up in his arms and put her back on her feet before she faced the risk of getting badly injured. "Lots of people hurt themselves and Brad (Pitt) came to the rescue of one woman who slipped.

I don't think she could believe it when Brad picked her up. He didn't have time to speak to her as it was mid-shoot.

"But she said afterwards how grateful she was, despite having a grazed knee," femalefirst.co.

ukquoted a source as saying. Tweet (less)

Confirming the ambitious Rs.90 crore project, Varma said: "Yes, Sanjay Dutt and I are doing another film right after 'Department'.

I truly believe he is our last action hero. So I am going to cast him as a one-man army on a global mission.

'Munich' is the film I've in mind." "But it would be not just a cerebral thriller.

I want Sanjay Dutt doing a lot of daring action. You see, in 'Department', he plays a plain clothed cop who has to blend with the crowds.

So there's little room for heroics. I want to pump up the action level dangerously in our next film.

So it would be 'Munich' meets 'Rambo'." Sanjay seems very excited about the film.

"Yes, Ramu and I have discussed the project we're doing next. It's very exciting.

" The film will go on the floors later this year (less)

When Sehwag, who was shooting for a commercial at a city studio, found out that the actor was shooting a promotional video for his film on a separate floor in the same building, he decided to drop in on the sets. It was apparently a mutual fan club as both men got chatting about cricket, films and everything in between.

Sehwag was eager to meet Sanjay Dutt - who co-stars in the film - but unfortunately he wasn't around that particular day. Nevertheless, he hung around for a long while and even watched Ajay shoot some comic scenes.

We hope that cheered him up (less)

Signs of swelling dissent are already evident. The first promotional trailer of Tezz has Ajay Devgn and Anil Kapoor in spotlight, while Mohanlal is seen fleetingly.

This has evoked protest all over micro-blogging sites, creating a mild panic situation in the production team, says a source. "We never expected this kind of an uproar.

Mohanlal has a cameo in 'Tezz', and that's how he was shown in the first promo..

.in fleeting shots! But the uproar from his fans in the south on Facebook and Twitter has taken the producers by surprise.

New trailers are now being planned where Mohanlal will be as prominent as Ajay," said the source. Incidentally, this is not the first time Devgn has been compelled to share poster space with Mohanlal.

In Ram Gopal Varma's "Company", the same north-south divide had transpired. Tezz producer Ratan Jain admits to being taken aback by the uproar.

"Frankly we didn't expect this. We didn't mean to undermine Mohanlalji's stature at all.

He sportingly agreed to play a cameo part because of his proximity to Priyadarshan. The heroes of our film are Ajay Devgn and Anil Kapoor.

But if Mohanlalji's fans are upset, we've to do something about it," Jain said. "We're taking care of the situation.

The next promo will feature Mohanlalji prominently." An interesting sidelight to the Mohanlal-Devgn poster war is that Tezz was meant to be pitched as Devgn's next action film after Singham .

But now with the Mohanlal fans demanding attention to him in the promotional footage, it would be difficult to hightlight the action aspect in the plot. "We're looking into it.

We need to be fair to all our actors," said Jain. Tweet (less)

They would then shortlist the titles that could be remade into Bollywood films." Incidentally, the film they were shooting for is supposed to be a copy of Keanu Reeves-starrer Speed (less)

A member from the unit of the film informed Mumbai Mirror that Dutt, who plays a pivotal role in the project has been suffering from an eye infection. In fact, the shoot had to be stalled due to his teary eyes.

The unit member added, "Dutt was very uncomfortable. But, since he is a very good friend of Ajay, he decided to shoot.

He did not want to waste the schedule dates primarily because it was an outdoor shoot in Punjab. Reorganising outdoor shoots generally is troublesome.

" Devgn, however, couldn't have his friend work with teary eyes. He cancelled the shoot immediately.

"A doctor was summoned and Dutt has been resting in his hotel room ever since," revealed the unit member. When contacted, Sanjay Dutt's publicist confirmed the news and added, "Sanjay sir has been advised rest.

The shooting had to be cancelled." The film directed by Ashwini Dheer stars Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha , Sanjay Dutt and Juhi Chawla in the lead roles (less)

The actor in a chat with TOI admits that "not having any film background in the industry means that you have to prove yourself over and over again." Excerpts: Early Days I completed my graduation and was supposed to become an architect, but my passion for modelling took over after college.

And once I got a good response, I was confident of making my mark as an actor. Roller Coaster Ride Unless you come from a film background, very few newcomers get a good platform initially.

While doing some of my earlier films, I realized that things were not right and I didn't have the most pleasant of experiences. And when a film does not fair well at the box-office, it affects you both as an actor and as a person.

Unfortunately, even some very good films don't get due attention because they are marketed poorly. The Big Break I had screen-tested for Anurag Kashyap's Gulaal and though he couldn't cast me as he needed someone older for that role, he was highly impressed and recommended my name to Mani Ratnam.

It was generous of him and Guru happened. However, I consider Fashion to be the turning point of my career.

Working with Madhur Bhandarkar and playing the male lead opposite Priyanka Chopra put me in the limelight like never before. Working with Hemaji (Malini) in Tell Me O Khuda was also special, as she has always been an inspiration for me.

It also felt nice when my recent release, Lanka earned rave reviews." Future plans I am doing a comedy Son of a Sardar, in which I am paired with Sonakshi Sinha.

It is a comedy of errors and it was great fun working with Sonakshi, Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt. In fact, Ajay sir is one of the biggest pranksters around! After that, I will be doing an edgy thriller.

Fitness First My father was an athlete and I have always been very conscious about keeping fit right since childhood. I work out regularly and happen to have a black belt in taekwondo.

I am training harder than ever before and my new year resolution is to be in the best shape of my life by 2012. I, me, myself It takes me a while to open up to people and I am very reserved with people whom I don't know too well.

Often, that is misinterpreted and some get the impression that I am a bit arrogant. But that's not the case.

I also don't like partying at all and while that may sound a bit boring, I would prefer coffee and good conversation with friends over partying any day! Marriage can wait! As of now, there is no plan of settling down in the near future. But I believe destiny plays a big part in marriages and sometimes, life can surprise you.

There's no point in making extensive plans and when the time is right, it will happen (less)

The Republic Day weekend is one of the most coveted periods for film releases. Earlier Aamir Khan was to release his suspense thriller Dhuan on the same date.

And we hear Ajay Devgn wants to bring his action-thriller Tezz also on this date. Now Aamir has decided to push his film indefinitely because he reportedly has 20-more days of shooting left.

Under the circumstances, Karan has decided to take advantage of the Republic Day holiday period and give Hrithik Roshan-Sanjay Dutt the advantage of a long weekend at the ticket windows. Ajay of course is still expected to come with Tezz on the same date (less)

And hence, Ajay Devgn and Prakash Jha too have decided to forget their past differences and work together once again in Jha's next, Satsang . A source revealed to Mumbai Mirror, "Ajay wanted to let bygones be bygones.

When he came to know that Prakash Jha was facing opposition in certain states regarding the release of Aarakshan, Ajay decided to help him out in whatever way he could. He just made a few calls to his acquaintances in Punjab and helped Prakash have a disturbance-free release in the state.

" After Prakash Jha came to know of Ajay Devgn's gesture, the filmmaker offered the actor his next film. "The script has interested the actor.

It is about corruption and is called Satsang. Jha had said last year that Katrina would be a part of this film," added the source.

This is the first time Devgn and Kaif would work opposite each other. According to the buzz in the industry, Ajay and Prakash fell out when Prakash asked the actor to be a part of Aarakshan.

"Ajay felt the role did not have enough scope for him as an actor. He had already played a guy from a lower caste in Rajneeti.

It just did not challenge him. Jha did not take it well and went ahead with Saif," said the source (less)

"I wish to work with Rajini..

. If I come across a good project I will certainly act (opposite him)," she said.

The 26-year-old actress will be next seen opposite Akshay Kumar in Housefull 2 and the actress is looking forward to the release of the film, which boasts of 22 major actors working in it. "We wrapped up shooting in record time and the film is ready for an April release.

It has shaped up very well. I am looking forward to it," she told reporters at the announcement of the 57th Idea Filmfare Awards here.

Housefull 2 boasts of 22 major actors including Akshay, John Abraham, Riteish Deshmukh, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty. It was a huge challenge for Sajid Nadiadwala and Sajid Khan not just at the scripting stage, but also logistically.

"It was a lot of fun working with Sajid Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala. Both have managed such a huge cast very well.

Everybody had a blast during the shoot," Asin said. "It was also great sharing space with senior actors like Mithun Da, Rishiji, Randhirji, Boman Irani, Johnny Lever and the other girls (Jacqueline Fernandez and Zarine Khan).

With such a big cast, it was literally housefull," she added. Asin said apart from Housefull 2 , she is working in Bol BachchanM starring Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan and directed by Rohit Shetty.

"We have just wrapped up one schedule and shooting is going on," she added. When asked whether she has any plan to act in Hollywood flicks, Asin said, "I think right now I better concentrate on Indian cinema.

" Tweet (less)

It's a very modern love story, about all the things that a young, urban person would go through being in a relationship," says Zayed. His debut production is not your typical 'happily ever after' love story - there are no frills and fancies or over-the-top romances.

"The film breaks certain taboos. For instance, being gay is no longer something you need to hide, neither are live-in relationships.

It also deals with questions like whether money and career are more important than happiness and love," he adds. Zayed, who comes from a family of actors and producers, still hasn't quite made the mark in films one would expect him to, with his looks and talent.

And he is still known for his roles in ensemble cast films. Tezz, his upcoming flick, is no different.

Doesn't he feel the need to break out on his own? "I am sharing screen space with Ajay Devgn, Kangna Ranaut and Boman Irani," he agrees and adds, "But the scale of the film is such. It was very hard to make.

We spent up to two days shooting a two-minute sequence." S h a ra fa t Gai Tael Lene, his other project, however, is quite different from anything he's done before.

And it's not an ensemble cast film, either. "It's an out-and-out comedy," says Zayed.

"It's an experimental role for me. I've never played a character like this.

When the director approached me for the film, I thought he was either completely crazy or on drugs," he adds. The actor, incidentally, has two reasons to celebrate in October.

Apart from his production hitting the screens, he's going to be a daddy once more. And the realization seems to have put his life into perspective, because he says, "I've been very bull-headed and whimsical in the past.

I'm taking my career more seriously now." So what brought on this epiphany? "I was brought up to be the good Samaritan," says Zayed.

"Now, I can see the industry is so cutthroat. You need to be selfish.

The only people you need to m a ke s a c r i - fices for are the ones you love," he signs off. Contributed by Darshana Ramdev Tweet'; var stindex=100; var stp=150; var taglen=0; var tmp; var tagcheck = new Array("div","span","br","font","a"); if(storymetalinks==true) { var storydiv=document.

getElementById("storydiv").innerHTML; if(storydiv.

indexOf(" ") > '-1' || storydiv.indexOf(" ") > '-1'){ var beflen=storydiv.

indexOf(' '); if (beflen == '-1'){beflen=storydiv.indexOf(' ');} var befart=storydiv.

substring(0,beflen)+" "+ almtatag +" "; var aftart=storydiv.substring((beflen+8),storydiv.

length); } document.getElementById("storydiv").

innerHTML=befart+aftart; } var storycontent = document.getElementById("storydiv").

innerHTML; var firstpara = storycontent.substring(0,storycontent.

toLowerCase().indexOf("")).

toLowerCase(); function findptt(cnt){ zz++; if(zz == 10)return; var xxx=-1,yyy=-1; var ccnt = cnt; for(ii=0; ii "); if(yyy != -1){ taglen += yyy; stp = stp + yyy; yyy+=1; } break; taglen = taglen + tagcheck[ii].length + 3; } } if(xxx == -1 || xxx >= 150){ return; }else{ var tmp2 = ccnt.

substring(0,xxx); tmp2 += ccnt.substring((yyy+xxx),ccnt.

length); findptt(tmp2); } }findptt(firstpara); if(firstpara.length ")){ }else{ tmpminus = tmpcon.

length - tmpcon.lastIndexOf(" Watch Video'+'';} else {tmpdiV="";} var b1=""; var b2=""; var hid="526"; if(sldemsidcnt>1){imglinksh='View Images';}else{imglinksh='View Image';} var b2 = ''+''+ capt +''+ tmpdiV +''; bellyad.

innerHTML = b2 + b1; (less)

Despite the presence of the police and the film unit's security cover, things went out of hand at the location. Several passengers were forced to miss their trains in the melee that ensued during the shoot, as they were unable to make their way among the crowds of fans.

Plenty of passengers were also left high and dry at the station, as they just could not make their way through the sea of humanity. In the mad frenzy to get a glimpse of the stars and the shoot, a huge crowd had gathering at the platform as soon as word spread that Sonakshi and Ajay would be present.

The cops even had to resort to a lathi charge for a short while to disperse the mob. Those who managed to get to see the stars in action as well as take snapshots were happy.

But the passengers who had missed their trains were left grumbling and asking for compensation. Quite a few also got involved in heated exchanges with the security folk on why people were just allowed on the platform without valid tickets.

The comic caper directed by Ashwani Dheer also has Sanjay Dutt and Juhi Chawla in the cast. Tweet (less)

Rumour has it that Devgn and Mangat had a spat over Vishal Bhardwaj's film Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola recently. Devgn was miffed with his friend Mangat when the latter held meetings with Fox Star Studios, the co-producers of the film in question without informing the actor.

A source informed Mumbai Mirror, "It was a misunderstanding between friends. One person (Mangat) took his friend (Devgn) for granted.

The friend, in turn, felt that his personal space has been invaded. Maybe, outsiders fuelled the fight.

" According to sources, it started when Devgn agreed to do the film and Mangat got a bit carried away. A source close to Devgn and Mangat informed, "Mangat began discussing the project on an individual level with the co-producers.

Devgn was not amused. He felt that Mangat should not have ventured into further talks with Fox Star Studios without keeping Devgn in the loop about each and every minute detail.

" While Devgn getting angry with his friend over space issues might have been justified, Mangat too had his reasons. "To be fair to Mangat, he did not imagine in his wildest dreams that Ajay will back out from the film.

Also Mangat is after all, the co-producer for the project," added the source. Devgn opted out of Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola since he was lured by the money Viacom 18 Motion Pictures offered him for Ashwini Dhir's Son Of Sardar (Mumbai Mirror, October 15, 2011).

Hoping that the misunderstanding between the two long standing friends in Bollywod gets sorted out, the source added, "Let's hope it gets resolved. Ajay Devgn and Kumar Mangat go back a long way.

They have always been there for each other." Ajay Devgn and Kumar Mangat have known each other for the last 20 years.

For the last 18 years Mangat has successfully managed Devgn's career. In 1996, Devgn started a film distribution outfit, Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd.

with Mangat as the CEO. Mangat soon went on to become an independent producer with Ajay playing the lead role in most of his ventures - Omkatra, Sunday, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, Toonpur Ka Superrhero.

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola now stars Imran Khan in the lead (Mumbai Mirror, October 25, 2011 ). After Devgn walked out from the project, Bhardwaj had approached Shahid Kapoor who politely declined the offer, citing date issues (Mumbai Mirror, October 20, 2011).

While Devgn and Mangat chose not to comment, Devgn's official spokesperson said, "The rumours of a tiff between Ajay Devgn and Kumar Mangat are baseless and untrue. Mangat has worked with Devgn as his business manager for more than 20 years; he has established his brilliance as a reputed producer as well.

Their working partnership is based on trust and respect. They always ask each other advice and guidance for every project.

" (less)

Sources say that he called up producer Ratan Jain and asked him to shift the release date of Tezz. "Imtiaz Ali's film had booked the date before Tezz, so Ajay thought it was prudent to move Tezz rather than ask the other film to move.

Ajay shares a good rapport with Ranbir since Raajneeti and did not want a clash with him," says the source. "Also, Ajay is close to Ashtavinayak, who are has produced Rockstar.

The Golmaal series, which has added to Ajay's stardom, has been produced by Ashtavinayak," adds the source. Ratan Jain remained unavailable for comment (less)

The bilingual graphic books coinciding with the release of Don 2 -- a dark crime thriller with Shah Rukh as the anti-hero -- was unveiled by the cast and crew of the movie in the capital this week. "A lot of people like reading comics during short breaks and in their cars.

This ( Don: The Origin ) is the first one in a series of comics that will narrate the making of popular and new movies. We will extend the series," Ajay Mago, the publisher of Om Books, told IANS.

"The graphic books were Farhan's idea and he approached us with it, followed by the Excel (Excel Entertainment) guys later. We had earlier published Shah Rukh's biography," Mago said.

The publisher said he was in touch with various filmmakers for more "film-related graphic novel projects". The slim volume begins with the origin of Don in present-day Sicily.

Don's "mentor" tries to blow up his car - but Don survives and returns to gun down his mentor..

. and don his boots.

It is the beginning of Don's journey into the heart of the underworld. For Farhan, who has loved comic books all his life, "it is a dream come true".

"..

. To think that a character that I have loved so much has been made into a comic," he said.

Mago said he was inspired to create the series by the comic books about the making of Mission: Impossible in the US and on the movie Inception (in 2010). As a prequel to the movie Inception , Warner Bros released a 35-page comic book, Inception: The Cobol Job , about the movie by Jordan Goldberg.

"We had brought 60 copies of the Mission: Impossible book - an animation series about the day-to-day shoot of the movie - and they were sold out in three days," Mago said. The Mission: Impossible graphic novel generated readers' interest in India because of the movie Mission Impossible 4 starring Tom Cruise which was released recently, the publisher of Om Books said.

In 1996, Paramount Comics, a former comic book imprint of Marvel Comics, bagged the rights to publish comic books on Mission: Impossible and Star Trek . Paramount Comics published a prequel to the first Mission: Impossible movie.

It was the second comic book version of the Mission: Impossible . The first comic book series in five volumes based on the original American television series Mission: Impossible , starring Peter Graves in the 1960s, was published by Dell Books.

A pitch made for a comic book on Sholay failed to take off this year while Satyajit Ray's Feluda detective novels - which were adapted into movies - were made into a series of graphic novels by Penguin India in the last two years. "In the US, the movie comic book is very common," Mago said.

On the other hand, the list of movies inspired by popular comic book is long. They include iconic superheroes like Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Dracula, X-Men and more recently, the animation movie, Tintin and the Secrets of the Unicorn by Steven Spielberg Bhandarkar had begun shooting with Ash, but the project was put on hold when the actress' pregnancy was announced.

Later, several rumours about the replacement made their way. However, Kareena was zeroed in on as the final choice.

The Heroine team is already shooting. As for Priyanka, she is busy promoting her upcoming film Don 2: The King Is Back , in which she plays Roma or Jungle billi .

The film releases Friday. Tweet (less)

His last rites were performed at the Shivaji Park crematorium here Sunday evening. Apart from family and friends, Bollywood actresses Deepa Sahi, Deepti Naval and Udita Goswami were present at the rituals.

Mundhra is survived by his wife and a daughter, who lives in Los Angeles. "He was admitted Friday night for internal bleeding.

Then he had a cardiac arrest and he was kept on ventilation, but he couldn't survive. He expired at 12.

57 p.m.

today (Sunday)," a doctor at the Bombay Hospital in Marine Lines told IANS. Actress Neetu Chandra, who was seen in his 2010 thriller Apartment: Rent at Your Own Risk , said that body was to be taken back to his residence (in Shivaji Park, Dadar West) at 3 p.

m. for some time and then to the cremation ground.

Seem Biswas, who was about to start shooting for Mundhra's Kissa Kuttey Ka , told IANS: "I Just got the news of his demise and I am in a state of shock. I spoke to him day before yesterday and he seemed perfectly fine.

I could not tell from his voice that there was anything wrong with him. In fact, he was so excited about the film as we were about to start shooting at the end of September.

"It's is very shocking and I'm very upset. I just know that there was some internal bleeding because of which he was hospitalised.

" Veteran actress and activist Shabana Azmi tweeted: "Sad news. Filmaker Jagmohan Mundhra passed away this morning.

Heartfelt condolences to his family. Jagmohan Mundhara - he was one the most subjective director.

His Shoot On Sight is a film which is identical to A Wednesday ." Others also posted condolence messages on Twitter.

Pooja Bedi: "Deeply saddened to hear Jagmohan Mundhra passed away! A WONDERFUL man, my first director & the one responsible for me being in show business," she posted on her Twitter page. Vikram Bhatt: "Just heard that filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra has passed away! A prayer for the departed and strength to his family, Vikram Bhatt.

" Kabir Bedi: "Jagmohan Mundra, friend from my Hollywood years, passes away and I'm deeply sad. Last met at Shammi Kapoor's funeral.

RIP." Born in 1948 in a conservative Marwadi family, Mundhra studied engineering at IIT Mumbai and then moved to US to do his M.

Sc. But his ultimate calling was moviemaking and in 1982 he ventured into filmmaking with Sanjeev Kumar and Shabana Azmi starrer Suraag and this was followed by the women-centric film Kamla with Shabana and Deepti Naval in lead roles.

Later he made films like Night Eyes , The Jigsaw Murders , Eyewitness to Murder , Open House and Halloween Night . In 2000, Mundhra moved to issue-based movies and the first in the series was Nandita Das starrer and critically acclaimed Bawander , which was based on real story of rape victim Bhanwari Devi in Rajasthan.

In 2007, he teamed up with Aishwarya Rai to bring on screen the trials and tribulations of London-based Punjabi woman Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a victim of domestic violence in Provoked . In 2007, Mundhra took up yet another sensitive subject for his movie Shoot On Sight , which talked about the West's perception of Muslims following 9/11.

The movie's take-off point is the order London police passed to shoot suspected terrorists after the July 7, 2005, London subway bombings. However, Mundhra moved to a lighter subject with Govinda starrer Naughty @ 40 .

He was very keen to make a film on Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Tweet (less)

And hence, Ajay Devgn and Prakash Jha too have decided to forget their past differences and work together once again in Jha's next, Satsang. A source revealed to Mumbai Mirror, "Ajay wanted to let bygones be bygones.

When he came to know that Prakash Jha was facing opposition in certain states regarding the release of Aarakshan, Ajay decided to help him out in whatever way he could. He just made a few calls to his acquaintances in Punjab and helped Prakash have a disturbance-free release in the state.

" After Prakash Jha came to know of Ajay Devgn's gesture, the filmmaker offered the actor his next film. "The script has interested the actor.

It is about corruption and is called Satsang. Jha had said last year that Katrina would be a part of this film," added the source.

This is the first time Devgn and Kaif would work opposite each other. According to the buzz in the industry, Ajay and Prakash fell out when Prakash asked the actor to be a part of Aarakshan.

"Ajay felt the role did not have enough scope for him as an actor. He had already played a guy from a lower caste in Rajneeti.

It just did not challenge him. Jha did not take it well and went ahead with Saif," said the source (less)

The Salman-Kareena starrer Bodyguard released on Eid, SRK's dream project RA.One has been slated to release on Diwali and his other venture Don 2 will have a Christmas release.

And now we hear that filmmakers Priyadarshan and Reema Kagti are both vying for a Republic Day release next year. Priyadarshan's action-thriller Tezz, starring Ajay Devgn, was supposed to release on November 11 but to avert a clash with Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar, the director and producers Venus decided to postpone the film's release to January 26.

However, a source informed us that the Aamir Khan starrer directed by Reema Kagti, which is still untitled, is scheduled to release on the same day. Reportedly, the Tezz producers are trying hard to convince the producers of Kagti's film to postpone their release as they had already blocked the coveted Republic Day weekend first.

When contacted, Sanjeev Lamba CEO Reliance Big Pictures confirmed that Kagti's film was slated to release on January 26. He said, "That's the planned date.

" The source said, "There was no sign of Kagti's film with Aamir releasing on January 26, when the Tezz producers Venus announced their film. And now suddenly the Aamir film shows up catching the Tezz produers off guard.

Now they've no choice but to shift." Ratan Jain of Venus said, "I am not aware about the other film.

But we will be releasing our film on 26 January." When informed that Reliance is sure about its release date for the Kagti film, Jain reluctantly admitted, "We might have to move by a week.

When we selected January 26, we were not aware of any other film on the same date." Apparently, Dibakar Bannerjee also plans to release his Emraan Hashmi-Abhay Deol starrer Shanghai on January 26 (less)

The entire cast and crew had gathered at Filmcity where the shoot began last week. According to sources, what was supposed to be a longer shoot was stopped within a week.

A source said, "The directors are busy promoting their film Players and also the leads Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone are both very tied up with their other films Agent Vinod and Desi Boyz respectively. Though the cast was all set for the shoot, there seems to be some date issues with the crew.

" This is however not the first time the project has faced a speed bump. Saif was busy with his home productions, Cocktail and Agent Vinod , and so the directors were unable to lock the shooting dates for this film.

There was also buzz about how the actor was giving priority to his productions over this film. The source added, "Now that seems to be out of the way.

However, with a huge cast including John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez, it's difficult to match everyone's dates." Sonakshi Sinha, who was earlier cast for the film had also pulled out suddenly, causing further delay.

The producers were willing to wait for Deepika's dates at all cost. The film was set to release in May next year, but will now release in December 2012.

Tweet (less)

But one thing he has consciously stayed away from is performing on awards functions or world tours since he never liked the idea. But if the buzz is to be believed, the actor will soon be seen performing at an upcoming award function.

Things seem to have changed a lot over the years for the actor and if everything goes as planned, one would soon get to see the star in his first ever stage show for this award function. A source reveals, "The award function is called Superstar Awards for which Ajay will be shooting sometime later this month.

The show will go on air subsequently". Incidentally the award function is of the same channel on which his superhit film Singham recently premiered.

The channel is working overtime to get the best out of Ajay Devgn's debut act. Whether he has given in to the demand of the time or is trying new avenues to reach out to his audience, Ajay Devgn fans only have a reason to rejoice (less)

So the film's actor-writer-director Shubh Mukherjee plays Aniket, who with his group of friends, aspires to make a documentary film on terror attacks. And you can actually see Aniket's attempt at making a college project film resulting into an amateurish filmmaking attempt by Shubh Mukherjee.

While taking random video shots within the international airport vicinity, the boys are taken into custody by police and detained at airport under suspicion of being terrorists. A potbellied anti-terrorist officer (Saurabh Shukla) comes to investigate.

Amidst all this, one Omama Bin Laden, who heads some terrorist group Al Bakaida, is planning an actual attack at the airport. Noise, disorder and confusion ensue for hours until Shubh comes to the point - to launch himself as the hero.

And for that he just has to diffuse a bomb by snipping off one of the red-green-blue wires - a trademark gimmick of the 80s potboilers. Only if bomb diffusing and filmmaking were so easy, a lot more souls would have been saved.

Despite starting on a promising premise, writer-director Shubh Mukherjee isn't able to develop the plot in an interesting way and the potential for a fresh comedy is substituted by a formulaic film. The boys remain detained for more that half of the film and with nothing substantial happening through their confinement (other than repeated and redundant interrogation sessions), the narrative turns static and one-dimensional.

The remaining film turns into a (supposed) comedy of mistaken identities inside the airport premises with beings and bags shifting hands every ten minutes. The tone of the comedy, though not slapstick, is juvenile, inconsistent and ineffective at places.

Neither is it supported by witty lines, nor by good comic-timed performances. The second half goes on and on and seems like an endless exercise where every character shouts their lungs out.

An India-Pakistan live cricket match that plays in parallel has no relevance whatsoever with the central plot. Shubh Mukherjee makes an earnest effort but gets the tone of humour wrong as the director.

As an actor his dialogue delivery is suggestive of Shahid Kapoor, his acting is reminiscent of Riteish Deshmukh but, in totality, he comes across as a cheap imitation of Ali Zafar. Chitrak Bandhopadyay, employed as a prototype to the fat-bearded comic sidekick in films like Hangover or Delhi Belly , is not half as amusing.

The only thing he makes noise for is his flatulent farting and fake firang accent. Child actor Pratik Katare isn't partially as funny as he was in Paa .

Harsh Parekh lacks screen presence. Saurabh Shukla keeps 'shouting' at everyone around to lower their voice.

Raghuvir Yadav appears malnourished. Pretty face Umang Jain is underused in an inconsequential role (once again after Love Breakups Zindagi ).

Aamna Shariff is hardly there. And why is Joy Sengupta even there.

The film essentially had in it to be a humble entertainer but it's unfortunate that the potential couldn't be tapped appropriately. So Shakal Pe Mat Ja.

..

apni akal lagaa . Verdict: Below Average (less)

The Salman-Kareena starrer Bodyguard released on Eid, SRK's dream project RA.One has been slated to release on Diwali and his other venture Don 2 will have a Christmas release.

And now we hear that filmmakers Priyadarshan and Reema Kagti are both vying for a Republic Day release next year. Priyadarshan's action-thriller Tezz, starring Ajay Devgn , was supposed to release on November 11 but to avert a clash with Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar, the director and producers Venus decided to postpone the film's release to January 26.

However, a source informed us that the Aamir Khan starrer directed by Reema Kagti, which is still untitled, is scheduled to release on the same day. Reportedly, the Tezz producers are trying hard to convince the producers of Kagti's film to postpone their release as they had already blocked the coveted Republic Day weekend first.

When contacted, Sanjeev Lamba CEO Reliance Big Pictures confirmed that Kagti's film was slated to release on January 26. He said, "That's the planned date.

" The source said, "There was no sign of Kagti's film with Aamir releasing on January 26, when the Tezz producers Venus announced their film. And now suddenly the Aamir film shows up catching the Tezz produers off guard.

Now they've no choice but to shift." Ratan Jain of Venus said, "I am not aware about the other film.

But we will be releasing our film on 26 January." When informed that Reliance is sure about its release date for the Kagti film, Jain reluctantly admitted, "We might have to move by a week.

When we selected January 26, we were not aware of any other film on the same date." Apparently, Dibakar Bannerjee also plans to release his Emraan Hashmi-Abhay Deol starrer Shanghai on January 26 (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 bilingual graphic books coinciding with the release of Don 2 -- a dark crime thriller with Shah Rukh as the anti-hero -- was unveiled by the cast and crew of the movie in the capital this week. "A lot of people like reading comics during short breaks and in their cars.

This ( Don: The Origin ) is the first one in a series of comics that will narrate the making of popular and new movies. We will extend the series," Ajay Mago, the publisher of Om Books, told IANS.

"The graphic books were Farhan's idea and he approached us with it, followed by the Excel (Excel Entertainment) guys later. We had earlier published Shah Rukh's biography," Mago said.

The publisher said he was in touch with various filmmakers for more "film-related graphic novel projects". The slim volume begins with the origin of Don in present-day Sicily.

Don's "mentor" tries to blow up his car - but Don survives and returns to gun down his mentor..

. and don his boots.

It is the beginning of Don's journey into the heart of the underworld. For Farhan, who has loved comic books all his life, "it is a dream come true".

"..

. To think that a character that I have loved so much has been made into a comic," he said.

Mago said he was inspired to create the series by the comic books about the making of Mission: Impossible in the US and on the movie Inception (in 2010). As a prequel to the movie Inception , Warner Bros released a 35-page comic book, Inception: The Cobol Job , about the movie by Jordan Goldberg.

"We had brought 60 copies of the Mission: Impossible book - an animation series about the day-to-day shoot of the movie - and they were sold out in three days," Mago said. The Mission: Impossible graphic novel generated readers' interest in India because of the movie Mission Impossible 4 starring Tom Cruise which was released recently, the publisher of Om Books said.

In 1996, Paramount Comics, a former comic book imprint of Marvel Comics, bagged the rights to publish comic books on Mission: Impossible and Star Trek . Paramount Comics published a prequel to the first Mission: Impossible movie.

It was the second comic book version of the Mission: Impossible . The first comic book series in five volumes based on the original American television series Mission: Impossible , starring Peter Graves in the 1960s, was published by Dell Books.

A pitch made for a comic book on Sholay failed to take off this year while Satyajit Ray's Feluda detective novels - which were adapted into movies - were made into a series of graphic novels by Penguin India in the last two years. "In the US, the movie comic book is very common," Mago said.

On the other hand, the list of movies inspired by popular comic book is long. They include iconic superheroes like Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Dracula, X-Men and more recently, the animation movie, Tintin and the Secrets of the Unicorn by Steven Spielberg Bhandarkar had begun shooting with Ash, but the project was put on hold when the actress' pregnancy was announced.

Later, several rumours about the replacement made their way. However, Kareena was zeroed in on as the final choice.

The Heroine team is already shooting. As for Priyanka, she is busy promoting her upcoming film Don 2: The King Is Back , in which she plays Roma or Jungle billi .

The film releases Friday. Tweet (less)

A source reveals that Devgn makes all the important decisions - like lighting to camerawork - himself. A source reveals, "Ajay is following in Aamir's footsteps and has made several changes to the film.

Even though he has worked with Ashwini in the past, he's more involved this time around than the past." (less)

"I think the way the song was made, it was so wonderful, that only a topmost actress could have done justice to the song. And as far as Katrina is concerned, her USP is that she has never been seen in any film in that kind of zone that Chikni Chameli is in.

So which is why she also stands out in that atmosphere and that is why the song is catching a lot of eyeballs," the director said at the music premiere of Agneepath at a radio station. The men behind the song are composer-brothers Ajay-Atul, primarily known for their work in Marathi films and serials.

Chikni chameli is a song inspired by their own Marathi song Kombadi palali . No wonder Malhotra denies that the song draws inspiration from any other item number.

"No, no girl inspired us for Chikni chameli ," said Malhotra. Meanwhile, Katrina's fast, rhythmic Chikni chameli act has set many eyeballs popping.

Agneepath , a remake of the 1990 film of the same name, is set for release Jan 26 next year. It stars Hrithik Roshan in the lead with Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra and Rishi Kapoor in key roles.

Tweet (less)

. Actor Ajay Devgn who is experiencing a career high with the success of Singham has proved that he has has a marketing mind, too.

The actor's film 'Tezz' directed by Priyadarshan was all set to release in November this year. However, a possible clash with Ranbir Kapoor's 'Rockstar' didn't seem to be a good idea.

Sources inform us that the Ajay-starrer will now release on January 26, 2012. The movie's release date will clash with Aamir Khan's film being directed by Reema Kagti , but the cast and crew of Tezz is all set to take up this challenge.

A source informs us, "The producers have obviously weighed the pros and cons, and taken the decision." With Ajay Devgn proving to have the Midas touch, and with Aamir Khan knowing the tricks of the trade by the back of his hand, this will be one takkar that's going to be good to watch! (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)

The entire remaining cast including Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Lisa Hayden and Chunky Pandey were present at the do. Says a source, "Kangna Ranaut was not invited for the music release of Rascals.

The entire cast was invited except Kangna who is the leading lady of the film. Ajay Devgn flew in specially from Jaipur to attend the event while Sanjay Dutt flew in from Wai.

Kangna has been at the receiving end of icy vibes from her co-stars Sanjay Dutt (who is also co-producing Rascals) and Ajay Devgn ever since the completion of their outdooor schedule in Bangkok . Now apparently some issues have arisen between producer Sanjay Walia and Kangna.

A month ago when they launched the first look of Rascals at a multiplex in Mumbai there too Kangna had not been invited. When a journalist asked Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt whether they had anything to do with Kangna not being invited, while Dutt chose not to reply and turned his face away, Devgn smartly turned the question around to co-producer Sanjay Walia.

Devgn said, "Sanjay is the best person to reply to this question as Sanju and I had nothing to do with the invites. It is the producer's prerogative whom he chooses to invite so let's ask Sanjay (Walia).

" Producer Sanjay Walia says, "Yes we didn't invite Kangna as there are some issues with her. She has been refusing to give us dates for some dubbing that is left.

There are just a few lines of her dubbing work left. However the issues with Kangna are in the process of getting resolved so I wouldn't like to discuss them further.

Arjun (Rampal) was invited but he couldn't make it as he had other commitments." Kangna's spokesperson says, "It's true that Kangna was not invited again to the second event of Rascals.

Why don't you ask them why she wasn't invited?" (less)

Explaining why Sanjay and Ajay decided to shut the door on Kangna permanently, a source said, "Sanjay and Ajay have been hearing many stories of Kangna's uncharitable remarks, things that she has been telling people in the industry. How long could they tolerate it?" The lady known for her extreme remarks undid the Sanjay-Kangna-Ajay collaboration when in a recent interview, replying to an accusation that she had been seeking attention said, 'Honestly why do I need to take anyone's name to further my career? I'm in a very good place.

I can truly understand if I were to drop Tom Cruise's name to make an impact. Why would I need to take any other names?' Unrepentant, the actress continued with such shocking remarks, though not to the media.

The next thing Kangna knew, she was left out from the guestlist at the launch of the Rascals first look. The event organised on August 11 did not have the leading lady Kangna attending it.

Reportedly, Sanjay and Ajay had decided to strike off her name from the list. While a shocked Kangna called David Dhawan , the director of the film to understand why she has been left out from the publicity campaign, the actress failed to receive a convincing reply.

A source close to the film, has now revealed that the actress will not be invited for the forthcoming music launch or the interviews scheduled for the promotion of Rascals. "She is completely out from the promotion of Rascals.

She will not be taken on the publicity drive to outstations either," added the source. A source close to Kangna defended the actress and said, "Kangna has no idea why such stories are surfacing about her.

Sanju and Ajay are extremely warm to her. And she is always happy to work with people who want to work with her.

However, she feels it's fine for people to have personal preferences otherwise." Not too long ago, Kangna was an integral part of the Sanjay Dutt clan.

She was seen at every party thrown by the actor. She was even believed to be a close friend to Ajay Devgn.

However, all that seems to be a thing of the past now. Her equation with Sanjay's wife Maanyata too went downhill.

In fact, Ajay hardly spoke to her when she shot for the final schedule of Rascals (Mumbai Mirror, January 14). This also explains Kangna's absence at the recent parties hosted by Dutt.

Interestingly, Dutt loyalist Dharam Oberoi (CEO, SAnjay Dutt Productions) who used to handle Kangna's work has also cut off all professional ties with her, claimed sources. Kangna, Sanjay and Ajay remained unavailable for comment (less)