So, I will write a script for him now," said Bhardwaj at the inauguration of a lawn tennis court here. Even Paes hopes to work with Bhardwaj, known for films like Maqbool , Kaminey and 7 Khoon Maaf .

"If I ever get a chance to work with him, it will be a great honour. I really hope that the day comes but before that I have to prove myself," said Paes.

"I want to prove that I can act well and hold my movie and give him a realistic opportunity to put me in his movies. I really look forward to that," added the 38-year-old tennis player whose debut Rajdhani Express , directed by Ashok Kohli, also stars Paresh Rawal.

Leander Paes, who dated actress Mahima Chaudhary, is married to Rhea Pillai and they have a daughter. Tweet (less)

Mumbai Mirror has learnt that the director recently met Rajini in Chennai with a story idea. According to a friend of Jagannath, the superstar, who has been busy with his daughter Soundarya's film, has agreed to come on-board the project.

The source told us, "Rajinikanth was excited by the idea of coming together with Big B again. He feels Puri, is the right person to pull off this casting coup.

" Puri, who has already worked with Big B in Buddah Hoga Tera Baap, confirmed the story and said, "Yes, I met Rajini Sir in Chennai. I've wanted to work with him for the longest time.

So far I hadn't dared to approach him because I could not think of a role that would do him justice. It's been my life-long dream to direct Amitji and Rajini Sir.

" On handling such a star cast, he added, "It's a challenge that I would like to take on. Let's see how it goes.

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He had made two very short trips to Mumbai in September end and just before Diwali for the shoot of his reality show which he co-hosts with Sanjay Dutt. A source said, "Salman is slated to arrive in Mumbai on November 13.

He will be then back anchoring the show. But just before he returns from Turkey where he was shooting for his film Ek Tha Tiger , he will make his way to Dubai.

" On November 12, Sallu will be in Dubai to announce the Celebrity Cricket League matches that will be held in Sharjah in mid-January. His Dabangg co-star Sonakshi Sinha as well as Sohail Khan, Suniel Shetty and Shreya Saran will join him for the event.

The CCL includes names from Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali cinema besides Bollywood. The stars associated with it include Telugu heavyweight Venkatesh, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, Tamil hearthrob Suriya, Kannada hero Sudeep and Bengali cinema's Indraneil.

Director Priyadarshan besides Boney Kapoor and Sridevi are also associated with the tournament. Sallu's brother Sohail is the owner of the Mumbai Heroes CCL team.

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The lady is in Hyderabad on a nine day shooting schedule for her forthcoming film, the sequel to 'Krrish'. In between attending the award ceremony last night and taking a flight to Hyderabad, the actor made time for a press interaction as she launched a new line of air conditioners for a global brand she endorses.

Ask her if she has had time to celebrate and the actor says, "I wish I could celebrate the wonderful start to the year. But I'm working round the clock and there is absolutely no time for celebrations.

" Now that the hit pair, Hrithik and Priyanka, is in the city celebrations are sure due. Talking about her chemistry with Hrithik, Priyanka said, "Hrithik is a great co-star.

We've worked together a few years ago in "Krrish", we just did " Agneepath " and now, we are shooting the sequel to "Krrish". He is amazing.

" With'Don 2' also fairing well at the BO last year, the actor does not mind playing 'Junglee Billi' again. "Well, I don't mind playing the Don's 'Junglee Billi'.

But only Farhan and Ritesh know if they are ever going to make a sequel to 'Don 2'. In fact it took them five long years to make the sequel to 'Don'," quipped PC.

The actor also expressed her desire to star in a Tollywood flick sometime soon. "I have done a Telugu movie, but that was a long time back.

The offers that come to me these days from Tollywood are either not too exciting or I have some date issues. But yes, if something great comes my way and I can accommodate my dates, then yes, you'll see me in a Tollywood flick," said PC.

While on the topic of Tollywood, the also cleared the air on her so-called catfight with Ileana. "Ileana is a sweet girl.

We've been shooting for 'Barfi' for over a year. I've met her mother, sister and nephew.

She is a beautiful girl and good actor. We got along really well.

And yes, we are friends," clarified PC (less)

Since the film's release a week back, he has time and again said that it told a tale in simple humour. "This film is not at all a second part or a sequel of the blockbuster Udayanannu Tharam that strarred Mohanlal.

In the present film, there is no character of Udayabhanu (essayed by Mohanlal in Udayanannu Tharam ) and his wife," he told reporters. The film is different from Udayanannu Tharam as the story line is different because Udayabhanu's story ended in the first film itself, Sreenivasan told reporters.

The latest film directed by debutant Sajin Raghavan takes a dig at the never ending feuds between the numerous film-based organisations in the Malayalam film industry. Antony Perumbavoor, Mohanlal's business associate in all film-related business ventures, came out against Udayanannu Tharam and called up the film's cinematographer S Kumar.

S Kumar told reporters that he got a call from Antony and he was not happy with the manner in which the film allegedly took on Mohanlal. "He told me that at least I should have not allowed these veiled barbs against Mohanlal.

I asked him why he is saying all this to me because I am only a cameraman," Antony said. "I told him to speak to the producer or director or others who are behind the film," said Kumar.

Director Major Ravi, whose films Keerthi Chakra and Kurukshetra that starred Mohanlal in a character wearing army uniform, termed the events as sad. "These two people have been in films and they act together.

Doing like this is not good," he said. Tweet (less)

Many younger stars like Asif Ali, Bala, Vinu Mohan, Nikhil, Bineesh Kodiyeri, Nivin Polly, Manikuttan, Rajeev Pillai, Saiju Kurup and Rajat were present for the shooting. The shoot that began in the morning went on till late the evening, but that didn't fag the spirits of the actors, perhaps because their captain, Lal was especially gung-ho.

Clearly, the stars want to put their best foot forward for the sporting event, and have been taking it no less seriously than their on-screen acts. During the shoot, Lal pointed out the absence of a leg umpire in the frame, which not only displayed the actor's keen presence of mind but also the perfectionist streak in him.

Lead guitarist for A R Rahman, Sanjeev Thomas, has sung and composed the theme music for the Kerala Strikers. The one-and-a-half minute song that will be aired by the end of this month on television, will encompass all the striking features of Kerela, but will be equally appealing to the national audience.

"The lyrics have a mix of both English and Malayalam keeping in view the non-Malayali audience," says Lissy Priyadarshan, yesteryear actor and co-owner of Celebrity Cricket League (CCL). The Malayalam actors have great observation power and that is what enables them to slip in so easily in the role of a practised sportsmen, adds Lissy.

Coach Chandrasenan is all praise for the actors. "They are very professional and dedicated.

..

they arrive for practice regularly. Apart from being actors, they have an inborn sportsman in them which just needed a push.

So it was quite an experience to train them," says Chandrsenan. Director Vijay of Kireedam, Madrasapattinam and Deiva Thirumagal fame is directing the theme song, while R Rathnavelu of Vaaranam Aayiram and Enthiran is the cinematagrapher.

Hence, naturally the expectations are sky high. The sensuous Lakshmi Rai who is the brand ambassador of the CCL was also present for the photo shoot.

We saw her bubbling with excitement over the event and gushed that she loved being a part of it. "My co-stars look great in this new avatar.

Their performance on the ground is as good as it is on screen. I am glad about being one of the brand ambassadors of CCL," she exclaims.

While speaking about the captain of the Kerala Strikers, Lakshmi Rai says about Lal, "He is a multi-faceted personality. Be it in films, or as ordinary man or now sports.

..

he merges into any role very easily." A major portion of the shoot is complete.

"Prithviraj's part is the only remaining one that will be completed in Chennai," says Lissy. She also adds that the actors will not let down the hopes of people and are striving hard to win the cup.

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"Plus she is to star opposite Rajnikanth, Kamal's archrival down South," adds the source. Finally, Kamal decided to sign on Sameera.

A source close to the actress confirms, "Yes, she is doing the film. She is very glad to be a part of the project.

Though she is too young to play Kamal Hassan's wife, it is a big opportunity for her." Tweet (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)

But the same cannot be said for the movie that is being touted as the superstar's foray into Hollywood. Earlier this year, it was reported that King Khan had hit jackpot by managing to rope in the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese to co-produce his dream project, Xtrme City .

But alas, the film already seems to be facing a major glitch. Apart from Scorsese and SRK, Xtrme City was to include actor Leonardo Di Caprio, but now apparently, the makers are not able to zero in on a date for the Hollywood star.

Adds a source, "The script has been locked and right now they have been zeroing in on everyone's dates for the project. SRK, Scorsese and even writer Paul Schrader's dates are pretty much in.

The problem is Leonardo Di Caprio's dates haven't been decided upon." The actor is busy filming The Great Gatsby (which is incidentally Amitabh Bachchan's first Hollywood project) at this point and nothing really can be finalised unless his dates are confirmed.

For a film that boasts of such heavyweights, it's little surprise if delays are part and parcel of the process. It was during the Berlin film festival in February that SRK got a chance to meet the Oscar winning director and actor and discuss the project.

Interestingly, it is said that Scorsese's interest in Indian cinema was one of the main reasons he agreed to come on board for this film. Adds the source, "Now, we all know that Scorsese and DiCaprio are thick as thieves and always work together.

So it's very essential that he comes on board for this one as soon as possible." So despite all the dilemmas, if this project does manage to take off, there's little doubt that it may become even bigger than SRK's superhero thriller! Tweet (less)

He has been put off by the whole issue of him being pitted against Salman and talk of his closeness to Shah Rukh Khan." The source added, "He has apparently cited date issues when he could have possibly adjusted then.

Also, the fact that he hosted the dance show on the channel that has lost the telecast rights of the awards night may have influenced his decision." Recently Hrithik was approached to be the special guest in the house for this weekend's finale of Bigg Boss .

Salman who has been off and on present will feature in the last episode shoot in Karjat. Hrithik, however, preferred to skip the finale stating that he would be unavailable as he would be travelling on that date.

Though B-Town buzz is that it had to do with something to do with Salman's presence on the show. Earlier, Hrithik had got upset with Salman after the latter commented about Hrithik's film Guzaarish .

Duggu had taken it upon himself to defend his project. But Hrithik's appearance at Salman's brother Sohail's birthday bash in December 2010 was a hint that the two stars had let bygones be bygones.

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One in Mumbai, is on his way to return the visit and also pay homage to the south Indian icon. He will officially launch the latest RA.

One promo in Chennai today and then visit Rajini at his residence. Khan will also show the final edit of the portions in RA.

One that stars Rajinikanth. A source informed Mumbai Mirror.

"Shah Rukh Khan is touring different cities to promote his film RA.One.

On Monday, he will be in Chennai to launch the latest promo of his film. After the event, Shah Rukh will visit Rajinikanth at his residence in Poes Garden in Chennai.

SRK will meet Rajini and show him the final edit of the portions shot at Whistling Woods in Mumbai." On October 2, Rajinikanth, putting his health issues aside arrived in Mumbai to shoot for Khan's dream project at Whistling Woods studios.

His daughter Soundarya, who arrived with the superstar made sure that nothing went wrong with the day's shoot. Khan, needless to say, is indebted to the superstar for taking time out of his recuperation space and return in front of the camera for RA.

One. "Shah Rukh is very happy that Rajini came to Mumbai for the shot despite his ill health.

SRK wants to show Rajini the portions that were shot and also check on the older actor's health. It's a goodwill gesture," added the source (less)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

According to the listing, the car has been "meticulously maintained", only has 5,914 miles on the clock and can reach 62mph in just 5.9 seconds and has a top speed of 150 mph.

The Rolls Royce has cream light interior, $1,210 lambswool mats, blacked out windows, 24-inch alloy wheels and a TV and DVD player in the back. David - who has four children, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper with his wife Victoria Beckham - bought the car in 2008 and considered it the prize of his collection, which includes a custom Range Rover, a Porsche 911 and a Jeep Wrangler.

The 36-year-old sportsman has seemingly decided to sell the vehicle because he wants to upgrade, and is on the waiting list for a brand new Rolls-Royce Ghost. Ahmed Al-Bakry - who represents Rolls-Royce in Europe and the Middle East - said: "The car is unique in terms of its options and design, it is not every day you see a convertible Rolls-Royce with 24-inch wheels.

David Beckham is a one of a kind player who owned this one of a kind car." Tweet (less)

Instead, King Khan plays the positive character G.One.

The resurrection of the big Bollywood villain, who had become almost redundant over the last decade, seems like a welcome change. One barely saw imposing antagonists in the last few years barring a few.

The villains of the earlier decades (Gabbar Singh, Mogambo, Dr Dang) were so intense and menacing that they would completely overshadow the hero. While Shah Rukh Khan's look in RA.

One was revealed a while back, Arjun Rampal's look was fiercely guarded for over two years and was unmasked only recently, during Dussehra. The actor's look with the scarlet suit, goatee and the baldhead, makes his character look particularly intimidating.

In fact, King Khan said in one of the interviews that he was feeling insecure of Rampal stealing all the thunder from him. Similarly, Sanjay Dutt who plays the negative role of Kancha Cheena in Karan Johar's Agneepath remake has generated more buzz than the lead actor Hrithik Roshan, who steps into the big boots of Amitabh Bachchan.

The curiosity in Dutt's character is also raised owing to his interesting look. In fact, the list of strong villains does not end here.

Reportedly, even Krrish 2 has a powerful villain. The role played by Vivek Oberoi is said to be on the lines of Joker from the Batman series.

A film veteran says, "It's a good trend. Unless you have a good adversary, the hero won't stand out.

" Shah Rukh Khan stunned everyone by opting for negative roles in Baazigar, Darr, Anjaam, early in his career. The Don remake in which King Khan played a baddie, too, received a warm reception at the box office and is being followed by its sequel.

From the current breed of actors, Saif Ali Khan too has experimented with dark characters. His career took a different turn after he played negative roles in Ek Haseena Thi, Being Cyrus and Omkara.

John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan wowed the audience as baddies in Yash Raj Film's Dhoom series. Now, Aamir Khan is gearing up to play the bad man in the Dhoom triquel.

Sadly, we haven't seen many great negative roles written for female actors in Bollywood apart from the stereotypical horrid mothers-in-law. The ones, however, that stood out were the characters played by Priyanka Chopra in Aitraaz and Saat Khoon Maaf, Preity Zinta in Armaan, Kajol in Gupt, Amrita Singh in Aaina and Anu Agarwal in Khal-Naaikaa.

Directors like Vishal Bhardwaaj and Anurag Kashyap are fascinated by grey characters and are known to make dark films. Vishal had earlier said in an interview, "I find dark humour very fascinating - it instigates something in you- it scares you, disturbs you but is funny at the same time.

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And that’s not all. The project produced by Nikhil Advani will also have the actors’ sons Abhishek and Ranbir making cameo appearances, making it one of Sudhir’s most ambitious project till date.

While Amitabh and Abhishek have worked together in films like Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar and Sarkar Raj, Rishi and his son Ranbir have never shared screen space. “It is a script that Sudhir Mishra started writing in 1996.

However, it failed to take off that time. Nikhil Advani was Sudhir’s assistant back then.

After all these years, Nikhil approached Sudhir and asked him to rework the script. Saurabh Shukla is writing the dialogues for the film,” revealed a source.

Talking about the storyline, the source said, “The film starts off with two old men played by Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor reminiscing about their past. Here is where Abhishek and Ranbir come in.

They play their respective fathers’ younger selves.” “Nikhil wanted to take this film on the floors this year.

But both Ranbir and Abhishek are busy with other projects now. The film will go on floors only next year now,” added the source.

When contacted, Nikhil Advani refused to comment on the project. Sudhir Mishra remained unavailable as well.

“Neither Nikhil nor Sudhir want to talk about the project right now. It’s a huge project and they want to announce it in a big way later.

Both Amitabh and Rishi have loved the script and agreed to do it. In fact, the film should also star Sudhir’s favourite Chitrangda Singh,” informed the source.

Though Amitabh and Rishi were a part of Rakeysh Omprakaash Mehra’s Delhi 6, the actors did not share any screen space. They have earlier worked in super hit films like Amar Akbar Anthony and Kabhi Kabhi.

Big B and Rishi Kapoor were a part of Delhi 6 too, where the earlier did a guest appearance but did not share any screen space with Rishi. They have earlier been parts of superhit films such as Amar Akbar Anthony and Kabhi Kabhie.

The film starts off with two old men played by Amitabh and Rishi reminiscing about their past (less)

""But Priyadarshan sir gave me the role much before the win, says a very composed Rajeev, not at all peturbed by the sudden gush of congratulations and accolades on him. This happened at Hyderabad, where we played our first match.

"" Ever since the Kerala team won the match on Sunday, countless people from the film fraternity has been calling me. It's great, he says.

Besides Mohanlal and Mammootty who were of course, present at the game, stars like Dileep personally called him to congratulate, besides people from other fields. ""But at the same time, it's a bit overwhelming too.

I can't guarantee that I will perform equally well in the coming games."" Rajeev, a dentist turned professional model has previously acted in a Malayalam movie - City of God.

The original - Maalamal Weekly, was lauded by film goers although it received poor reviews from critics (less)

.it was another bad year for the Malayalam film industry.

Despite several releases, the three ageing Malayalam superstars - Mammootty, 60, Suresh Gopi, 54, and Mohanlal, 51, - seen as the saviours of the filmdom, failed to bail out the industry that was reeling under flops. Looking back on their hugely successful three decades, 2011 has not been a pleasant year for the trio.

Mammootty had five releases - August 15, Doubles, The Train, Bombay March 12 and Venicile Vyapari ; Mohanlal had Christian Brothers, China Town, Pranayam, Snehaveedu and Arabiyum Ottakom P Madhavan Nairum ; and Suresh Gopi had four releases - Christian Brothers, Melvilasam, Collector and Ven Shanku Pol . Although their films kept landing at the box office and even created a flutter ahead of their releases, there were no fireworks at the ticket windows.

For Gopi, it was the worst year as his three films went unnoticed and if not for Christian Brothers , in which he teamed up with Mohanlal and Dileep, it would have been a complete washout for the once angry young man of the Malayalam film industry. On the other hand Mammootty's and Mohanlal's latest releases - Venicile Vyapari and Arabiyum Ottakom P.

Madhavan Nairum respectively - made some noise. And making a film with these biggies is a costly affair.

Award- winning director Majid Gulistan says an average Malayalam film with no superstars costs around Rs1 crore, but when the superstars' names get attached to a project, the budgets shoots up to Rs.3 crore.

If these biggies failed, other stars such as Jayaram, Dileep and Prithviraj couldn't set the cash registers ringing either. While Jayaram had six releases, Dileep had just three, including Christian Brothers , Prithviraj had five, of which Indian Rupee managed to keep his flag flying high, but it was director Renjith who earned plaudits for the film's success.

"In all, it could be assumed that not less than Rs.150 crore has been spent on film production in 2011," said Gulistan who is readying for his next venture in the New Year.

In 2001, over 87 films hit the screens and it is difficult to pick and choose box office successes from among them. According to an industry source, less than a dozen films can be described as commercial success, including Traffic and Salt N' Pepper , while Adaminte Makan Abu brought some sunshine by winning several National Awards.

Another drawback was no new face was launched on the marquee or in other creative fields. The year also bid adieu to notable personalities like actress Aranmula Ponamma, grandmother of Gopi's wife; National Award winning composer Johnson; cinematographer-turned-director Vipin Das; director Chintha Ravi; and character artist Machan Varghese.

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Says a source close to Ajay, "He has decided not to do films for emotional reasons. Though he had initially liked Vishal's script and had even approved it, after Rascals, he's being extra careful about upcoming films.

" Ajay is upset with reports that he opted out of MKBKM as he had been offered more money for Son Of Sardar. The source continues, "Fact is, Ajay walked out because of the script.

Somewhere along the way, he began to feel that it was too niche a film. He had told Vishal to change the script repeatedly but the director didn't agree and finally they decided to part ways, after mutually deciding to make an announcement.

When the story broke, the actor feels the director played dirty and is very angry." In recent times, Ajay has emerged as a mass hero at multiplexes and single screen theatres with Singham and Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, he only wants to do entertaining films with universal appeal.

Also Vishal's last film Saat Khoon Maaf didn't set the box office afire so Ajay is wary about doing a film with him at a time when he has a string of commercial successes behind him. Ajay confirms, "Money had nothing to do with me opting out of Vishal's film.

I want to cut down on my work commitments from next year and focus on one film at a time. I have stopped doing films for friends and for emotional reasons.

This time it's friendship on one side and business on the other!" (less)

Chanda, who started his career with Subhash Ghai's Ram Lakhan , worked on films like Dil Se , Rang De Basanti , Krrish and Ghajini . "RIP Samir Chanda.

Had the good fortune of knowing the incredible man he was in Kaminey and Saat khoon maaf . Thank u for always believing in me (sic)," tweeted Priyanka Chopra.

Rang De Basanti actor Siddharth wrote, "Art director Samir Chanda passed away this evening. Wonderful creator, beautiful human being.

Gone too soon. Rest in peace dada.

Miss you (sic)." Chanda was also working on Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha starrer Joker , directed by Shirish Kunder.

"RIP Samir Chanda. Was working with him on Joker .

We just met last evening to discuss designs for next schedule. Am shocked!," Kunder wrote on his twitter page.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The website was launched by veteran actor-producer Thyagarajan. Sreesanth said such a cricket league, which brings together film actors from various parts of the country, provided opportunity to the stars to get to know their counterparts from different film industries closely.

This is just like the IPL cricket matches in which players from various countries form a team, thus helping build friendships. In the last season, he had supported the Bangalore team, he said.

Prithviraj said the team cannot be taken lightly. Getting all the actors together, despite their hectic schedules, was by no means a small effort, he said.

Team captain and Malayalam superstar Mohanlal was not present. Arun G S, lead guitarist with AR Rahman's team, has composed the theme song featuring Mohanlal, Prithviraj, Kunchacko Boban, Lakshmi Rai, Bhavana, among others.

The first match is slated to be held at Hyderabad on January 21 and the first home match would be held here on January 22 against the Bollywood team. The finals are scheduled on February 12 at Hyderabad.

Team owners Lissy Priyadarshan and Shaji P M were among those present. Tweet (less)

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

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

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

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

Many younger stars like Asif Ali, Bala, Vinu Mohan, Nikhil, Bineesh Kodiyeri, Nivin Polly, Manikuttan, Rajeev Pillai, Saiju Kurup and Rajat were present for the shooting. The shoot that began in the morning went on till late the evening, but that didn't fag the spirits of the actors, perhaps because their captain, Lal was especially gung-ho.

Clearly, the stars want to put their best foot forward for the sporting event, and have been taking it no less seriously than their on-screen acts. During the shoot, Lal pointed out the absence of a leg umpire in the frame, which not only displayed the actor's keen presence of mind but also the perfectionist streak in him.

Lead guitarist for A R Rahman, Sanjeev Thomas, has sung and composed the theme music for the Kerala Strikers. The one-and-a-half minute song that will be aired by the end of this month on television, will encompass all the striking features of Kerela, but will be equally appealing to the national audience.

"The lyrics have a mix of both English and Malayalam keeping in view the non-Malayali audience," says Lissy Priyadarshan, yesteryear actor and co-owner of Celebrity Cricket League (CCL). The Malayalam actors have great observation power and that is what enables them to slip in so easily in the role of a practised sportsmen, adds Lissy.

Coach Chandrasenan is all praise for the actors. "They are very professional and dedicated.

..

they arrive for practice regularly. Apart from being actors, they have an inborn sportsman in them which just needed a push.

So it was quite an experience to train them," says Chandrsenan. Director Vijay of Kireedam, Madrasapattinam and Deiva Thirumagal fame is directing the theme song, while R Rathnavelu of Vaaranam Aayiram and Enthiran is the cinematagrapher.

Hence, naturally the expectations are sky high. The sensuous Lakshmi Rai who is the brand ambassador of the CCL was also present for the photo shoot.

We saw her bubbling with excitement over the event and gushed that she loved being a part of it. "My co-stars look great in this new avatar.

Their performance on the ground is as good as it is on screen. I am glad about being one of the brand ambassadors of CCL," she exclaims.

While speaking about the captain of the Kerala Strikers, Lakshmi Rai says about Lal, "He is a multi-faceted personality. Be it in films, or as ordinary man or now sports.

..

he merges into any role very easily." A major portion of the shoot is complete.

"Prithviraj's part is the only remaining one that will be completed in Chennai," says Lissy. She also adds that the actors will not let down the hopes of people and are striving hard to win the cup.

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"In 2011, a very important film of mine like 'Tanu Weds Manu' came and even 'Double Dhamaal' did well. Even those films which didn't do too well, my work was appreciated in them.

So, it could be a landmark year for me," said Kangana at the launch of an eye wear here. "And now the kind of films I have signed.

..

I have already signed big franchises like 'Ishqiya', 'Krrish', and 'Tanu Weds Manu'..

.so I have good projects.

..

even 2012 could be a landmark year for me," she added. The list consists mostly of sequels, but Kangana is not complaining.

"It is just coincidence. I have been quite lucky to have such franchises that are definitely going to get a lot of attention and good opening weekends because the earlier sequences have been so popular and successful," she said.

Kangana's last release was " Miley Na Miley Hum" opposite debutant Chirag Paswan. She will start 2012 with the release of "Tezz".

Directed by Priyadarshan, the film also stars Anil Kapoor, Zayed Khan, Mohanlal and Ajay Devgan. After debuting with 2006 movie "Gangster - A Love Story", Kangana also featured with Hrithik Roshan in "Kites" and won National Award for her performance in "Fashion" (less)

All the issues have been settled," Mohanlal's business partner Alex K.Babu told IANS.

The mutual settlement has come after Azhikode was detected with cancer of the spinal cord and is currently admitted to a private hospital here. The war of words between the duo broke out last year when Azhikode came out in support of thespian actor Thilakan who was served a showcause notice by AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) and subsequently booted out of the film actor's body on grounds of indiscipline.

The first salvo was fired by Azhikode against Mohanlal when he said that the actor has become old and should limit himself to roles matching his age and figure. The superstar was called a mentally deranged person by Azhikode.

He also added that Mohanlal should stop making money through endorsements of jewellery brands. Mohanlal had hit back saying that Azhikode must be having some 'hallucination', and he considered Azhikode's statements as some 'aged uncle's joke', and that whether he should stop acting was not a matter for Azhikode to decide.

Azhikode had filed a defamation case against the actor while a legal notice was served on Mohanlal asking him to either apologise or face legal action. Azhikode in 1986 retired as Pro-Vice Chancellor of Calicut University, his oratorical skills are unmatched and have been a crowd puller.

A bachelor, Azhikode has won twelve awards including the Indian Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahithya Academy Award, Vayalar Award and the Rajaji Award. In January 2007 he refused to accept the Padma Shri conferred on him stating that such honours are against the Constitution.

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For me, New Year is a time when I look back, introspect on my achievements, failures and hope to do better in the future." Remind Sonu of a film he lost out on - the sequel of Dabangg - and the actor says, "I refused the role and Salman and Arbaaz both understood.

In fact, I just met Salman at his birthday bash and even then he said, 'you should have done the film.' But, he acknowledges the fact that I refused the film as an actor and this has caused no dent in our friendship.

" Busy times Sonu has had four releases down South in 2011. "All the films - two Telugu, one Tamil, and one Kannada - have all done well.

So it's been a busy 2011 for me!" says Sonu. And what about his film Lucky Unlucky, where he debuts as a producer? Says he, "Yeah, that goes on the floors in March 2012 and though it'll be hectic, I am very excited about the film.

" And while there's been news of his leading lady Mallika ditching him to give dates for another film, thus causing problems to Sonu, the actor-producer says, "There is no problem at all! Mallika was shooting for the Munni song for the Tamil version of Dabangg, and that's where I spoke to her about it. As she knows that I am myself selective about my films, it took me all of five minutes to convince her.

" Speaking of another film he's excited about, Sonu says, "It's called Maximum, and I play a cop in it. The best part about the film is that it stars Naseeruddin Shah .

I admire him; and I'm so glad to be working with him (less)

" So touched was he by the children's passion for cinema that he could not stop raving about them. "They are so knowledgeable.

I don't think I knew as much when I was their age. That's the advantage today's generation has, you know.

The Internet and other technological advancements has opened a wide world to them. They are exposed to so much and they are very quick to learn too.

I am really glad that kids as young as a 12 years old are attempting to make a film these days. It is truly laudable.

Even my son has already made five films and he is just 16," says a proud Vishal. From " Makdee ", "Maqbool", "Omkara", to " Kaminey " and " 7 Khoon Maaf ", Vishal has always been a hatke director when it comes to choosing his subjects.

"I choose whatever I find interest in. I feel if it interests me, I will present it in a way that it will interest the audience also.

" Ask him what went wrong with "7 Khoon Maaf" then and he is quick to say, "It is a dark film and I think it didn't touch the chord with the viewers. I definitely believed in it and that's why I made it.

But somewhere people couldn't relate to Priyanka. I mean I thought after two killings, audience will understand that she (Priyanka) has become a serial killer but they didn't.

That, I guess, went wrong." So, after "7 Khoon Maaf", does he have any apprehensions about "Dayaan", a supernatural film.

"I am producing it. And, no, I don't really have apprehension because the concept of witches did exist in our society.

Moreover, people will get to see a real dayaan, and not like what Shabana Azmi played in "Makdee". Next, I want to make a science fiction.

" One of the first projects that brought Vishal to limelight was TV serial "Jungle Book", but the small screen isn't something that Vishal wants to get back to. "Yes, I did start with "Jungle Book" on TV, but budget is a problem with the small screen.

It is too low. So, I am not looking at TV.

" (less)

The National Award winning Chanda has also directed a film titled "Ekti Nodir Golpo" starring Mithun Chakraborty. Goutam Ghose, with whom Chanda worked in "Yatra", was shocked with the news.

"I have just heard the news and am extremely disturbed. This week has been really bad.

First, I heard about Tareque Masud's death. Now, it's Samir.

I can't deal with so many news of death of my close ones." Bedabrata Pain, the director of "Chittagong", says, "I was very close to Samirda.

He believed in me and "Chittagong" and practically worked for free. He really made the film happen.

I just spoke to him the day before and now he is gone." Meanwhile, micro blogging sites have also seen many celebrities paying their tribute to Chanda.

Writes Priyanka Chopra: "RIP Samir Chanda. Had the good fortune of knowing the incredible man he was in Kaminey and Saat khoon maaf.

Thank u for always believing in me. This is a complete shock.

. there is a song.

..

"only the good die young" by Billy Joel ..

U will always be remembered." (sic) Actor Siddharth writes: "Art director Samir chanda passed away this evening.

Wonderful creator, beautiful human being. Gone too soon.

Rest in peace dada. Miss you.

" Director Shirish Kunder, on his part, writes: "RIP Samir Chanda. Was working with him on JOKER.

We just met last evening to discuss designs for next schedule. Am shocked!" Writes director Anant Mahadevan, "Actor Shammi Kapoor , Art director Samir Chanda, composer Johnson, all left within a week.

..

dark phase for the show world." (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)

Citing date problems, Shahid too has now refused to be a part of the filmmaker's upcoming comedy. A source told Mumbai Mirror, "After Ajay Devgn said no to MKBKM, Vishal thought Shahid would be a good choice opposite Anushka since their film Badmaash Company was received well by the audiences and critics.

However, Shahid has refused to be a part of the project since he is busy with Kunal Kohli's film Muqtassar and then Siddharth Anand's remake of Knight and Day." While some may attribute Shahid's refusal to thecreative differences he had with the filmmaker during the making of Kaminey, our source revealed, "Shahid is now fine with Vishal.

He really had date issues with MKBKM. He will definitely do Kaminey 2 with him next year, woh pakka hai.

" "Shahid is very keen on working with different directors. He has three films that will go on floors next year apart from his current projects.

His schedule is choc-a-bloc right now. He has given out bulk dates to his next films," added the source.

While Vishal remained unavailable for comment, Shahid who is holidaying in Europe with his friends chose to remain silent as well (less)

The website was launched by veteran actor-producer Thyagarajan. Sreesanth said such a cricket league, which brings together film actors from various parts of the country, provided opportunity to the stars to get to know their counterparts from different film industries closely.

This is just like the IPL cricket matches in which players from various countries form a team, thus helping build friendships. In the last season, he had supported the Bangalore team, he said.

Prithviraj said the team cannot be taken lightly. Getting all the actors together, despite their hectic schedules, was by no means a small effort, he said.

Team captain and Malayalam superstar Mohanlal was not present. Arun G S, lead guitarist with AR Rahman's team, has composed the theme song featuring Mohanlal, Prithviraj, Kunchacko Boban, Lakshmi Rai, Bhavana, among others.

The first match is slated to be held at Hyderabad on January 21 and the first home match would be held here on January 22 against the Bollywood team. The finals are scheduled on February 12 at Hyderabad.

Team owners Lissy Priyadarshan and Shaji P M were among those present. Tweet (less)

He had made two very short trips to Mumbai in September end and just before Diwali for the shoot of his reality show which he co-hosts with Sanjay Dutt. A source said, "Salman is slated to arrive in Mumbai on November 13.

He will be then back anchoring the show. But just before he returns from Turkey where he was shooting for his film Ek Tha Tiger , he will make his way to Dubai.

" On November 12, Sallu will be in Dubai to announce the Celebrity Cricket League matches that will be held in Sharjah in mid-January. His Dabangg co-star Sonakshi Sinha as well as Sohail Khan, Suniel Shetty and Shreya Saran will join him for the event.

The CCL includes names from Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali cinema besides Bollywood. The stars associated with it include Telugu heavyweight Venkatesh, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, Tamil hearthrob Suriya, Kannada hero Sudeep and Bengali cinema's Indraneil.

Director Priyadarshan besides Boney Kapoor and Sridevi are also associated with the tournament. Sallu's brother Sohail is the owner of the Mumbai Heroes CCL team.

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Instead, King Khan plays the positive character G.One.

The resurrection of the big Bollywood villain, who had become almost redundant over the last decade, seems like a welcome change. One barely saw imposing antagonists in the last few years barring a few.

The villains of the earlier decades (Gabbar Singh, Mogambo, Dr Dang) were so intense and menacing that they would completely overshadow the hero. While Shah Rukh Khan's look in RA.

One was revealed a while back, Arjun Rampal's look was fiercely guarded for over two years and was unmasked only recently, during Dussehra. The actor's look with the scarlet suit, goatee and the baldhead, makes his character look particularly intimidating.

In fact, King Khan said in one of the interviews that he was feeling insecure of Rampal stealing all the thunder from him. Similarly, Sanjay Dutt who plays the negative role of Kancha Cheena in Karan Johar's Agneepath remake has generated more buzz than the lead actor Hrithik Roshan, who steps into the big boots of Amitabh Bachchan.

The curiosity in Dutt's character is also raised owing to his interesting look. In fact, the list of strong villains does not end here.

Reportedly, even Krrish 2 has a powerful villain. The role played by Vivek Oberoi is said to be on the lines of Joker from the Batman series.

A film veteran says, "It's a good trend. Unless you have a good adversary, the hero won't stand out.

" Shah Rukh Khan stunned everyone by opting for negative roles in Baazigar, Darr, Anjaam, early in his career. The Don remake in which King Khan played a baddie, too, received a warm reception at the box office and is being followed by its sequel.

From the current breed of actors, Saif Ali Khan too has experimented with dark characters. His career took a different turn after he played negative roles in Ek Haseena Thi, Being Cyrus and Omkara.

John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan wowed the audience as baddies in Yash Raj Film's Dhoom series. Now, Aamir Khan is gearing up to play the bad man in the Dhoom triquel.

Sadly, we haven't seen many great negative roles written for female actors in Bollywood apart from the stereotypical horrid mothers-in-law. The ones, however, that stood out were the characters played by Priyanka Chopra in Aitraaz and Saat Khoon Maaf, Preity Zinta in Armaan, Kajol in Gupt, Amrita Singh in Aaina and Anu Agarwal in Khal-Naaikaa.

Directors like Vishal Bhardwaaj and Anurag Kashyap are fascinated by grey characters and are known to make dark films. Vishal had earlier said in an interview, "I find dark humour very fascinating - it instigates something in you- it scares you, disturbs you but is funny at the same time.

" Tweet (less)

..

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

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

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

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

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

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

. sequel.

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

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

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

..

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

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All the issues have been settled," Mohanlal's business partner Alex K.Babu told IANS.

The mutual settlement has come after Azhikode was detected with cancer of the spinal cord and is currently admitted to a private hospital here. The war of words between the duo broke out last year when Azhikode came out in support of thespian actor Thilakan who was served a showcause notice by AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) and subsequently booted out of the film actor's body on grounds of indiscipline.

The first salvo was fired by Azhikode against Mohanlal when he said that the actor has become old and should limit himself to roles matching his age and figure. The superstar was called a mentally deranged person by Azhikode.

He also added that Mohanlal should stop making money through endorsements of jewellery brands. Mohanlal had hit back saying that Azhikode must be having some 'hallucination', and he considered Azhikode's statements as some 'aged uncle's joke', and that whether he should stop acting was not a matter for Azhikode to decide.

Azhikode had filed a defamation case against the actor while a legal notice was served on Mohanlal asking him to either apologise or face legal action. Azhikode in 1986 retired as Pro-Vice Chancellor of Calicut University, his oratorical skills are unmatched and have been a crowd puller.

A bachelor, Azhikode has won twelve awards including the Indian Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahithya Academy Award, Vayalar Award and the Rajaji Award. In January 2007 he refused to accept the Padma Shri conferred on him stating that such honours are against the Constitution.

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

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

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

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

But the same cannot be said for the movie that is being touted as the superstar's foray into Hollywood. Earlier this year, it was reported that King Khan had hit jackpot by managing to rope in the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese to co-produce his dream project, Xtrme City .

But alas, the film already seems to be facing a major glitch. Apart from Scorsese and SRK, Xtrme City was to include actor Leonardo Di Caprio, but now apparently, the makers are not able to zero in on a date for the Hollywood star.

Adds a source, "The script has been locked and right now they have been zeroing in on everyone's dates for the project. SRK, Scorsese and even writer Paul Schrader's dates are pretty much in.

The problem is Leonardo Di Caprio's dates haven't been decided upon." The actor is busy filming The Great Gatsby (which is incidentally Amitabh Bachchan's first Hollywood project) at this point and nothing really can be finalised unless his dates are confirmed.

For a film that boasts of such heavyweights, it's little surprise if delays are part and parcel of the process. It was during the Berlin film festival in February that SRK got a chance to meet the Oscar winning director and actor and discuss the project.

Interestingly, it is said that Scorsese's interest in Indian cinema was one of the main reasons he agreed to come on board for this film. Adds the source, "Now, we all know that Scorsese and DiCaprio are thick as thieves and always work together.

So it's very essential that he comes on board for this one as soon as possible." So despite all the dilemmas, if this project does manage to take off, there's little doubt that it may become even bigger than SRK's superhero thriller! Tweet (less)

The date for their wedding has not been confirmed as yet. The engagement ceremony of Ananya and Anjaneyan is being organized at the actress' house at Perumbavur near Ernakulam.

Ananya was noted for her film Shikkar alongside superstar Mohanlal. She was also seen in a supporting role in the 2010 Malayalam war film Kandahar, with Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan.

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Mumbai Mirror has learnt that in the film, which will be produced by Ramesh Taurani, Deepika will shoot her rather steamy sequence with Saif in Mumbai or Turkey . According to a source close to the unit, the actress took some time before agreeing to the scene.

The source explained, "She is a thorough professional. Realising that Race 2 will be slicker than Race, she had a long meeting with Abbas-Mustan and requested the directors to shoot the scene aesthetically.

" His was confirmed by Deepika's friend, who said, "Yes, Deepika does have a very intimate scene with Saif in Race 2. However, she has requested that the scene be shot in a way that it appears relevant to the script.

" Speaking about the intimate scene, Abbas Mastan said, "It is a turning point in the film." Producer Ramesh Taurani however refused to comment on the same (less)

At least professionally. When faced with personal questions about rumours of her special friendship with Shah Rukh Khan, the actress fidgets and declares, "I will not talk about this.

I shall never talk about this." However, when it comes to her films, the actress doesn't shy away from answering.

About her upcoming Dharma Productions venture 'Agneepath', the actress gushes, "I am nervous and excited. Reports have been brilliant.

They have liked Hrithik (Roshan), Sanju ( Sanjay Dutt ) and my work. More than anything, they have loved the film.

I'm very proud of Karan (Malhotra, the director) as this is his first film and I'm his first heroine. For me, it's not a remake.

I hadn't even seen the original 'Agneepath' till I signed this film. Also my role has been written fresh.

" And this film strengthens her bond with Karan Johar and Dharma. She had earlier worked with the production house in 'Dostana'.

Though she is not doing 'Dostana 2', "My love story ended in the first part when I walked away with Bobby Deol" being the actress' reason for the same, her relationship with the production house has remained. "Miami to Mandva.

It was lovely working with Dharma again. As an actor, you don't involve yourself with the production much.

You're closer to the director," says the actress. Despite her proximity to Dharma, her relationship with Yash Raj Films is reportedly not as strong.

Rumour has it that Yash Raj did not keep its promise of offering her a big film after she agreed to do a small project 'Pyaar Impossible'. However, the actress maintains that it wasn't YRF she was working for but Uday Chopra Productions.

Good with a section of the industry and not too close to the rest, this is Priyanka's career graph in a nutshell. However, with single minded determination and what trade analyst Amod Mehra calls 'luck' the actress despite being shunned some, has managed to maintain her position in Bollywood.

The actress has also tried to hold on to the few 'good' relations she has in the industry. For example, despite delivering an award winning performance for Madhur Bhandarkar in 'Fashion', the filmmaker's next project 'Heroine' finally had Kareena Kapoor.

But the actress doesn't begrudge him that. "I couldn't have done that role.

Working on a similar plot did not make sense for Madhur and me. We spoke about the film several times.

I'm glad that Kareena's doing it. Both of them will work very well.

" Priyanka puts up a brave front on her reported alienation from the Salman Khan camp. "I have worked with every co-actor possible.

I don't come from a film background. I don't have relationships with people in terms of uncles and aunts.

I have been an outsider. Wherever I'm today is due to the support of this film industry.

They have given big films and amazing work to me. It hasn't been because of any director, production house, actor or a person.

I have never been a part of any camp. I respect every co-actor tremendously and equally.

I would work with anyone," declares the actress. As for her not having worked ever with the third Khan of the triumvirate, Aamir, she simply laughs, "Ask Aamir.

If the offer hasn't come to me yet, what can I say about it?" While in hushed tones, insiders do cite her friendship with Shah Rukh as the reason of her alienation from the other Khans, when questioned about her rise and rise in Bollywood, they all agree upon one thing - her professionalism. According to Suneel Darshan, who gave her the first break with 'Andaaz', " Priyanka is not the conventional beauty like Kareena Kapoor.

Despite that, she has done very well for herself. Knowing well that the perks of stardom can be really high, she has set her goals accordingly.

There is determination written all over her face. When it comes to her, there is hardly anything left between the apple and the arrow.

" But trade analyst Amod Mehra feels differently. "Kareena is number one.

Katrina is on number two. And Priyanka who was once on the second position is now on number three.

That's because Priyanka has made all the wrong choices and given many flops - '7 Khoon Maaf', 'Kaminey', 'What's Your Rashee', 'Drona'. I would say that she has been lucky," says Mehra and adds, "Also, she has limited choices.

Her big star bracket is restricted to SRK and Hrithik. Salman doesn't want to work with her.

Aamir hasn't worked with her yet. She hasn't worked much with Ajay Devgn.

And she can't work with Akshay Kumar." Filmmaker Ratan Jain who worked with Priyanka in 'Aap Ki Khatir' however seems to be almost on the same page as Darshan.

Maintaining that films in Bollywood depend on the male actor, Jain says, "Priyanka is a very popular actress. She is an excellent performer too.

Else, why would she be cast in so many movies? Note that she has also improved her acting abilities over the years." (less)

Since the film's release a week back, he has time and again said that it told a tale in simple humour. "This film is not at all a second part or a sequel of the blockbuster Udayanannu Tharam that strarred Mohanlal.

In the present film, there is no character of Udayabhanu (essayed by Mohanlal in Udayanannu Tharam ) and his wife," he told reporters. The film is different from Udayanannu Tharam as the story line is different because Udayabhanu's story ended in the first film itself, Sreenivasan told reporters.

The latest film directed by debutant Sajin Raghavan takes a dig at the never ending feuds between the numerous film-based organisations in the Malayalam film industry. Antony Perumbavoor, Mohanlal's business associate in all film-related business ventures, came out against Udayanannu Tharam and called up the film's cinematographer S Kumar.

S Kumar told reporters that he got a call from Antony and he was not happy with the manner in which the film allegedly took on Mohanlal. "He told me that at least I should have not allowed these veiled barbs against Mohanlal.

I asked him why he is saying all this to me because I am only a cameraman," Antony said. "I told him to speak to the producer or director or others who are behind the film," said Kumar.

Director Major Ravi, whose films Keerthi Chakra and Kurukshetra that starred Mohanlal in a character wearing army uniform, termed the events as sad. "These two people have been in films and they act together.

Doing like this is not good," he said. Tweet (less)

"Plus she is to star opposite Rajnikanth, Kamal's archrival down South," adds the source. Finally, Kamal decided to sign on Sameera.

A source close to the actress confirms, "Yes, she is doing the film. She is very glad to be a part of the project.

Though she is too young to play Kamal Hassan's wife, it is a big opportunity for her." Tweet (less)

Some of Jalota's popular bhajans include "Aisi lagi lagan", "Main nahi makhan khayo", "Rang de chunariya", "Jag mein sundar hai do naam", and "Chadariya jhini re jhini". He has recorded over 2,000 bhajans, ghazals and songs.

Priyadarshan has made several southern and Bollywood films in his career of over three decades. Some of his popular Bollywood projects include "Hera Pheri", "Hungama", "Hulchul", "Garam Masala", "Bhagam Bhag", "Chup Chup Ke", "Dhol", and "Bhool Bhulaiyaa".

In the south, he has made films in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil. These have included "Megham", "Chandralekha", "Kala Pani" and the National award-winning "Kanchivaram".

He is currently working on " Tezz ", a Hindi action film, which has a cameo by Mohanlal (less)

.it was another bad year for the Malayalam film industry.

Despite several releases, the three ageing Malayalam superstars - Mammootty, 60, Suresh Gopi, 54, and Mohanlal, 51, - seen as the saviours of the filmdom, failed to bail out the industry that was reeling under flops. Looking back on their hugely successful three decades, 2011 has not been a pleasant year for the trio.

Mammootty had five releases - August 15, Doubles, The Train, Bombay March 12 and Venicile Vyapari ; Mohanlal had Christian Brothers, China Town, Pranayam, Snehaveedu and Arabiyum Ottakom P Madhavan Nairum ; and Suresh Gopi had four releases - Christian Brothers, Melvilasam, Collector and Ven Shanku Pol . Although their films kept landing at the box office and even created a flutter ahead of their releases, there were no fireworks at the ticket windows.

For Gopi, it was the worst year as his three films went unnoticed and if not for Christian Brothers , in which he teamed up with Mohanlal and Dileep, it would have been a complete washout for the once angry young man of the Malayalam film industry. On the other hand Mammootty's and Mohanlal's latest releases - Venicile Vyapari and Arabiyum Ottakom P.

Madhavan Nairum respectively - made some noise. And making a film with these biggies is a costly affair.

Award- winning director Majid Gulistan says an average Malayalam film with no superstars costs around Rs1 crore, but when the superstars' names get attached to a project, the budgets shoots up to Rs.3 crore.

If these biggies failed, other stars such as Jayaram, Dileep and Prithviraj couldn't set the cash registers ringing either. While Jayaram had six releases, Dileep had just three, including Christian Brothers , Prithviraj had five, of which Indian Rupee managed to keep his flag flying high, but it was director Renjith who earned plaudits for the film's success.

"In all, it could be assumed that not less than Rs.150 crore has been spent on film production in 2011," said Gulistan who is readying for his next venture in the New Year.

In 2001, over 87 films hit the screens and it is difficult to pick and choose box office successes from among them. According to an industry source, less than a dozen films can be described as commercial success, including Traffic and Salt N' Pepper , while Adaminte Makan Abu brought some sunshine by winning several National Awards.

Another drawback was no new face was launched on the marquee or in other creative fields. The year also bid adieu to notable personalities like actress Aranmula Ponamma, grandmother of Gopi's wife; National Award winning composer Johnson; cinematographer-turned-director Vipin Das; director Chintha Ravi; and character artist Machan Varghese.

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"I have won Filmfare awards twice but this award is special," she said. "A lifetime achievement award truly does take a lifetime.

" Costume designer Manish Malhotra and Urmila Matondkar, who arrived then, stopped to congratulate the veteran actress and remarked on how "well maintained" she looked. "Arunaji is an inspiration to the young generation," Urmila told mediapersons.

After which she promptly broke into a jig while singing Dilbar dil se pyare from Aruna Irani's Caravan. Best actress nominee Vidya Balan, having lost all the lard she had put on for her Silk Smitha reprisal in The Dirty Picture, looked lovely in a green Kanjeevaram with a low-back blouse.

Widely expected to win this year too, Vidya accepted congratulations from Deepika Padukone on the red carpet . "I have not rehearsed any acceptance speech, though," she said, laughing.

Buddy Abhishek Bachchan ribbed her about wanting Maa, not Paa, to win. He arrived alone, leaving Aishwarya home to mind the new arrival.

When asked about his favourite male nominee, he said, "Am I nominated ? If not, I am not rooting for any actor!" Priyanka Chopra walked in a light blue Ferragamo gown. All excited about her act called Jungli billi ka swayamvar, which she said was "spoofy" and had all the popular characters from last year's films, she remarked, "Let's see who I end up with.

Hope people take it in the right spirit." Priyanka said she was fine with not winning an award for Saat Khoon Maaf but Vidya Balan definitely deserved to win one for The Dirty Picture.

Director Imtiaz Ali, whose Rockstar was among the leading contenders this year, came casually dressed in blue jeans and grey shirt. Wife Preeti made up for it with a lovely, formal golden churidar kurta.

When asked for his opinion on the other films in the running, Imtiaz replied that he had barely seen them, so busy was he travelling for his own. Despite having a stellar career of 42 years behind her, Usha Uthup, a Best Singer nominee, has never won a Filmfare .

"I've been singing since 1969 and I so badly want this award," she exclaimed. "This has been a good year, what with Darling and Don 2.

" Known for her traditional Indian ensemble-which accentuates the contrast with her husky, "western" voice-the singer wore a perfectly coordinated black-and-gold ensemble , complete with Kanjeevaram work on her keds. "These shoes were actually Reeboks," she laughed.

"Now they are Kanjeevaram keds. Isn't that cool!" Another super singer, Shreya Ghoshal-who walked in in a glamorous red gown by Sameer Patel-was all praise for Usha Uthup and said she wanted her to win for the rumbustious Darling.

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from Saat Khoon Maaf. "Ushaji is a legend and I don't consider myself her competitor ," she said (less)

Mohanlal, along with Mammootty, continues to reign supreme in the Malayalam film industry for the past over two decades. Following the IT raids on both the superstars across four south Indian cities, Mohanlal appears to have gone into a shell.

Mohanlal, popularly known as Lal to all those in the industry, treaded the difficult path to become numero uno through his hard work, dedication and commitment. His first release came in 1980 when he played a ruthless villain in Manjil Virinja Pookal and hit the headlines.

Through a combined effort, he and his close buddies - ace Bollywood director Priyadarshan, veteran Malayalam producer Suresh Kumar, director Ashok Nath - came out hugely successful. His association with Priyadarshan and Kumar launched him to the status of a star with rollicking comedy flicks like Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, Boeing Boeing, Aram + Aram = Kinaram .

The late 1980s and early 1990s formed the glorious era for the actor as films like Thalavattom, Cheppu, Vellanakulade Nadu, Chithram and Kilukam wrote his name in golden letters in the Malayalam film industry, catapulting him to the level of a superstar. Since then, he has had a glorious innings and despite his recent films bombing at the box office, Lal along with Mammootty continues to reign as number one in the industry.

His glory reached newer heights when in 2009 he became the first filmstar to be given a honorary rank of Lt. Colonel in the Territorial Army, thanks mainly to Defence Minister A.

K. Antony.

Despite the glory, the 51-year-old found the going tough on two occasions recently. First, he had a verbal duel with critic and orator Sukumar Azhikode, and the outcome was a defamation case filed by the latter.

Lal had to secure bail in the case. While the dust was settling on that issue, came the IT raids which found that he had unaccounted wealth and that he possesses a pair of elephant tusks, for which he had no licence to show.

Now the superstar is busy with the 300th film in a long and eventful career. Tweet (less)

Instead, King Khan plays the positive character G.One.

The resurrection of the big Bollywood villain, who had become almost redundant over the last decade, seems like a welcome change. One barely saw imposing antagonists in the last few years barring a few.

The villains of the earlier decades (Gabbar Singh, Mogambo, Dr Dang) were so intense and menacing that they would completely overshadow the hero. While Shah Rukh Khan's look in RA.

One was revealed a while back, Arjun Rampal's look was fiercely guarded for over two years and was unmasked only recently, during Dussehra. The actor's look with the scarlet suit, goatee and the baldhead, makes his character look particularly intimidating.

In fact, King Khan said in one of the interviews that he was feeling insecure of Rampal stealing all the thunder from him. Similarly, Sanjay Dutt who plays the negative role of Kancha Cheena in Karan Johar's Agneepath remake has generated more buzz than the lead actor Hrithik Roshan, who steps into the big boots of Amitabh Bachchan.

The curiosity in Dutt's character is also raised owing to his interesting look. In fact, the list of strong villains does not end here.

Reportedly, even Krrish 2 has a powerful villain. The role played by Vivek Oberoi is said to be on the lines of Joker from the Batman series.

A film veteran says, "It's a good trend. Unless you have a good adversary, the hero won't stand out.

" Shah Rukh Khan stunned everyone by opting for negative roles in Baazigar, Darr, Anjaam, early in his career. The Don remake in which King Khan played a baddie, too, received a warm reception at the box office and is being followed by its sequel.

From the current breed of actors, Saif Ali Khan too has experimented with dark characters. His career took a different turn after he played negative roles in Ek Haseena Thi, Being Cyrus and Omkara.

John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan wowed the audience as baddies in Yash Raj Film's Dhoom series. Now, Aamir Khan is gearing up to play the bad man in the Dhoom triquel.

Sadly, we haven't seen many great negative roles written for female actors in Bollywood apart from the stereotypical horrid mothers-in-law. The ones, however, that stood out were the characters played by Priyanka Chopra in Aitraaz and Saat Khoon Maaf, Preity Zinta in Armaan, Kajol in Gupt, Amrita Singh in Aaina and Anu Agarwal in Khal-Naaikaa.

Directors like Vishal Bhardwaaj and Anurag Kashyap are fascinated by grey characters and are known to make dark films. Vishal had earlier said in an interview, "I find dark humour very fascinating - it instigates something in you- it scares you, disturbs you but is funny at the same time.

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They have also added that they will carry out their audits properly in the future and keep a close eye on monitoring their revenues. Earlier, some reports said the IT department had acted on a confidential tip from certain agencies on the business modules worked out by the superstars in the Middle East for satellite rights.

However, the authorities did not have enough evidence to substantiate that claim at the time. While actor Mohanlal's residence in Mudavanmugal, Thiruvananthapuram and in Thevara, Kochi, was raided, Mammootty's house in Panampally Nagar, Kochi, was raided by the IT department.

Mammootty's production company Play House and Mohanlal's Studio Max Labs too, were raided alongwith the homes of their close aides. The actors had been boasting of properties in and out the country, and this was also a factor that prompted the authorities to look into their monetary affairs closely.

Actor Mohanlal has been claiming to have flats in the Burj Khaleefa, Dubai, while Mammootty is said to have announced his multiple investments in various properties including a hospital in Bangaluru besides real estate investments inside and outside Kerala. Earlier, Income Tax officials had questioned Mammootty in Kochi for nearly seven hours on July 22nd.

The officials had also recorded Mohanlal's statement in Rameshwaram, where he was shooting for a film at the time. The I-T Department had said then that the actors may be summoned for further questioning ahead.

The two superstars, who have dominated the Malayalam film industry for over three decades, have several business interests. In a career spanning more than three decades, Mammootty has won the National Award thrice, for Dr.

Ambedkar (1988), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha , Mathilukal (1989) and Vidheyan , Ponthan Mada (1993). He has acted in more than 360 films, including a few Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films.

While Mohanlal was reportedly planning to bid for an IPL team with director Priyadarshan and owns some hotels in Bangaluru, he had recently reportedly purchased a plush house in the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai. He was awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema in 2001.

He has won four National Film Awards and his notable roles include those in Vaanaprastham and Bharatham . 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.

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Now for Anurag Basu's Barfee , last week in Ooty, Priyanka has done an Anna Hazare, so to speak. For a sequence that required her character to be locked away in a room for three days without food, water or any company, PC declared she would go the whole hog.

No faking for the character, she declared. Says a source, "At first Ranbir laughed off Priyanka's method acting.

' Tu Marlon Brando hai kya ?', the actor joked. He told her to 'just act' the sequence.

But PC was adamant. She made it very clear to Anurag that she would actually go through her character's ordeal for three days.

" All attempts to dissuade the actress failed and Anurag had to give in. However, the director had a condition, that he too, will join her.

Says a source, "To Anurag, who had written the character and the sequence, it seemed unfair that Priyanka should go at it alone. He insisted on going through what the actress' character suffers when confined to a solitary life.

Only then did Anurag allow Priyanka to go through the harrowing experience herself." Significantly, both Anurag and Priyanka have health issues and could ill afford the luxury of "living" their character's trauma.

In fact, PC has earlier suffered two bouts of fatigue and nervous exhaustion, which put her in the hospital. The Barfee experience of staying without food, water and company for three days has been serious pressure on the health of both the actress and the director.

Priyanka, we are told, remained silent and unresponsive for a week after the shooting. Says the source, "We all tried to dissuade both of them from this madness.

But they wouldn't listen. First Anurag locked himself away in the room in Ooty that Priyanka's character was supposed to be confined in.

And then she went through the three-day isolation." The spokesperson for Barfee confirmed the above story.

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