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one should be selfless! Shame!" He was commenting on reports that the actress turned down an offer to be brand ambassador for Maharashtra Tourism after not being offered the fee she sought. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, at a recent state government awards function, remarked at her absence at the event: "This is a state honour, a token of the love of 11 crore citizens.

Some stars were free to receive other awards two days ago, but are tied for time to receive a government honour." His comments came after Mads attended an event presided over by Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and received the Dinanath Mangeshkar Award but skipped the state awards.

A senior official noted that Aamir Khan is promoting the Union Tourism Ministry's 'Incredible India - Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign without charging any fees (less)

"When we thought of Parineeta , I immediately thought of a face like Aishwarya Rai. The character of the girl is like two men fall in love with her, so the heroine has to be bigger.

But Pradeep Sarkar (director) told me about her (Vidya) I was like let me see what she can do," Chopra told reporters here, last night. "But then we tested and tried her (Vidya) and she cleared it," he said.

Parineeta was adapted from 1914 Bengali novella of the same name by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The film starred Vidya, Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt in pivotal roles.

Talking about other roles -- Shekar that was essayed by Saif Ali Khan and Girish, played by Sanjay Dutt, Chopra said, "I had called up Sanjay saying there is a role for you in my film and he agreed. We wanted the character of Girish (Sanjay) to be bigger than Shekar (Saif Ali Khan).

" Also, Rekha, a yesteryear actress had a cameo performance in a night club as a singer in this film. "For this cameo we went to who's-who of Bollywood but then we realised it has to be someone who is a classic diva and who better than her (Rekha).

"I had gone to meet her (Rekha) after Chopra had spoken to her about the appearance. It was fantastic meeting her.

She does her own styling, hair, make-up, photography. Even for the song she had valuable inputs to provide.

It was amazing and we had a wonderful time working with her," director Pradeep Sarkar said. Tweet (less)

"When we thought of Parineeta , I immediately thought of a face like Aishwarya Rai. The character of the girl is like two men fall in love with her, so the heroine has to be bigger.

But Pradeep Sarkar (director) told me about her (Vidya) I was like let me see what she can do," Chopra told reporters here, last night. "But then we tested and tried her (Vidya) and she cleared it," he said.

Parineeta was adapted from 1914 Bengali novella of the same name by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The film starred Vidya, Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt in pivotal roles.

Talking about other roles -- Shekar that was essayed by Saif Ali Khan and Girish, played by Sanjay Dutt, Chopra said, "I had called up Sanjay saying there is a role for you in my film and he agreed. We wanted the character of Girish (Sanjay) to be bigger than Shekar (Saif Ali Khan).

" Also, Rekha, a yesteryear actress had a cameo performance in a night club as a singer in this film. "For this cameo we went to who's-who of Bollywood but then we realised it has to be someone who is a classic diva and who better than her (Rekha).

"I had gone to meet her (Rekha) after Chopra had spoken to her about the appearance. It was fantastic meeting her.

She does her own styling, hair, make-up, photography. Even for the song she had valuable inputs to provide.

It was amazing and we had a wonderful time working with her," director Pradeep Sarkar said. Tweet (less)

"When you look from outside, it looks like a dream. But at the same time, there is fear as you hear mysterious stories like people are mean, the industry is very competitive.

However, I don't think that Bollywood is such a jungle as it is made out to be," Aditi told IANS in an interview. "People are very friendly and accepting.

It is true that they judge you, but a lot depends upon how you take it onto yourself. I have no connection with the film world, but the fact that I got here and my work is being appreciated makes me feel humbled," she added.

The actress made her Bollywood debut with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Delhi 6" and later featured in supporting roles in films like Sudhir Mishra's "Yeh Saali Zindagi" and Imtiaz Ali's " Rockstar". The roles may have been short, but she took them head on.

"I am not from the film industry and when I was getting these parts, I didn't think of them as supporting roles. I just saw the director, my role and the film," said Aditi.

"In the west also, actresses like Natalie Portman and Julia Roberts started off with supporting parts, and then came as main lead. I think it's just a natural progression.

The industry is expanding and opening up..

. so I can only work hard," she added.

But isn't it easy to get stereotyped in the industry? Aditi agrees. "I did face a problem initially because an image of simple, innocent girl was created in the minds of people.

But I am glad to see that people saw me differently and felt I can do different roles also," she said. Asked how she takes to criticism, Aditi said: "Criticism is important for every artist.

When criticism comes from the place of love, you should listen to it and try and rectify it. When it comes from the place of hatred, you shouldn't care about it because it can ruin you and make you a negative person and that's not worth it.

" The actress is now looking forward to the release of her new film "London, Paris, New York" opposite Pakistani actor-singer Ali Zafar. "In the film I play the role of Lalita Krishnan, a girl from Chembur.

Chembur is a place where a lot of south Indians live. She comes from a traditional home, where parents encourage education.

She is very idealistic, wants to study politics. She wants to change the world.

"In the film, the character goes through three phases, how she evolves and fall in love is what the film is about," she said. "In London, she works to create her own identity; in Paris, she is rebellious and is discovering freedom and New York will see her settling down," she added.

The movie will release March 2 (less)

After appearing in several ad films and music videos, she made her debut in B-town with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's home production in 2005. "I was doing ad films and I had signed quite a few South films but then I went through a phase of being called jinxed because my first South film was stopped midway and then other directors threw me out of their films.

I started doing music videos but Dada (director Pradeep Sarkar) had told me he would make a film with me," Vidya told reporters here, last night at the Vidhu Vinod Chopra festival. "He (Pradeep Sarkar) went to Chopra (Producer) with the script and Chopra wanted a bigger star but he also said if I am able to show that I can do the role then they will take me.

I gave over 60 tests right from Indian look, western look, curly hair, straight hair, song, emotional scene, etc. I kept doing it but later I was fed up as I was not aware if they were really going to take me or not," Vidya said.

"And the moment I gave up was the time when I got the film," 34-year-old actress recalled. Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra made her undergo gruelling tests for the role of Lalita, till she got it right.

"We tested her 60-65 times. After a few tests I saw her looking at the camera and abusing me.

The fact that she was desperate to do the film, it showed in those 60-65 tests. But when she did not give a damn was the time when she performed.

If you are desperate for something you won't get it," Chopra said. "Vidya became Vidya Balan when she stopped caring.

I am happy that she sustained those 65 odd tests and did not give up and look where she is today," he said. The Dirty Picture star also revealed that even director Pradeep Sarkar, made her do 28 takes to capture an emotional moment in the song Raat Humari Toh .

Parineeta besides Vidya, also starred Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt in pivotal roles and was a hit at the box office. PVR Cinemas, in association with Chopra has organized a first of its kind retrospective of his films as a tribute to mark his completion of 30 years in the film industry.

On the second day of the fest when Parineeta was screened, those present on the occasion included Vidya, Raima Sen, Pradeep Sarkar, cinematographer Natarajan Subramaniam and music director Shantanu Moitra among others. Tweet (less)

After appearing in several ad films and music videos, she made her debut in B-town with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's home production in 2005. "I was doing ad films and I had signed quite a few South films but then I went through a phase of being called jinxed because my first South film was stopped midway and then other directors threw me out of their films.

I started doing music videos but Dada (director Pradeep Sarkar) had told me he would make a film with me," Vidya told reporters here, last night at the Vidhu Vinod Chopra festival. "He (Pradeep Sarkar) went to Chopra (Producer) with the script and Chopra wanted a bigger star but he also said if I am able to show that I can do the role then they will take me.

I gave over 60 tests right from Indian look, western look, curly hair, straight hair, song, emotional scene, etc. I kept doing it but later I was fed up as I was not aware if they were really going to take me or not," Vidya said.

"And the moment I gave up was the time when I got the film," 34-year-old actress recalled. Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra made her undergo gruelling tests for the role of Lalita, till she got it right.

"We tested her 60-65 times. After a few tests I saw her looking at the camera and abusing me.

The fact that she was desperate to do the film, it showed in those 60-65 tests. But when she did not give a damn was the time when she performed.

If you are desperate for something you won't get it," Chopra said. "Vidya became Vidya Balan when she stopped caring.

I am happy that she sustained those 65 odd tests and did not give up and look where she is today," he said. The Dirty Picture star also revealed that even director Pradeep Sarkar, made her do 28 takes to capture an emotional moment in the song Raat Humari Toh .

Parineeta besides Vidya, also starred Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt in pivotal roles and was a hit at the box office. PVR Cinemas, in association with Chopra has organized a first of its kind retrospective of his films as a tribute to mark his completion of 30 years in the film industry.

On the second day of the fest when Parineeta was screened, those present on the occasion included Vidya, Raima Sen, Pradeep Sarkar, cinematographer Natarajan Subramaniam and music director Shantanu Moitra among others. Tweet (less)

Riteish, son of former Mahrashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh , is from a Maharashtrian family, while Genelia was born into a Mangalorean Catholic family, which is why, the wedding was also solemnised in a Christian way at a church today. Clad in a full-length white gown, Genelia looked her best, while Riteish was seen in a black suit.

In a traditional Christian way, the couple, said 'I do' in front of the father. Riteish (32) and Genelia (24) had been seeing each other since their Bollywood debut 'Tujhe Meri Kasam' in 2003.

While yesterday's wedding ceremony was attended by Bollywood bigwigs, today's was a completely private affair, where, only close friends and family members were present. Several bigwigs like Shahrukh Khan, his wife Gauri, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Suniel Shetty, Ashutosh Gowariker, Karan Johar, Shahid Kapoor, Asin, Sajid Khan, Sajid Nadiadwala, Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Raj Thackeray and others had attended yesterday's ceremony.

The couple will be hosting a reception at Grand Hyatt Hotel tonight, where several Bollywood celebrities, politicians and other eminent personalities would be present (less)

One of Mr Ghai's biggest hits ever was a film named Karz or "debt." "I am in a soup, the government is in a soup," the director told NDTV today.

He's been asked to immediately return five acres that are currently unused; the rest of the property can be used by him for some time so that students currently enrolled there are not affected and can graduate as scheduled. The verdict delivered yesterday has, in many ways, far more serious implications for union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who signed off on the deal with Mr Ghai.

In May 2000, Mr Deshmukh was Chief Minister when his government entered a joint venture with Mr Ghai's Mukta Arts. The court said that Mr Deshmukh had misused his office when he was Chief Minister of Maharashtra to give 21 acres of land to film Mr Ghai.

The verdict comes days before Mumbai votes for the party that will run its powerful and rich corporation. The Congress in partnership with Sharad Pawar's party is up against the Shiv Sena-BJP combination.

"It's not possible to build educational institutions at current land prices in any city, government has to allocate land for this." tweeted director Shekhar Kapur today.

Tweet (less)

One of Mr Ghai's biggest hits ever was a film named Karz or "debt." "I am in a soup, the government is in a soup," the director told NDTV today.

He's been asked to immediately return five acres that are currently unused; the rest of the property can be used by him for some time so that students currently enrolled there are not affected and can graduate as scheduled. The verdict delivered yesterday has, in many ways, far more serious implications for union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who signed off on the deal with Mr Ghai.

In May 2000, Mr Deshmukh was Chief Minister when his government entered a joint venture with Mr Ghai's Mukta Arts. The court said that Mr Deshmukh had misused his office when he was Chief Minister of Maharashtra to give 21 acres of land to film Mr Ghai.

The verdict comes days before Mumbai votes for the party that will run its powerful and rich corporation. The Congress in partnership with Sharad Pawar's party is up against the Shiv Sena-BJP combination.

"It's not possible to build educational institutions at current land prices in any city, government has to allocate land for this." tweeted director Shekhar Kapur today.

Tweet (less)

Set in the period of World War 2 on the backdrop of India-Burma war, Hum Dono is not an out-and-out war film (as might be the notion) but more of an emotional drama. The central plot had classic conflicts ranging from the rich-girl-poor-boy formula to the identity interchange in the double-role premise.

However, while these may appear as clichs today; in the scheme of things in1961 these were still one of those newfangled plot-points which went on to be trendsetter and subsequently stereotypes in Hindi cinema. So the story starts with Anand (Dev Anand) who is rejected for being a good-for-nothing by Meeta's (Sadhana) superrich father.

Anand takes it upon himself to prove his individuality and joins the Indian army. There he meets his look-alike Major Manohar Verma and the two become good friends.

But Verma goes missing during the warfare and when Anand lands at Manohar's house to inform his family about the same, his wife Ruma (Nanda) and mother (Lalita Pawar) mistake him to be Manohar. The story penned by Nirmal Sarcar was forthright and Vijay Anand had an as much straightforward approach in writing a screenplay which, though convincing, was predictable, unlike the thriller films he was popularly acknowledged for.

The emphasis was more on inducing drama through dialogues and Vijay Anand came up with some very powerful lines. Even in common situations like when the prospective groom confronts the girl's father, the wordplay is so well-composed that you don't find the treatment formulaic.

The war sequences written by Montgomery Kee were interestingly executed with the action and effects qualifying to be decent enough for its time. However Anand's inclination to join the army seems too abrupt and hurried.

The mistaken identity plot, which was subsequently used as a common ploy in almost every double-role film, resulting into a comedy-of-errors, was unusually used to a more sentimental effect here. That's also for the fact that Dev Anand wasn't exactly swapped with the corresponding female costars but merely had a one-sided switchover with Nanda, while Sadhana had no substitute male counterpart.

Offshoots of such identity exchange were subsequently witnessed in Raj Khosla's ' Mera Saaya ' (1966) and Prakash Mehra's ' Haseena Maan Jayegi ' (1968). Anand's chemistry with Meeta was as much charming as much as his vulnerability with Ruma.

The final dramatic face-off between the two Dev Anands (Manohar and Anand) was essentially a highlight, leading to an expected happy end. Despite having a war backdrop, the overall pacing of the film was slow and the almost three-hour runtime will clearly seem long in present times.

But that era was perhaps alien to jump-cuts in editing, thereby extending the scenes to encapsulate a complete course of action. Music director Jaidev's compositions were certainly one of the biggest highlights of Hum Dono .

Sahir Ludhianvi's lyrical gems like ' Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya ', ' Abhi Na Jao Chod Ke ', ' Kabhi Khud Pe Kabhi Halaat Pe Rona Aaya ' and ' Allah Tero Naam ' added a magical dimension to the film with the music being fondly remembered even half a century after it was originally conceived. Talking about the colourization of the film, as compared to the earlier coloured classics like the epic costume drama Mughal-e-Azam (1960) or the call-for-revolution Naya Daur (1957), Hum Dono is less demanding.

But colour certainly makes the viewing experience more real and vibrant. Technically the colour restoration is imaginative, lifelike and flawless.

Even the digitally re-mastered soundtrack marvelously adds to the melody of music. Dev Anand exuded his trademark charm and style throughout the film.

While there wasn't much difference between the two characters he played other that a slight forced variance in the baritone and a sticker moustache, he was loveable in both. Sadhana as the ideal sacrificing woman portrayed her character beautifully.

Nanda was apt in her character of a housewife. Lalita Pawar played a positive character of a doting mother and was decent in her part.

Hum Dono Rangeen brings back the old world charm of cinema in a colourful way. If you have an appetite for old wines in new bottles, you can't afford to miss this one! (less)