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Though not physically, SRK present in IIFA awards in Dubai!

The seventh IIFA awards began yesterday in Dubai. IIFA ambassador, superstar Amitabh Bachchan inaugurated the four-day long extravaganza.

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta announced his five films, was the major event of the gala opening ceremony.

And of course Big B's big presence, but Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan's absence was also a major talking point in the opening show.

Shah Rukh is now on a vacation with his family. King Khan was invited, but he has politely refused because of his holiday plan.

However though not physically, SRK is very much present in IIFA awards, at least on its beginning day as Amitabh Bachchan and Karan Johar yesterday launched a book titled 'Lights, Camera, Masala', which has Shah Rukh Khan besides other big film personalities sharing his experience and providing fresh insight into filmmaking.

When Amitabh Bachchan uttered Shah Rukh's name, the whole auditorium went crazy with giving clapping.

I don't want to be seen as drama queen: Preity (INTERVIEW)

From shooting abroad to doing ads to performing at award functions, Preity Zinta has a hectic schedule.

The actress, who is doing an advertisement shoot after a long stint abroad, has to again rush to Dubai to perform at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards.

'After this I immediately fly to Dubai for IIFA, just for one day. I'll be performing a Shiamak Davar's choreography,' Preity told IANS in an interview.

'I have yet to sit and finalise my item with him. The decision was taken overnight. Can you believe it, this is the first time that I'm performing at such a short notice. I haven't even started rehearsing,' she said.

After the IIFA function, Preity returns to Mumbai to complete Sajid Nadiadwala's delayed 'Jaan-e-Man' and Karan Johar's 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' (KANK). Those who have seen her in Johar's film have declared her an outright winner in a role that entails her doing a complete makeover.

'Yes, Shah Rukh (Khan)'s wife Gauri and Jaya (Bachchan) aunty, whose opinion I value immensely, seem to be thinking highly of me in the film.

'I must say it felt good to be wearing clothes that sometimes cost more than the location, ha ha. But, seriously, all credit must go to Karan for being one of the best directors, and Manish Malhotra for being one of the best stylists in the world. I couldn't have done it without them.'

However, it was a big challenge for Preity to get under the skin of her character in KANK.

'In my career of 22-23 films, I have never been more unsure of how to approach a role. People are commenting on my looks. But that was the least of my worries. I had to play a woman who didn't seem to airdrop into New York from Mumbai. My character Rhea has to blend into the milieu, and not just in dress but also demeanour.

'Yeah, it was tough. Thank god for my co-stars Shah Rukh, Rani (Mukerji), Abhishek Bachchan (who, I confess, out-chatters me) and Mr. (Amitabh) Bachchan, who's like the Mount Everest of acting.'

Preity is all praise for her co-star Rani.

'By the way, Rani has never looked more glamorous and in-character. There is one sequence of hers with Abhishek where I have cried. Normally I am not much of a weepy person in movies. I like to keep it all inside. Only my family and close friends have seen the vulnerable side of me. For others... sorry, I don't want to come across as a drama queen.'

More makeover for Preity - she is the cover girl of the first Indian issue of posh international women's magazine Marie Claire.

'I guess the bubbly perky Preity has currently taken a backseat. KANK sees me like never before. And the Marie Claire cover didn't expect me to be the typical Preity either. The magazine has undertaken the 'let-me-be-me' campaign for Indian women.

'The inaugural cover was supposed to represent the resolute no-nonsense but still fun and feisty face of the Indian woman. I like being in that slot. I am glad if I am being taken to be a woman of substance. Isn't that what all women crave to be?

'The picture was meant to be less stylish, more substantial and more attuned to the rhythm of workaday womanhood. Yeah, I do like to see myself as a woman with an opinion.'

For now, this woman with an opinion on life and art is all set to remain in India for one month after her trip to Dubai.

'This would be my longest stay at home in recent times. In July, I go for an event to London, then probably attend the BAFTA awards and finally get a week off for myself before joining my friends Bobby Deol and Abhishek for Shaad Ali's 'Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom'. All in all, this is quite a hectic time for me. And I am enjoying every bit of it.'

Hrithik Roshan has no problem about the basic premise of both films being the same

Fashion photographer Subi Samuel has turned producer with his first production 'Alag', a sci-fi directed by Ashu Trikha. The entire cast and the crew including Akshay Kapoor and Dia Mirza will be leaving for the premiere at IIFA awards. Incidentally, the scriptwriter of Alag and the Hrithik Roshan-starrer 'Krrish', happens to be the same person, Sanjay Masoom. Both of films are about a superhero. "I did speak to Hrithik after my film was completed. He has no problem about the basic premise of both our films being the same," says Subi.

Sameer Dharmadhikari v/s Hrithik Roshan - No kidding!

Guess who are going to battle it out on June 23rd at the box office? Sameer Dharmadhikari and Hrithik Roshan!

For starters who are still wondering who is Sameer Dharmadhikari, he is the man who played Raveena Tandon's politician husband in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Satta'. Some wrong choices of films after that and his career is struggling to survive. Now he appears in his yet another much delayed film 'Husn - Love and Betrayal' where he plays a character with negative shades. His co-stars in this film are Parmita Katkar, Yuvaraj Parashar and Nethra Raghuraman.

Incidentally after a long delay, this film directed by Imtiaaz Khan seems to be on a suicidal mission as it takes on nothing less than one of the three most keenly anticipated films of the year - KRRISH. While Hrithik Roshan's 'KRRISH' has been confirmed for a June 23rd release since last few weeks, if 'Husn' does come on the same Friday, it would be interesting to see its battle for survival!

Sameer Dharmadhikari


Hrithik Roshan

Aishwarya first celebrity to leave handprint in Dubai hall

After having a Tulip named after her at last year's IIFA awards in Amsterdam, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai has become the first celebrity to leave her handprint on the Dubai Studio City's Hall of Fame during the film festival this year.

"It is like leaving a part of myself here. I am extending my hand of friendship to Dubai," the former Miss World said on Wednesday.

The actor who has made international forays with her work in movies like 'Bride and Prejudice' and 'Mistress of Spices' had a Tulip named after her in Amsterdam, where the IIFA awards were held last year.

Often hailed as the most beautiful woman in the world with more than 17,000 websites dedicated to her name, Rai has represented India at the prestigious Cannes film festival.

Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in IIFA together

The seventh International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) event has officially begun in Dubai. The four day event that started on 14 June will continue till 17 June and finally will culminate with the presentation of IIFA awards which are deemed as the Indian equivalent of Oscars. IIFA will reportedly showcase 32 Indian feature films including sixteen Hindi films, fourteen south Indian films, one Bengali, one Marathi and six short films.

IIFA is all about celebrating Indian cinema across the globe as its signature line sums up. Celebrities like Mammootty, Mohanlal, and Meera Jasmine Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai who are attending the event are staying at The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai amidst extremely tight security. The IIFA Weekend 2006 is being held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group and Chairman of the DSS/DSF Supreme Committees and the event was officially opened at the Grand Hyatt at a press conference featuring Indian superstar and IIFA Brand Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, Star TV Vice-president, Kevin Vaz, Zabeel Investments CEO Mohammed Al Hashimi, Idea Cellular Vice-president Pradeep Shrivastava and DSS CEO Saeed Al Nabouda.

They were joined by South Indian superstar Prabhu as well who was at the event to promote the Telugu and Tamil film industry. South Indian movies are screened for the first time and Rajanikanth-starrer 慍handramukhi

Ketan Mehta: It抯 Madhuri Vs Aishwarya Rai!

After directing 慚angal Pandey

SRK add some heat to the music release of 'Kabhie Alvida Naa Kehna'

Shah Rukh Khan took a few hours off his vacation to release the music of his next film, 'Kabhie Alvida Naa Kehna'. The film is starrer Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Shah Rukh Khan, and directed by Karan Johar. It is slated for an August release. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy has lent music to Javed Akhtar's lyrics. Sony BMG is releasing the music and has big marketing plans for the film.

Sachin, Big B, Kareena hurt kids?  

When badminton star Pullela Gopichand won the All England Open Badminton Championship and was besieged by endorsement offers, he refused to be associated with aereated beverages.
揟hey抮e terrible for children,

Salman-John at War

The infamous 慠ockstars

Shah Rukh, Sushmita in 慉lag

Zayed-Malaika in London: Almost on a honeymoon trip?

London - one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Not necessarily romantic, but for actor Zayed Khan and his wife Malaika, it certainly is.

Having been on an exhausting whirlwind concert tour across the US, UK and Canada for the last 45 days, Zayed still swears it's more like they are on their honeymoon trip, although they have not yet gone on their official one.

Recently on contacted, Zayed said, "The best thing about this trip is my beautiful wife!"
To which Malaika said, "The time we're getting to spend together is a well-deserved extended honeymoon."

Zayed Khan

Abhishek and Ash avoiding to be clicked together!

It is said that when Mani Ratnam wanted to shoot certain portion of 'Guru' in Mumbai, as per the requirement of the script, both Ash and Abhishek refused to shoot in the tinsel town.

"They are apprehensive of media persons and photographers hounding them for sound bytes and photographs, and want to avoid the situation," says a source. Since the time the media started writing stories about Abhishek and Ash, the two have been trying to keep a low profile. They avoid public appearance and try to shoot for most of their films away from Mumbai. Even they requested J.P. Dutta to shoot entire 'Umrao Jaan' in Jodhpur.

Also for 'Dhoom' 2, all the scenes featuring Ash and Abhishek have been shot in Brazil. They are just avoiding to be clicked together.

Abhishek Bachchan & Aishwarya Rai

Akshay抯 film on Zee before cinema release

ZEE Cinema has lined up three big movie premieres for the month of July.

The first being 'Pyare Mohan' which only got its theatrical release a couple of months ago. The film stars Vivek Oberoi, Fardeen Khan, Eesha Deol and Amrita Rao. 'Pyare Mohan' is marked as the channel's Movie Of The Month. It will air on Saturday 29th July at 20:00.

Also, the channel will be airing Sridevi's first film with Akshay Kumar called 'Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahi'. The film didn抰 get a theatrical release and was in midst of controversy when the two leading stars decided against dubbing for the film. 'Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahi' will get its screening on the channel on Saturday 8th July at 20:00.

Ram Gopal Verma's 'James' will get its UK TV premiere on Saturday 15th July at 20:00.

Other movies also premiering on the channel are old classics such as 'Kati Patang', 'Heer Ranjha', 'Himalaya Ke God Mein', 'Haryali Aur Raasta' and 'Howraah Bridge'.

No fall-out: John-Salman hit it off well!

The recent world tour created news of all sorts. In the beginning there was panic that the shows might get called off because Salman's legal case. However anything such hasn't happened so far. But as the star-studded concert moves on performing shows one after another in different cities in US, the rumours of a tiff between Shahid and Salman caught everybody's attention. Then that took a backseat and gossip about a clash between Salman and John Abraham started doing rounds. In spite of these rumours coming from different quarters, all the stars were overwhelmed by the success of the shows. In fact, even with a slightly wounded leg, John said he had one of the best experiences he's had so far. And contrary to rumours, the two machos - Salman and John, hit it off really well during the string of shows.

John Abraham


Salman Khan

Amitabh Bachchan books 'Lights, Camera, Masala'

Amitabh Bachchan the brand ambassador of the International Indian Film Academy, or the IIFA have launched the commemorative book- Lights, Camera, Masala, at the Grand Hyatt, during the IIFA Weekend presented by Tiara Residence in Dubai.

The book Lights, Camera, MasalaA is an insider's look at the glitz, grit and grandeur of Hindi Cinema , the world's largest film industry. It is a celebration of contemporary Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood. The book documents the fascinating process of making a typical commercial Hindi film through the adventures of a pair of fictitious characters called Vijay and Ravi as they endeavor to make a Hindi film of their own.

Famous film personalities, from seasoned scriptwriters such as the Salim-Javed duo, to celebrated actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, and renowned directors like Ramesh Sippy and Karan Johar, all share their experiences and provide fresh insights into film making. Lights, Camera, Masalaa also records he stories of the behind-the-scenes people who are such an intrinsic part of the Hindi Film industry machinery, a light boy, a make-up artist, a choreographer among others. Featuring the emergence of stars as brands and culminating with the glitzy IIFA awards, the book is a visual extravaganza.

Sheena Sippy's stunningly evocative photographs capture the grandeur, grit and madness that is 'Bollywood'. Luxuriously packaged in an avant-garde design with over-the-top special features, including a fold-out poster and a star studded pinwheel, Lights, Camera, Masala!is a rich tribute to the chaotic, entertaining world of Hindi cinema.

The book has been authored by Naman Ramachandran, a screenwriter, film-maker, film festival programmer and film critic who writes for several publications including the British Film Institute's prestigious Sight and Sound. Naman is currently attached to several Hindi film , British and American projects as screenwriter and/or director. He divides his time between London, Los Angeles and Mumbai.

The book is published by India Book House is a leading publisher of large-format, illustrated volumes on Indian history and heritage, specializing in architecture, fine art, decorative arts, film, environment, and lifestyle. In Dubai the book Lights, Camera, Masala is being distributed by Jashanmal's, Dubai's leading lifestyle stores. Lights, Camera, Masalaa will be available for purchase in every leading book store across India and Dubai.  

Preity excited!

Bollywood actress Preity Zinta featured on the cover of an international women's magazine. "I guess the bubbly, perky Preity has taken a backseat for the time being. The magazine had a 'let-me-be-me' campaign for Indian women. The inaugural cover was supposed to represent the fun and feisty face of the Indian woman," revealed Preity in a recent interview.

"I liked the fact that I fitted into that slot," gushed the perky gal of Indian cinema.
Preity, however very tired with her hectic schedules, wants to take a long break. And she wants to spend the time at her home only.

"This will be my longest stay at home in recent times. And I'm pretty excited about it," said Preity.  



[ Last edited by  Gadis_Venus at 16-6-2006 11:59 PM ]

Akshay Kumar learns editing

The event was the press conference with Akshay Kumar regarding the success of Phir Hera Pheri. Akshay who has just returned from a long holiday with his wife and son seems to be very relaxed. Clad in a blue T-shirt and denim pants, he was more than willing to interact with the media.

Talking about his latest release Phir Hera Pheri, Akshay said that he was very happy with the response the film is getting from the audiences. This in turn actually adds up to his responsibility as an actor and that he has to deliver good performances in future as well. The director抯 work is one of the major reasons for the success. The director of the film, Neeraj Vora, is a very talented man says Akshay. 揘eeraj understands the common man very well and his pen writes the exact dialogues and situations that a common man goes through in his daily life. This has been the reason why both Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri, have been a success among the masses

Urmila, Esha bin Dawood's Shootout  

Two of Bollywood's leading ladies have pulled out of the much anticipated, star-studded film Shootout at Lokhandwala, media reports said on Thursday.
Both Urmila Matondkar and Esha Deol cited time constraints as their reason for dropping the project, which is to begin shooting in August, director Apurva Lakhia said.

There was no word on who would replace them.

"It is true Urmila and Esha are not doing the film anymore. Our film is a multi-starrer and coordinating stars' dates was a big problem," said Lakhia.

However, reports said the actresses were upset about having only small supporting roles.

Deol denied this, "I keep doing shows and because of that I have a paucity of dates."

The film, which is based on a real-life clash between Mumbai cops and the henchmen of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, has grabbed headlines for its megastar cast.

Sanjay Dutt plays the lead, supported by Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek, and a host of other stars of Indian cinema.

Deol has acted in more than 15 Indian movies, her most recent blockbusters were Dhoom and Yuva.

Matondkar started out in Bollywood as a 6-year-old child actor and has starred in more than 50 movies.

She branched out into art movies to shed her glamour girl tag after a 1995 hit Rangeela, where she played a middle-class girl who gets a big break in the movies.

Urmila Matondkar


Esha Deol

DEEPA'S 'WATER' EXCITES LISA

Model-turned-actress Lisa Ray who was born in Canada and studied in England shot to fame in Vikram Bhatt's 'Kasoor' opposite Aftab Shivdasani. Earlier, she had earned fame through famous TV commercials like Loreal, MasterCard, Sprite and Rado Watches. However, after 'Kasoor' she disappeared from movies for quite some time. Now, she is acting in Deepa Mehta's widely publicized 'Water' opposite John Abraham besides Seema Biswas and Waheeda Rehman.

When asked about her long hibernation from movies and acceptance of Deepa's 'Water', she replied, "When Deepa Mehta narrated to me the script of he movie I liked my role in it. Besides, I did not like to lose an opportunity to work with senior stars like Waheeda Rehman and Seema Biswas." What's Lisa's role in 'Water'? "I play Kalyani's role who is a widow."

Did she do any homework for her role? "Yes, I visited Vrindavan, where widows from all over the country arrive to live until their death. I met with them there to study their way of living and the daily activities. Apart from this, I didn't need any preparation as I was acting under an excellent director like Deepa Mehta. She is an institution in herself. I have learnt a lot from her." Is she satisfied with her performance? "Yes. But, I regret that I have not enacted any scene with Waheeda Rehman." When asked about her long gap between 'Kasoor' and 'Water', Lisa Ray said, " I had been away during this period doing Hollywood movies and was bound with their contract not to do any outside movie. Besides, I got some offers later, but declined them, as I did not like their story or my role in these offered movies."

Lisa Ray