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[table=98%][tr][td=2,1]Saif Ali Khan tojump into film production! [/td][/tr][tr][td=2,1]Whether it is a glamorous fashion show staged by the brand Provogue, a filmi party or just a star get-together, Saif Ali Khan's single status is getting full media attention.

He is now grouped with others like Upen Patel, Minisha Lamba and Suchitra Krishnamoorty.

Saif has been making news for more reasons than his recent illness. Recently, when he walked the catwalk for Provogue, of which he is the new brand ambassador after Fardeen Khan, he sent ripples of excitement in the largely female audiences.

He is also slated to take on production

Amrita Rao unplugged

Even as Vivah brings her new glory Amrita Rao snaked off last week to shoot a with her Main Hoon Na director. Says Amrita, "It seems just the other day when Farah Khan and I had loads of fun doing Main Hoon Na. When her brother Sajid Khan called me I was so happy. I share a special relationship with Sajid and Farah. Sajid wanted all the heroines who are his friends to be part of the song. Sajid says I'm his younger sister. The song is filmed in a pub. We all have our own little scenes, our few minutes of fame, ha ha, with Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan and Riteish Deshmukh. I've about ten seconds each with Fardeen and Riteish. That was before the day Vivah released. So I had butterflies in my tummy." Amrita is just back from a multi-city tour of North India. "The reviews of Vivah said otherwise," she smiles. "But the response we got in places like Jaipur, Kanpur, Faridabad and Lucknow told another story. Anyway the critics were only doing their job. Vivah was like baby that I had. Then the neighbours decided to come and name the baby. It does feel odd when your baby is scrutinized from the outside." In Faridabad Amrita says she communicated with 'hardcore' audience. "To see such acceptance was very heartening. Is Vivah my own Hum Aapke Hain Koun ? Wow! It's growing. When people tell me they're watching Vivah with their entire family I feel a sense of pride. Sooraj-ji was mentally prepared for a cautious response. He was told the younger audience wouldn't take to the film. But you can't make suppositions on behalf of the public." Amrita says she had no difficulty playing the homely cultured middleclass character. "Fortunately just before I got down to shooting Vivah I visited Mathura and Vridavan. I visited the temples, saw the girls in salwar-kameez. So I 've seen how girls dress talk and behave in culturally rich small- towns of India. I don't find such unspoilt gentleness unnatural. Those who do, are perhaps delinked from the real India. It wasn't difficult for me to envision what Sooraj-ji narrated to me." Amrita's character Punam appears wonderfully measured in her body and spoken language. "Sooraj-ji wanted me to convey everything in silences and hints. Initially I was confused because I had never done anything so subtle. So I kept questioning him. Sooraj-ji is a rare director who doesn't look at shots through the video monitor. He looks straight through the camera So he knows exactly what an actor would like on screen. If Sooraj-ji wasn't there to support me I wouldn't have done half the things I did in Vivah. He's that conductor of the orchestra who knows how to tune the actors. I had to be convinced about what I was doing for audiences to be convinced." As for the Shahid-Amrita vibes, Amrita giggles. "Sooraj-ji transformed us into the characters Punam and Prem. Both Shahid and I know we had huge responsibilities put on us by Sooraj-ji. Fortunately neither of us came from a background where we distracted one another from doing our work. We knew we had to work towards making the characters look real. In fact Shahid and I will definitely work together again if we get the opportunity." What next? "Good films with good makers. As for my next release E Niwas' My Name Is Anthony Gonzalves I play a Catholic girl named Karen who is an assistant director in his films. That's my only assignment at the moment." She jumps to the defence of the film's director. "How many director have boasted of a National award at such a young age. I'm impressed by Niwas' clarity of thought." Post-Vivah there are excellent offers. "I know I've a responsibility towards myself and my audience. I'll have to respect that responsibility."

[table=98%][tr][td=2,1]The Ladykiller wants only Rani [/td][/tr][tr][td=2,1]After a long gap of 15 years Nana Patekar is ready to direct his second film.

Nana抯 first film as a director was 慞rahaar

[table=98%][tr][td=2,1]Shilpa and Danielle unite on the red carpet[/td][/tr][tr][td=2,1]Here抯 more news about our own Shilpa Shetty. She was joined by surprise guest Danielle Lloyd at the opening night of her new film last night. The 'Celebrity Big Brother' stars, who were involved in the show's controversial racism row, kissed and made up on red carpet at the world premiere of Bollywood movie 'Life in a metro' in London's Leicester Square. Danielle told a film magazine, "Shilpa invited me here and I've come to support her tonight. I'm really excited because it's my first Bollywood film. "People might say this is just a stunt but Shilpa and I met as soon as we came out of the Big Brother house and everything has always been fine. They'll always be critics but I have to put up with that." Shilpa said, "My appearance on Big Brother definitely worked as a catalyst to me being here tonight and I am a celebrity in this country now. "Big Brother was not that bad, people choose to focus on the bad parts but I remember the good parts and it has made me a stronger person. And a more famous person. I hope to consolidate that with my work and I hope the movie is reasonably good and enjoyed by all.

When the Chinese love Aishwarya & SRK

Aishwarya Rai may not know the Chinese word for heart. But thousands of xingzangs are beating for her. A-she-wa-ya, as she is fondly called by Chinese lads, has also intrigued the generally atheistic urban Chinese through the elaborate rituals that preceded her marriage. She, along with Shah Rukh Khan (wo ai SRK, the college girls say when the want to proclaim their love for him), have mesmerised the Chinese enough to inspire websites.

There is growing curiosity in China about Indian social and family life, and Hindi films, against all expectations, are becoming a cultural window. Photographs and stories about the Aishwarya-Abhishek marriage were prominently featured in all major newspapers and channels across China. Some of the questions this writer has been asked is whether it is common in India for girls born with ominous astrological influence to marry a tree first. The lives of a few stars, especially Aishwarya and Shah Rukh, are defining the Indian way to the Chinese.

"We pay a lot of attention to Indian culture in our website. We have a brainstorming session for each movie we feature on the site. Some of our members are very knowledgeable about India," says Jie Wang, a 28-year old beautician, who runs a website on Shah Rukh Khan. She has invested her own money in the site while other fans contribute articles and pictures. The site has 13,159 registered members, but there is an unaccounted population of unregistered surfers who regularly visit it.

An impassioned debate among some Chinese youth today is whether Aishwarya is better than Zhang Ziyi, the Hollywood sensation who has acted in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of A Geisha. Aishwarya抯 performance in Mistress of Spices is now compared to Ziyi抯 Hollywood performances and there are partisan views of who is better. Some Aishwarya fans say that they would like to see her in an Indo-China joint production, paired against one of the local male stars, Li Lian Jie or Huang Lei.

Needless to say, Hindi films are not part of the mainstream consciousness in China as Hollywood, Japanese or Korean films are. But increasingly, Hindi films are being noticed. State-run television channels like CCTV are stirring up a special feeling of xi ying (attraction) for Hindi movies by showing films like Devdas and Asoka with Chinese subtitles. Devdas was shown several times on Chinese television and is regarded as some kind of a TV hit.

DVDs of Hindi movies are available in Beijing and Shanghai, but the main access is through the net where there is a happy and rampant copyright infringement. If Hindi films have to rise in China, the film industry has to ignore this infringement.
Aishwarya Rai

Amrita dances to Farah's tune again

Actress Amrita Rao says she enjoys a special bond with sister-brother duo Farah and Sajid Khan and had a great time shooting a special song for them in Hey Baby. "It seems just the other day when Farah and I had loads of fun doing Main Hoon Na. When her brother Sajid called me, I was so happy. I share a special relationship with both of them. Sajid wanted all the heroines who are his friends to be part of the song. Sajid says I抦 his younger sister," says Amrita.

The song is filmed in a pub. "We all have our own little scenes, our few minutes of fame, with Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan and Riteish Deshmukh. I抳e about 10 seconds with each," she says.

Amrita抯 Vivah was a super-duper hit. She says she had no difficulty in playing the homely, cultured, middleclass character. "Fortunately, just before the shooting, I visited Mathura and Vrindavan. I saw the girls there. So I knew how girls dress, talk and behave in culturally rich small towns of India. I don抰 find such unspoilt gentleness unnatural. Those who do are perhaps de-linked from the real India. It wasn抰 difficult for me to envision what Sooraj-ji (Sooraj Barjatya) narrated to me," she says.

What next? "Good films with good makers. As for my next release, E. Niwas

I would've loved to do Sarkar's film: Vidya

Vidya Balan laughs off allegations that she opted out of Pradeep Sarkar's Laaga Chunari Mein Daag because she didn't want to play second lead in a Rani Mukerji starrer.

"I actually can't believe I'm not doing dada's Sarkar film. There's no way I could've let this happen. But dada wanted to complete the film within a certain period and those dates were committed to Sajid Khan's Hey Baby a year back," Vidya explains.

She says that Sarkar is like family to her.

"Not being in his film was inconceivable to me. I can't believe the film is being made without me. The ads and the film Parineeta that I've done with dada are very precious to me," Vidya said.

In Hey Baby, she had to coordinate her dates with co-stars Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan and Kunal Kapoor.

"In dada's film my dates had to be coordinated with Jayaji (Bachchan), Rani, Abhishek Bachchan and Kunal. Both projects needed chunk dates.

"Not doing dada's film wasn't an easy call to take. When people say it's shocking to hear that I'm not in dada's film, do they realise how shocking it is for me? You can't believe how awful I felt to not be in it. Inshallah, I'll be in his next. They tell me they miss me there. To even talk about it makes me emotional."

As for rumours about why she didn't do the project, Vidya has only one thing to say, "As long as dada and I know the truth it doesn't matter. Gossip is a full-time vocation."

After Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Vidya has almost completed another socially relevant film. She's excited about Raj Kumar Santoshi's Halla Bol.

"Santoshi's films have always had a very high level of social relevance. I'm so happy to be working with him. I was fully aware that it's the story of the male protagonist's journey from real to reel hero. It's Ajay Devgan's film. I'm the wife but my character is integral to the film.

"Like I always say, the true barometer of a role is not its length but how much of a difference it makes to the plot. And if you take away my role from Halla Bol, it makes a difference. I don't mind doing one scene as long as that scene makes an impact."

On the anvil is Anurradha Prasad's film to be directed by Sourabh Narang.

"Yes, but that was supposed to be in August 2005. But it's a lovely subject. And Narang is someone I respect. I'd still love to do it."

I've no problem with Rani: Vidya

There's much speculation as to why Vidya Balan opted out of Pradeep Sarkar's new film Laga Chunri Main Daag. Apparently Vidya didn't want to do the second lead in a Rani Mukherjee starrer. Vidya laughs off this allegation. "That is so untrue. Dada (Pardeep Sarkar) is like family to me. Not being in his film was inconceivable to me. I can't believe the film is being made without me even now when I'm actually not in his film. The ads and the feature film (Parineeta) that I've done with Dada is very precious to me." She sighs and explains, "I actually can't believe I'm not doing Dada's film. There's no way I could've let this happen. But Dada wanted to complete the film within a certain period. My dates for that period were committed to Sajid Khan's Hey Baby a year back. In Sajid's film my dates had to be co-ordinated with Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan and Kunal Kapoor. In Dada's film my dates had to be co-ordinated with Jayaji, Rani, Abhishek and Kunal. Both projects needed chunk dates. Not doing Dada's film wasn't an easy call to take. When people say it's shocking to hear that I'm not in Dada's film do they realize how shocking it is for me? You can't believe how awful I felt to not be in Dada's film. Inshallah, I'll be in his next. They tell me they miss me there. To even talk about it makes me emotional." As for tongues wagging about why she didn't do the project Vidya has only thing to say, "As long as Dada and I know the truth it doesn't matter. Gossip is a full-time vocation." After Lage Raho Munnabhai, Vidya has almost completed yet another film with a high resolution social relevance. She's excited about Raj Kumar Santoshi's Halla Bol. "Raj Kumar Santoshi's films have always had a very high level of social relevance. I'm so happy to be working with him." Vidya is happy just being part of Halla Bol. "I was fully aware that it's the story of the male protagonist's journey from real to reel hero. It's Ajay Devgan's film. I'm the wife. However I'd like to say that the character is integral to the film. Like I always say, the true barometer of a role is not its length but how much of a difference it makes to the plot. And if you take away my role from Halla Bol it makes a difference. I don't mind doing one scene as long as that scene makes an impact." On the anvil is Anurradha Prasad's film to be directed by Sourabh Narang. Says Vidya. "Yes, but that was supposed to be in August 2005. But it's a lovely subject. And Sourabh Narang is someone I respect. I'd still love to do it."

Rani Mukherjee

Vidya Balan

Ash: Break from honeymoon?

Though a show-reel presenting the forthcoming historical magnum opus Jodha-Akbar will be screened at the Cannes film festival later this month, neither its dynamic director Ashutosh Gowariker nor leading man Hrithik Roshan would be able to attend this prestigious event. Taking time off from his hectic schedule Ashutosh explains, "We couldn't make any plans for Cannes personally. But yes, we're showcasing promotional footage to attract potential international distributors so we can affect a good international release of Jodha-Akbar on October 12." Further the creator of Lagaan and Swades clarifies that neither Hrithik nor the director were ever scheduled for Cannes. "We're here in Karjat (on the outskirts of Mumbai) frantically trying to finish our schedule before the monsoons start. We can't afford to lose a single day." However taking a break from her honeymoon Aishwarya Rai might be joining her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan in Cannes to represent Jodha-Akbar. "After that, Aishwarya will join Hrithik and me in Karjat," ends Gowariker.

Saif tells his ramp experience

Saif's walk on the ramp on Wednesday was a great experience, and the busy actor currently shooting for Abbas-Mustan's Race, wouldn't mind doing it again. "I wouldn't mind. It was certainly not one of the toughest things I've done. It was good fun just doing something I had never done before. The lighting was fantastic, and my entry was terrific, thanks to Meher's planning. The rest was just a cake-walk for me. I just had to take a stroll, that's all. And the music was great." Friends Meher and Arjun Rampal who invited Saif to walk the ramp, made the job easier. "Arjun chose some great tracks for me. And that really added to my comfort level on the ramp. It's amazing what the right ambience can do to your spirit. Arjun helped out a lot. But it was Meher's show all the way."

Hrithik Roshan is the hottest stud: Aarti Chabria

Aarti Chabria is excited over her role in ready-to-release "Shootout At Lokhandwala" in which she plays a bar dancer and Tusshar Kapoor's love interest. The actress, who was earlier seen in "Awara Paagal Deewana" and "Shaadi No. 1", is hoping the audience likes her role in the film. Excerpts from an interview: Q: Tell us about your role in "Shootout at Lokhandwala". A: I play the role of a bar dancer who falls in love with a gangster played by Tusshar Kapoor... This is very exciting for me as doing challenging roles is really what I want to do, I'm glad I got this opportunity, and I hope the audience appreciates what I've done in the film. Q: One beauty secret is... A: Apart from the normal drinking lots of water and sleeping well formula that always works wonders, what I think is a true beauty secret is 'being happy'. Calming your nerves, when you are most stressed, probably by doing yoga, or simple deep breathing can really have a great calming effect. What works for me is taking a deep breath and saying "Om". When your mind is relaxed and your thoughts are clear, you feel beautiful and energetic. Q: Fashion rules you follow and your favourite designer? A: I would never wear something just because 'somebody' said it suits me, I would only wear it if I felt comfortable in it, so I would be confident about carrying it off. As far as designers are concerned, I have many favourite designers, so it would be unfair to just mention one. But if I really had to take a name I'd say my really close friend Shamayel Khan and I love Manish Malhotra's work as well. Q: Make up you cannot do without... A: Mac eye pencils and mascara, cheek hue, vanilla flavoured lip gloss. Mac is an excellent brand. Q: Experience in life that was very dreadful? A: When I tore a ligament in my ankle and was bed ridden for weeks! Q: One actress you admire the most? A: I admire Audrey Hepburn simply because of the graceful way she has carried herself in both, her reel and real life. She's pure magic. I also admire Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi. I would love to follow their footsteps in Bollywood. Q: Favourite co-stars? A: Akshay Kumar, Sohail Khan, Govinda, Fardeen Khan, Viveik Oberoi, Tushar Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor - I had a blast working with all of them! Q: Hottest stud in Bollywood? A: It has to be the one and only Hrithik Roshan. Q: Your favourite holiday destination? A: New York and the Gold Coast in Australia. I must say the Gold Coast is one place everyone should visit, at least once! Q: Your favourite line you quote the most? A: God loves me. Q: Favourite corner of your house and why? A: I would say my bedroom, on my bed. I am most comfortable and at ease. No place on earth could relax me more than that. It's my haven. Q: What ideal qualities would you look your man to have? A: He should be self-made and love me for who I am... someone who I can blindly trust. My man should respect not just me, but women overall. He should also be courteous and polite with people from every walk of society and must have a good sense of humour. Looks are also important but it is not be all end all. Q: Music you like? A: Love songs, country, pop & old Hindi songs... Love Shania Twain, Celine Dion, ***** Cat Dolls, Rihana and Shakira. Q: How does love and friendship mean to you? A: Love is happiness and a condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own friendship. Being there for each other and being comfortable being yourself. Q: Your strength? A: My Family and my belief in myself.

Hrithik Roshan

Aarti Chabria

Stick to Movies Salman

They snapped up a Rolls Royce for a cool $636,000 and even leapt to Rs 21 lakhs ($50,000) for a Satish Gujral painting, "The Last Leap." But they came up decidedly short in the auction of Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan's first painting. At a celebrity fundraising auction for a children's charity in early April, bidders hrefused to budge past Rs 20 lakhs for Khan's painting of Mother Teresa, despite his heroic plugging attempts. So Khan pulled the painting from the auction saying the bid was too low. Khan, who has painted almost 20 canvasses, almost half life size, once was quoted as saying: "Painting is a highly personal expression of my thoughts. I don't paint or am associated with anything that's for commercial purpose." Right. But being priced below a Gujral? Now we can't take that! Hey, we are talking Mother Teresa here. Those underprivileged children can wait. Perhaps Khan should have bought his own painting. We would then know what he thinks is its worth.

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Sanjay Dutt - 'I need all the laughter I can get!' Nervous, hopeful and scared at the same time, Sanjay Dutt waits for the final verdict of the TADA court.

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Sanjay Dutt

A cold war to spark off between John Abraham and Arshad Warsi
	A cold war to spark off between - (once good friends) John Abraham and Arshad Warsi. John didn't take it too well when he realised that Arshad was getting equal footage in Vivek Agnihotri's Goal. The friction became difficult to ignore when John refused to hug Arshad in one of the scenes. A source from the unit of Goal reveals, "The scene required John to hug Arshad, but John refused outright. Instead, he asked Vivek to change the scene. Vivek blatantly snapped, 'Please keep your personal problems aside and then come to work.' Arshad kept his cool and he didn't show any disrespect for John. Finally, Vivek re-worked many scenes to make sure that John gets the limelight. Arshad seems to be upset, but prefers not to talk about it. But director Vivek Agnihotri says, "This is untrue. Nothing happened on the sets of Goal, and I don't have any idea about John and Arshad fighting. I don't know if they have personal problems, but they were extremely professional and didn't give me any trouble."

Esha Deol refused to play ghost in Ram Gopal Verma's 'Darling'
	Esha Deol refused to play ghost in Ram Gopal Verma's 'Darling'. Ramu roped in Madhavan and wanted her to play the ghost in the remake in Tamil version. Esha reveals, "I was spooked after playing a ghost. These things usually do not bother me but when you stay alone you get all those scary thoughts. I was also informed that the Tamil version was not being directed by Ramuji."

Madhuri Dixit

Hrithik and Aishwarya not going to Cannes!
  
Since last four years Aishwarya Rai has been a regular Indian face at Cannes Film Festival. This year might be an exception.

The 60th Cannes Film Festival in France is set to start on May 16 and many Indian celebrities are packing their bags to attend the mega event where a number of Indian movies (both released and forthcoming) will be showcased.

Production house UTV will be showcasing its films and among them is Jodha Akbar , starring Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan . Earlier, the film抯 two stars and director Ashutosh Gowarikar were slated to go to Cannes for the film抯 promotion.

In fact, the Bachchans ( Amitabh Bachchan , Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya) were supposed to hog the attention at Cannes this year. The three family members were expected to walk the red carpet together.

But now, there seems to be a change in the plan.

Since the monsoon season is around the corner, Ashutosh Gowarikar wants to complete the shooting of 慗odha Akbar

Vivek Oberoi refused to lip-sync Aishwarya's name

[size=-1]Apoorva Lakhia抯 movie Shootout At Lokhandwala has a song in which the name of Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai is mentioned.

And quite incidentally, the song has been shot on Vivek Oberoi , Tusshar Kapoor and Rohit Roy The actors play gangsters in the movie.

The song shows the trio drinking and dancing in a bar.

However, while shooting the song, Vivek had reservations about some lyrics. One part of the song has lyrics: 揃ipasha, Mallika, Priyanka ya ho Aishwarya Rai, jaaye jahaan jaake jisko marzi nachaayein擺/i].

Apparently, Vivek did not want to lip synch Aishwarya抯 name in the song and he asked the director to shoot that portion of the song on his co-star.

Apoorva Lakhia, the director, understood Vivek抯 point of view and shot the scene on another star.

慡hootout At Lokhandwala

Madhuri Dixit - Bollywood抯 dhak dhak girl, who made the nation sway with her impeccable dance moves in numerous chartbusters, turns 40 today. And what better way to celebrate her 40th birthday than by making a comeback in Yashraj Films Aaja Nachle.

The film, which will hit the silver screen in November this year, is a musical where Madhuri will be seen doing what she does best - dancing!

Madhuri set the screen on fire with her pulsating dance numbers and backed it up by some inspired acting performances to delight the audience in the late eighties and early nineties. Although picking Madhuri抯 10 best dance numbers is a contentious job, we have picked the ones that made her the star that she is.

1. Ek do teen (Tezaab)
The 1988 film proved to be a milestone in Madhuri抯 career as she had given many flop films before Tezaab. And when Madhuri grooved to the beats of Ek Do teen, the nation swayed along. Madhuri Dixit had arrived and the country knew it!

2. Humko aaj kal hai (Sailab)
Madhuri made many hearts skip a beat with her charming Koli dance moves in Hum ko aaj kal hai. Only she could have done the pelvic-gyrating moves so demurely.

3. Dhak dhak karne laga (Beta)
Many hearts went Dhak Dhak collectively when Madhuri danced to the song Dhak dhak karne laga from the 1993 hit Beta.

4. Choli ke peeche kya hai (Khalnayak)
Arguably Madhuri抯 best dance song to date, Choli ke peeche kya hai became a rage in 1993, with people of all age dancing to its beats.

5. Didi tera devar deewana (Hum aapke hain kaun)
Didi tera devar deewana from Hum Aapke hain kaun is another cult song of Madhuri that ruled the music charts for more than a year.

6. Chane ke khet main (Anjaam)
Anjaam might have flopped, but Madhuri still stole the show with her latkas and jhatkas in Chane ke khet main.

7. Mera piya ghar aaya (Yaarana)
Mera piya ghar aaya went on to become the number one song of the year 1995. Once more due to Madhuri抯 charismatic dancing.  

8. Ke sera sera sera (Pukaar)
Ke sera sera sera saw Madhuri team up with the inimitable Prabhu Deva. And she matched the 揵oneless

Kareena & Aamir Khan have begun the shooting for Mani Ratnam's 'Lajjo'
	Kareena and Aamir Khan have begun the shooting for Mani Ratnam's 'Lajjo'. Kareena especially is very excited about her role and her co-star, Aamir Khan. "I remember how excited I was when I had signed Ashoka with Shah Rukh. Now it's Aamir in Lajjo. It's every actress' dream to work with Aamir. I'm a huge fan. When I saw Rang De Basanti I was jealous. I wanted to be part of it," Kareena revealed.