Sweethearts Candy Blog's

Just months ago she was a virtual nobody, but with the eight Oscar sweep by her debut film "Slumdog Millionaire", Indian model-turned-actress Freida Pinto is now hot property for magazine covers.

Being the obvious new darling of Hollywood, Freida has also become a much in-demand magazine cover girl back home for obvious reasons, reports dailymail.co.uk.

The actress will dominate the newsstands across India in March, with men's magazine Maxim opting to put her face and knock-out body on its cover, as will women's magazines Cosmopolitan and Vogue.

Basking in her new found success, the 24-year-old, who has described her meteoric rise to fame as a "dream", also appears on the cover of industry bible Entertainment Weekly alongside her co-star from the underdog drama Dev Patel.

Posing for the covers didn't come hard for the actress as she started out her career posing in advertisements for products like Wrigley's Chewing Gum.

"I used to anchor a travel show in India, which is clearly not acting, and I had done a little bit of modelling. Both of those things helped me with the camera," she said.

Freida, however, always had acting at the back of her mind as a career.

"I always wanted to act in films, but in India it's very difficult to become an actress if you haven't got a godfather - someone with influence, always a man, in the industry to help get you into auditions.

"But I didn't need a godfather for 'Slumdog...' I just went along, did the audition with Dev and then Danny picked me," she explained.

Despite the success of her first film and her passion for acting, she is not sure of her career in the profession.

"I have no idea whether acting is a future for me, but I would like to do more film work. The reaction to 'Slumdog...' has been beyond my wildest expectations."

In what will be only her second film, Freida is now lined up to star in Woody Allen's next alongside Hollywood stars Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts and Anthony Hopkins.

Filming will start in London this summer.

Things are not looking good for the Baweja boy.

After the great debacle of the big budget ‘Love Story 2050’ and then ‘Victory’, he’s got a kick from the proudcers of the super ambitious ‘Chenab Gandhi’.

Now Sanjay Leela Bhansali's super ambitious project has a new lead actor and it’s none another than B-Town hot body John Abraham.

Hurman was signed for the film last year and reportedly the current economic crisis is responsible for this new development.

The producers wanted a saleable star and Harman isn’t in any way one at the moment.

So reportedly after a meeting, Bhansali, Saregama's Madhu Mantena, along with the distributors took a decision to have Johnny boy in the lead role instead.

The Saregama India co-produced film with Bhansali made on a whopping budget of Rs 35 crores also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan.

If all goes well, this will be the actor's fourth film with Bachchan after ‘Viruddh’, ‘Aetbaar’ and ‘Babul’ and the second with the lady he was linked up with, Vidya Balan, during ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’.

By the way, the movie’s not directed by Bhansali himself but by debutant Vibhu Puri.

A source has said, "Right now, the producers and director haven't informed Hurman as yet. He's in Delhi and so, no-one will confirm this right now. They are waiting for him to come back. Then, they will break the news to him."

While Bhansali said that the news is not true and Mantana laughed off the development by saying that Hurman will start Chenab Gandhi in May and it would be unfair to drop him now when his films are not doing well and John is actually doing another film with them called ‘1-800-LOVE’, the source confirms the new development.

Harman of course has gone into a shell and wasn’t available for comment. Lots to feel bad for the Hrithik clone.

All the filmi and multi-crore help from daddy Harry Baweja isn't helping him in any way. Time for a new back up plan, boy.

Actress Sonal Chauhan, who starred alongside Emraan Hashmi in "Jannat", is on a roll. She will shoot at the Seven Wonders of the World for a song worth Rs.6 million.

The song will be for a Kannada film "Cheluvine Ninna Nodalu" and she has teamed up with southern actor Shivrajkumar in it.

"I am more excited than nervous. I will have to do tonnes of rehearsals. The most exciting part of it all was shooting this song with the superstar himself - Shivrajkumar. He is absolutely amazing to work with, " Sonal said.

In the song, Sonal is believed to have worn a dress worth nearly Rs.400, 000. The film's team is expected to fly to all the monuments on the new list of Seven Wonders of the World in March.

"I am very excited about this trip. This is a lifetime opportunity. Imagine going to every single monument across the world that has been listed as a wonder. It's a dream come true! I am eagerly looking forward to doing the same now, " gushed the young actress.

If director Rohit Shetty (of GOLMAAL RETURNS) had his way, Katrina Kaif would have been his leading lady for ALL THE BEST.

An Ajay Devgan production, it already boasted of an enviable cast comprising of Ajay Devgan, Bipasha Basu and Sanjay Dutt. For Fardeen Khan, another male lead in the film, it's a sort of comeback and Katrina Kaif being roped into the film would have only added to the star quotient.

Confirms a source on condition of anonymity, "Makers of the film were convinced that Katrina Kaif was just right for the role of this glamorous 20 something young woman. Since Rohit's films are always high on glamour quotient, Katrina would have been a welcome addition to the multi starrer."

Narrating an interesting anecdote, he adds, "Also, it would have been a casting coup since Katrina has never worked with Fardeen before. However, she has shared screen space with his dad Feroz Khan in 'Welcome'. It seemed that she was set to play a role in the film."

However, this wasn't the case to be as Katrina couldn't be a part of the film that resulted in an overnight search for another actress. This is where Mugdha Godse came into picture and the young glamorous woman was more than happy to grab the role in a multistarrer like ALL THE BEST which looks like a winner from the word Go.

So what actually went wrong with Katrina?

"No one knows", promptly says the source, "Entire cast of the film that comprises of Ajay Devgan, Bipasha Basu, Sanjay Dutt and Fardeen Khan was announced but the slot was kept wide open for a leading lady. Suddenly, Katrina Kaif's date issues came up and it was decided that Mugdha Godse would be the part of this action comedy."

Of course Katrina's loss is Mugdha's gain. With this film, she finds herself consolidating further in the big league with first FASHION and then JAIL where she is paired opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh and is being directed by Madhur Bhandarkar again.

Excited about working in this Ajay Devgan home production that should see it's shooting kick starting in Goa this March, she adds, "I am happy to be paired opposite Fardeen Khan and I love that man's style. It's a full on commercial film and has come at just the right time. I can't wait for the shoot to begin." what actually went wrong with Katrina?

After wrapping up the shooting of his forthcoming venture Kites, Hrithik Roshan will begin shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s yet untitled next with Aishwarya Rai in coming 2009 summer.

Hrithik we have learnt is super excited to do this not just because he will complete his hat-trick of working with Aish but because he has been genuinely floored by the script of the film and is eagerly looking forward to shooting for the film.

Hrithik simply can’t stop raving about Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the script that he written for his film and of course his role in it.

This will be Hrithik’s first venture with the Black director. Hrithik has seen Bhansali’s earlier works and is keen to work with him. Bhansali is also looking forward to work with Hrithik as well. It is going to be a hat-trick for Bhansali as well as this will be his third venture with Aishwarya Rai after Devdas.

Bhansali was in Goa recently finalizing locales for the film. The film will be Bhansali’s directorial venture after Saawariya. Meanwhile Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next prodcutional venture Chenab Gandhi is all set to go on floors in Mumbai very soon. Bhansali’s assistant Vibhu Puri will direct the film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan and Hurman S. Baweja.

Bhansali and his Black writer Bhavani Iyer have written the film. The plot revolves around three characters. It is learnt that Chenab Gandhi is inspired by the story of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, India's freedom fighter who was known as the Frontier Gandhi. Bachchan will be playing the principle character in the film.

Anushka Sharma must be eternally grateful to the King Khan.

Rubbing the right people the right way has worked out really well for people. And young ambitious gals like Anushka know this secret very well.

Working in the thakela ‘Rab Ne Banadi jodi’ opposite SRK worked in her favor and she was all over the place. Not knowing anything about acting and having zero charisma didn’t really come in her way.

Now, without much work or experience behind her, this amateur chick gets to sit in the judge’s chair for SRK’s reality show ‘Kinghts and Angels’ to finalize six feisty cheerleaders for the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders which fared rather badly last season.

It’s all about the money honey and no one cares what their performance was last time around.

The show will have contestants from different cities vying to make it to the final six and they would be judged on the basis of their dancing skills, attitude, personality, energy, style and looks.

The buzz is that Anushka will be the judge on the first of the six episodes of the show to be telecast every Saturday. They are saying that Anushka’s been a model and has some fame; hence her opinion is important before the IPL season kicks off in April.

Gosh…the people concerned don’t even have logical excuses.

They will also try to make the show entertaining by making VJ and actor Purab Kohli show off his weird antics.

Other judges will be KKR’s captain Sourav Ganguly who’s sure to bore audiences to death with his dead pan expressions and choreographer Shiamak Davar who’ll try hard to sound funny with his atrocious Hindi like in the last season of ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’.

After ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’, Anushka's only working in two more films by Yashraj Films and is not doing anything outside.

That also explains how she has all the time in the world now. What next, babe? Maybe a film romancing the clown, Uday Chopra.

Mission Istanbul girl Shweta Bhardwaj is heavily smitten by Shahid Kapoor.

When we asked about whom in the industry she would like to meet the most, pat came the reply “Shahid Kapoor. Shweta is besotted by Shahid.

She goes on to add “I’ve just loved his journey from Ishq Vishk to Jab We Met. I think he has grown with every movie and looks hotter by the day. The promos of his forthcoming venture Kaminay have proved that. I would love to go on a date with him and talk about his experiences in Bollywood.”

Link-ups are the spice of bollywood and Shweta Bharadwaj, who was appreciated for her role in Mission Istanbul, is certainly looking forward to working on different characters. But the actress has been more in the buzz for her link-ups than her work.

During the making of the film- Mission Istanbul, there was a buzz that Shweta had a relationship going on with Vivek Oberoi. But the actress had denied all the news and had said” I am not in the industry to have relationships with the actors. I am very much focused about my career and least bothered about such buzz.”

So this clearly explains that Shweta is very serious about her career in bollywood, and wants to maintain relationships for good.

Kareena Kapoor has turned writer for her dietician Rujuta Diwekar! Confused? Well Bebo has written a foreword in Rujuta Diwekar's bestselling book, Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight and in that she has herself revealed her breakfast secrets that lead to her size zero figure.

"Rujuta has changed my perception towards diets and dieting. She has taught me to eat well, eat right and eat regularly. I started working with her around the time I started work on Tashan. The results are for all to see.

My size zero became a topic of national interest. The media asked me if it was diet or exercise. It was a combination of both; 70% diet and 30% exercise-training and yoga, " writes Kareena in her foreword.

"Rujuta understands my work and lifestyle and has given me a diet totally customised to my needs. My diet on work days is different from my diet on shoot days. It even on varies on shoot days, like it is different if I have to dance or perform. The meal is planned according to my level of activity."

"In Mumbai, my breakfast is muesli and milk or a chillah or parathas; no chai or coffee. While shooting for Tashan in Ladakh. I ate fresh fruit for breakfast and thukpas and momos for my other meals. I had pudina tea without milk.

On the last day, I was allowed pizza as well. In Kerala, I had idlis and appams. In Italy it was risotto and pasta with gorgonzola; half portions though, not full."

"I make sure I eat every two hours. My evening snack or meal is soy milk or a sandwich. Rujuta focuses on nutrition, not calories. Amazingly, she likes to keep the nutritional value of what you eat, as compared to the calories consumed, high.

I have learnt what she means when she says, "be smart about food" and still enjoy what you eat. Now thanks to this book, you can (learn) too and I am sure you will find it good enough to eat, " signs off the svelte and gorgeous superstar.

Rujuta Diwekar's book Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight is presently selling like hot cakes and is available at bookstores.

Freida Pinto has leapt off Bombay's local trains and into Hollywood's limousines. MANJULA NARAYAN looks at the transformation of the girl next door

At this time last year, Freida Pinto was probably one of a million girls scrambling onto the woefully crowded Malad local train. Considering that she had landed some modelling jobs and had hosted a travel show, she'd have jostled with the first-class bunch which, as every commuter in Bombay knows, can be far more vicious than any second class dibba gang.

Who knows, our Freida must have occasionally been battered with laptops and prodded with tweezers if she'd dared to hog the coveted gangway space next to the door.

In the evenings, she'd have been sharing a frappe with Rohan Antao, her boyfriend (oops, husband?) at the local coffee shop and perhaps spending love struck weekends with him at a cottage on Manori island.

She would have been hanging out with the friends she has known since her days as an English Literature student at St Xavier's College and practising her expressions in the mirror in the bathroom of the flat she shared with her Mangalorean parents and sister.

Then she landed that role in Slumdog millionaire. She began spending time with Danny Boyle and the crew, taking time out to show her leading man Dev Patel the sights including, perhaps, the Queen's Necklace, the neo-gothic buildings that had once prompted Aldous Huxley to call Bombay "one of the most appalling cities in either hemisphere", and seedily exotic Colaba.

But this isn't a tourist brochure for Urbs Prima in Indis. It's a contemplation of what fame can do, and in the case of Freida Pinto, Oscar hopeful, BAFTA award winner and new darling of the red carpet, how it can take you from boarding the Churchgate fast every morning to riding around New York in a stretch limousine surrounded by stylists.

Suddenly, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Elle, are courting her, UK's Sun is advising readers on how to get her 'look', luxury London outlets are inviting her to beam at the paparazzi from their shop fronts.

Freida Pinto YOU'RE not sure at what point Ms Pinto, who really didn't have much to do in the film, became an international sensation.

Was it when she warmed the cockles of the firangi media's collective heart by mumbling through a mouthful of chocolate cake at Angelina Jolie?

Was it because Jolie has anointed her for a life of stardom by advising her to "keep it real" - a bit strange coming from a woman whose own life with a million kids, zillion dollar paycheques and gadzillion international do-good programmes seems as far from reality as poor Rohan Antao is from Brad Pitt.

Was it because she now speaks with a Miss India accent she couldn't have picked up at St John's Universal High School, Goregaon? Any day now you expect her to have a white-gloved-palmto- face Sushmita Sen moment.

The truth is her stylist George Kotsiopoulos, who'd rather commit harakiri than let a Tahiliani near Pinto, is the real star. That other Mangalorean beauty Aishwarya Rai needs to get his number quick.

The boob-squash thingy she wore to the Berlin Film Festival is just the sort of outfit George would chuck into Bombay's stinking Mahim creek... as Freida's usual local lumbers slowly over it.

Which brings you to the question, what will Freida do next? Will she snap out of her fame-induced amnesia and run back into Antao's arms once the Slumdog fever dies down? Or will she find herself a Pitt replica?

Whatever she does, let's hope she doesn't imitate Jolie's bizarre fertility goddess routine. With whoever.

If you thought 2008 was the year of Kareena Kapoor then wait till you hear what’s in store for this stunner in 2009.

“For starters, ” she begins as she packs for her much-awaited week-long vacation in Europe with Saif Ali Khan, “I’ll finally be moving into my new home in January. It’s just a hop and skip away from where I stay on Hill Road in Bandra. I can’t give up being close to my mom and living in Bandra.”

The home in a building called Queen will also have a new apartment for Kareena’s mother. “Of course my mother is moving with me. I can’t live breathe or take one step without my mother. The only difference is she’ll now have a separate apartment. But we’re still on the same floor.”

As for the home that Saif is preparing for the two of them, Kareena shrugs, “That won’t be ready for another two years. That’s how long it’s going to be before we get married anyway. Right now my diary is filled up till 2010. There’s no space for even a runaway marriage.”

Kareena has in fact decided to gift her mom much more than just a new home. She has made her mom a New Year promise.

“No more bikini shots for me. I mean I’m very happy with the kind of attention and adulation I got for getting into a bikini in Tashan. And I wasn’t uncomfortable wearing it. Why should I be? I’ve the physique to carry it off. But that’s it.

My mother didn’t like me in a bikini. Also the kind of work that I’m doing now in 3 Idiots or Renzil d’Silva’s film doesn’t require that kind of exposure.”

With her super-star daughter being extremely busy with her career and Saif, mom Babita has a lot of time on hand.

“She now does a lot of charity work with charitable institutions like the Mount Mary Old Age Home in Bandra and other places. She’s a very giving woman. I should know. She scarificed her own career and joys to bring up my sister and me.”

Not too many people know Babita is half-Christian.

Reveals Kareena, “Her mother was a Christian and father a Sindhi. So we are as fond of the church as we’re of the temple. Christmas is a big event for us.That’s why I needed to rush home at this time from Philadelphia to be home for Christmas before taking off for my holiday.”

Surprisingly Kareena is full of praise for her supposed arch-rival Priyanka Chopra. “I don’t know why so much is made of our rivalry. We’re in totally difference spaces. She does her own films. I do mine. Whenever we meet she’s really sweet to me. I don’t understand why we’re made out to be two squabbling sirens. Please, we’re grownup women.”

As far as conducting a career goes Kareena’s role- model is Aishwarya Rai. “I love the way she carries herself and the roles she’s choosing after marriage. I’d like to follow that pattern when I get married.”

But that’s a long way off. At the moment Kareena is just happy being with Saif.

“He may appear to be very volatile and undecided, just like me. But actually he takes all the right decisions on my behalf. He’s totally into his books while I love films.

I keep him clued in to what’s happening in the industry.Right now we both want to see Ghajini before we leave for our holiday. We’re both Aamir fans. After Ghajini I think the next film Saif will see will be my 3 Idiots. And this time it won’t be for Aamir.”

Rating: *

Certain themes worked in the '70s and '80s. But they seem completely out of place in today's times. You can't connect with them, plain and simple. That's the issue with Kisse Pyaar Karoon.

Kisse Pyaar Karoon? uses every rule in the book to entertain the viewer. It borrows heavily from all masala films that one has watched and admired over the years. To give the credit where it's due, a few scenes are indeed funny. But it comes too late in the day. Ideally, it should've released a couple of years ago.

Sid (Arshad Warsi), John (Aashish Chowdhry) and Amit (Yash Tonk) are thick friends. Everything is going fine till Sheetal (Udita Goswami) enters the scene. She plans to usurp the wealth of John. She entices him and John falls for her.

Realising that Sid and Amit could thwart her plans, she creates problems and hurdles in their friendship. Sid and Amit realize her game and plan to throw a spanner. They decide to drill sense in John, but John is in no mood to listen. He's completely smitten by Sheetal. Sid and Amit embark on a plan to save John from Sheetal.

Director Ajay Chandhok displays a flair for comic entertainers, but there's not much he can really do since the writing (Yunus Sajawal) is archaic and outdated.

The same formula has been repeated so many times in the past, you don't react to it any longer. Despite the shortcomings, Chandhok has the potential to strike the right note if he gets the right script. Daboo Malik's music is pleasant. The title track and 'Bechain Saansein' come easy on the lips.

Arshad Warsi, Aashish Chowdhry and Yash Tonk play to the gallery. We don't expect histrionics in a film like this. Instead, we look for buffoonery and that's what they end up doing.

Udita Goswami makes her presence felt, while Aarti Chhabria is hardly there. Shweta Menon entertains when she's on screen. Shakti Kapoor and Ashish Vidyarthi are wasted.

On the whole, Kisse Pyaar Karoon? comes too late in the day. Perhaps, this masala film may've struck a chord a few years ago, not today.

Moon Moon Sen's daughters Riya and Raima Sen have carried the beauty legacy ahead in Bollywood started by their beautiful grandmom Suchitra Sen but success has however constantly eluded them.

Especially Raima who despite some really good performances in films such as Godmother and Manorama Six Feet Under and the very recent Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye have got applause from the critics but no box office success.

We asked the demure and petite actress about her lack of recognition, her relationship status and what’s on the cards for her career wise.

About her career, Raima states, “I know well that to reach that particular level of big stardom it does take time. But I think I am on the way. I am certainly trying my best and I feel that I have not gotten the right recognition so far but I will never lose sight of my goal. I will make my way to success.

Would she follow the trend of doing bold roles or ever resort to the skin show that many actresses adopt these days in their films? “I don't believe that wearing a bikini leads to success. I have not given it any thought beyond that, ” says Sen.

As for her personal life, Sen is single but not ready to mingle. She reveals, “My focus is on my career. I am not looking for any sort of relationship right now. When the time is right, everything will fall into place. Right now, there is no one in my life.”

Raima’s next film up for release is Teen Patti, which also stars Amitabh Bachchan. “Apart from that, there are a few more scripts that I am reading right now, ” she concludes.

Photography by George Pitts

Indian actress Freida Pinto Made it to the U.S. without doing the same old song and dance. Though the 23-year-old former model from Bombay auditioned for melodramatic Bollywood roles, she’s going Hollywood with her film debut, playing a child of the ghetto in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. Hood never looked so good.

How hard is it to break into India’s film industry?
It’s really difficult. You have to have a godfather or parents who can get you in. I got into modeling for the visibility factor, hoping that portals would open up for me to act.

I did a lot of print because people found me too skinny in India to do television. We have the voluptuous, full-figured woman thing. People say I need to get a boob job, but I’m just comfortable the way I am.

Is Bollywood as sleazy as Hollywood is?
Three or four years back, I was auditioning for a film and I met this man who was like, “We can be good friends, ” with a twinkle in his eye. I knew where that was coming from, and it didn’t feel right.

Would you ever do nudity or a sex scene?
I don’t think I’d have an issue (doing a love scene), but it all depends on the director—what kind of work he’s done in the past. In India, I probably wouldn’t do something like that; it’s kind of taboo. It usually gets cut off at the censorship board level, so what’s the point of having shot it?

What’s the best way for a guy to approach you?
Back in college, if boys did the most stupid thing, like compose a silly song, I’d listen. It could be something really stupid, like a rap for all I care.

Have you ever used your acting abilities to manipulate men?
Hmm… (Laughs.) If you have it, you gotta use it.

While all the hoopla and euphoria surrounding A R Rahman’s double Oscar has been talked about no one knows he had a close shave with death during the rehearsals for his stage performance for the Oscars.

The shocking shave with death came to light after Rahman’s return to India on Thursday when he blurted out the truth innocently.

The accident could’ve proved catastrophic and would’ve meant almost sure-death for Rahman.

Recalling the nerve-wracking experience Rahman says, “I really don’t know what happened. Two days before the Oscars we were rehearsing at one of the theatres for the Oscars, the Jay Leno Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show when a massive chandelier, covering portion of the ceiling crashed to the spot just a split -second after I moved away.”

This isn’t just a routine drama-in-real-life occurrence.

Divulges Rahman, “ If I hadn’t moved way I’d have become history after making history in no time at all.The chandelier crashed exactly at the spot I was standing in just seconds before. It left me shaken but not terrified. I guess it was God’s warning not to take any of the good things that are happening to me too seriously.”

Sighing in relief Rahman says, “I think the love and prayers of all those who love me saved me. As I walked from the left side of the stage to the right I could feel a heavy drop from the air, like water rushing down from a height of 30 to 40 feet. So with the good came the rude reminder of how quickly it can all be snatched away.”

Says Rahman, “When I did Oprah Winfrey’s show for the Oscars she asked me what Jai ho meant. I said it meant, ‘May the victory be yours.’ She wished the same back for me and I could see she meant it. It’s the best wishes from the world over that saved my life that day.”

Rahman says he wasn’t the least scared being so close to death. “What has to happen will happen. I believe one is constantly walking hand-in-hand with death. Death is like a constant companion. But let’s not go into dark spaces right now.”

The film has not taken the box office by storm but when I meet him for this interview at his office in the bungalow Janak, Abhishek tells me that what appealed to him when he was offered the film Delhi 6 was the fact that though Roshan is an American by mind, he is an Indian by heart.

"It was not at all tough for me to get into the character of Roshan, because I could easily connect to it, since I could understand him, having spent twelve years abroad in a different culture.

I could relate to the character because like Roshan, I too had learnt abroad and know how it is to feel like an outsider, though born and brought up in a hard core Indian family, steeped in the culture of the ancestors".

Abhishek had almost lost the opportunity to act in Delhi 6. "When Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra gave me the script to read it, frankly I did not know whether he wanted me to be a part of the film because in the past too he had given me the script of his films.

I was happy when he said that he wanted to cast me in Delhi 6, though I could not adjust my dates for the shooting since he wanted to shoot in the winter in Delhi though I had committed those dates to Mani Ratnam for Guru.

Rakeysh asked me whether I would mind if he goes ahead with the film with some other actor and reluctantly I had agreed too. I think I was destined for the role of Roshan because came back to me, after tweaking the script after a year".

Earlier, Abhishek had flatly declined to be part fo his film Rang de Basanti. "When he came to me with the script of Rang De Basanti, I could not understand it at all.

To add to my confusion, he had then decided to call his film not Rang De Basanti but Paint It Yellow. I could not fathom how he could show Bhagat Singh in contemporary setting and said no to be part of the film and after I said no to it, he approached Aamir Khan. The rest is history. "

Even after Rakeysh had finalized Aamir for Rang De Basanti, he came to him once again to offer the role of Siddharth in Rang De Basanti when Arjun Rampal walked out.

However, Abhishek says that he told him that he could not be a part of the film because he could not understand the subject at all. Laughs Abhishek, "I told him that I was not as intelligent as Aamir Khan is. The role then went to Siddharth".

Abhishek admits that though Drona was only two hours and ten minutes long, thanks to its screenplay, people felt it was too long.

"As an actor, I feel you have to be immune to both hits and flops. You work hard in every film and naturally want it to click, because there is an emotional 'connect' to the actors with their films".

Abhishek is of the opinion that his life has not changed after marriage in any way, because now he has a wife like Ash who he considers to be his best friend. Abhishjek denies that it is a conscious decision on his part to do most of his films with Ash.

"It is petty to think that I maneuver to have Ash in every film of mine. I do not decide who should be cast in a film as my leading lady. I do not insist that Ash should be my leading lady.

I did two films last year after marriage and Ash was not there in them at all. Ash was not there in Delhi 6 with me. Mani wanted her in his film which has a working title like Ravana and Abhinav Deo was keen that she should be a part of his film. "

Abhishek confesses shyly that he and Ash have still not thought about an addition to their family.

"We feel that a child is God's gift and frankly have not planned about having a child as of now because both of us are quiet busy with work. As and when we do have a child, what is of primary importance is that we should have a healthy child and it is immaterial whether we have a son or a daughter".

Abhishek's next releases will be Balki's Pa in which he has been cast with his dad, Mani's film, in which his co-actors are Vikram, Ash and Ravi Kishen and Rajeev Menon's next film, which has been inspired by his parents' film Abhimaan.

Rating: ***1/2

Priyadarshan is synonymous with ha-ha-thons, but the talented storyteller has been equally proficient while handling intense dramas like SAZA-E-KALA PANI, GARDISH and VIRASAT. Like VIRASAT and MALAMAAL WEEKLY, Billu, the accomplished director's new outing, is also set in a hamlet.

Although the story has been attempted in Malayalam (KADHA PARAYUMBOL) and Tamil (KUSELAN) earlier, the story actually takes its inspiration from the legendary friendship between Lord Krishna and Sudama. In this case, the story talks of the friendship between a superstar and an ordinary mortal who runs a salon.

Billu is a simple story about simple people, told in the most simplistic manner. There's a generous dose of glamour as well, given the fact that the protagonist's friend happens to be a superstar, but what actually works for the film is the simpleton's story. He wages a daily battle to make ends meet.

Although the film is engaging, Priyadarshan reserves the best for the finale this time, when the superstar reminisces about his childhood friend and the deep bond that they shared. The end is remarkable and is sure to strike a chord with all sections of moviegoers.

Final word? Billu is amongst Priyadarshan's finest works. And also Irrfan and SRK's. This tale of friendship is sure to steal your heart!

Billu tells the story of a simple ordinary man, Bilas Rao Pardesi (Irrfan Khan), living in a small town with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and two kids. His life undergoes a drastic change as superstar Sahir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) visits the village for a film shoot. Everything changes. Things go from good to bad to worse to good again.

Ten minutes into the film and you get absorbed into Billu's small world. The salon is in bad shape, the family is facing tough times, the neighbours and acquaintances are fair-weather friends... Billu's life gets grim with each passing day.

The story takes an interesting turn when Billu's life collides with the superstar's. And the assorted characters -- right from an aspiring poet/lyricist (Rajpal Yadav), to a stingy money lender (Om Puri), to the principal of the school (Rasika Joshi) -- everyone wants favours from Billu. These characters only make Billu more interesting.

SRK's track is equally fascinating and only spices up the proceedings. In fact, Priyadarshan has amalgamated the three songs (featuring SRK with Deepika, Priyanka and Kareena) in the narrative smartly. Not once do you feel that you're watching two stories concurrently.

The best part of the enterprise is its climax. The superstar recalls his humble beginning and how his friend stood by him in times of crisis. The writing is brilliant and SRK only takes the scene to greater heights with his terrific portrayal.

Priyadarshan is adept at handling relationships and with Billu, he proves he can handle emotions with as much flourish as comedy.

To tell a simple, uncomplicated story, without the usual frills, is an arduous task indeed and Priyadarshan tackles the material with remarkable ease. The humour here is subtle, not loud, and a constant smile remains on your face all through.

Mushtaq Shiekh and Priyadarshan's screenplay is foolproof. In fact, the writing never loses focus and the highs and the lows in Billu's life are sensitively penned by the duo. Manisha Korde's dialogues are simple, gelling with the mood of the film.

Pritam's music is energetic. The songs, promoted aggressively prior to the release, only get an impetus thanks to the presence of the three actresses.

'Mar Jaani' and 'Love Mera Hit Hit' are, of course, the pick of the lot. V. Manikandan's cinematography is top notch. The locales (Pollachi) are breath-taking.

In the recent years, Irrfan has emerged as a force to reckon with, his performances have appealed to all strata of moviegoers and his work in Billu will only cement his status as a remarkable actor. Shah Rukh Khan needs to be admired for two reasons.

The show belongs to Irrfan, although SRK could've forced himself in every scene.

Also, he has chosen to opt for a film that's not one of those run-of-the-mill types. In terms of performance, SRK shows his true potential towards the finale.

Lara Dutta springs a pleasant surprise. She goes through her part with complete understanding. Om Puri is excellent.

Rasika Joshi is too good. Rajpal Yadav is really funny in the penultimate scene, when he recites a film song of an SRK film. Asrani and Manoj Joshi are passable.

On the whole, Billu is a sweet-n-simple film that lingers in your memory even after the show has concluded.

The final 20 minutes are the highpoint of the enterprise and that elevates the status of the film to great heights. The film has the potential to grow with a strong word of mouth. Recommended... Take your family for this one!

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are sharing a happy moment on screen. They are kissing onscreen for the first time for their untitled film directed by Renzil D'Silva for Dharma Productions.

A source has confirmed the intimate scene, "Last week, Saif and Bebo shot for their kiss in a Chembur studio. The kiss is part of a song.

The actress who has done kissing scenes on screen before was quite comfortable with the idea of lip-locking with her beau. She even was seen calmly discussing the angle and the intensity with the director."

An insider adds, "At one point it was discussed if the scene was necessary and it looked like the couple had their doubts about the screen smooch.

Rensil looked unhappy and had a word with Saif. The director convinced him to do the scene. Saif in turn made Bebo understand that it was necessary and she agreed."

It took just about five takes to get the kiss right.

Starring Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill, Kalki Koechlin
Directed by Anurag Kashyap
Rating: *** ½

Fiery unforgettably unstoppable in her self-worth…Paro, now transposed to Punjab (gawd, yeh ladki kahan-kahan jayegi?!) knows her Devdas just back from England wants some quality sex.

As determined as ever, she cycles to the nearest surgarcane fields with a bulky bedroll tied to the carrier, spreads it,and herself, out for her foreign-returned lover-boy…

That image of the super-determined Paro cycling to sex in the fields, compounded with that brilliantly shot sequence where she explodes her bitterness frustration and anger by pressing down on a handpump as thought it were a….never mind!...qualify as two of the most astutely achieved images of literature- on- cinema in recent Bollywood memory.

Anurag Kashyap at last sheds his obstinate inaccessibility as a filmmaker. More a homage to Sanjay Leela Bhansali than litterateur Saratchandra Chatterjee's Devdas, Kashyap's Dev D is that deep liberating lascivious luscious provocative tantalizing and tragic view of tragic hedonism, ruinous selfindulgence and vain miscommunication that Saratchandra barely thought about but couldn't articulate.

Kashyap's Devdas is a raunchy renegade, a bastard of the first order who thinks of only selfgratification.

And his task is made easier by the two women who come into his life in this splendidly tragi-comic subversion of a timeless novel that said, defeatism is heroic. But only when compounded by the ability to confront your weaknesses headlong.

As Dev D, Abhay Patel, that big-little hero of the outré cinema, is crass and wounded, vain and vicious, stupid and sensitive.

The contradictions pulsate and nourish the narrative making it a ripe and riveting drama of disorientation and dissociation where the protagonist's failings are defined more by physical appetites (sexual and otherwise) than metaphysical longings.

In telling a timeless story of selfseeking arrogance Anurag Kashyap manages to build a spiral of contemporary themes.

The Chandramukhi sections where the innocent school girl gets trapped into a quagmire of campus sleaze and finally ends up as a sex worker is hertwrenching in its portrait of the contemporary moral crisis that threatens to tear our civilized society limb by limb.

Kashyap pays some delectable tributes to Sanjay Bhansali's Devdas, not only in the outstanding sets and art decoration (Sukanta Panigrahi) and the super-smouldering-and-evocative cinematography (Rajeev Ravi) but also in the way kitsch is converted into a cool neo-classic currency.

The dialogues (Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane) have a constantly quirky and cutting edge. Check out the long boudoir piece where Chanda wonders aloud to Dev why people are so coy about calling a a sex worker a randi.

The words and visuals are not for the squeamish. Indeed the film's most glorious accomplishment is that it succeeds in simultaneously being sluttish and sublime.

The principal characters seem to be scoffing and saluting Saratchandra's novel while forging a totally unexplored territory for the three tormented misfits whose malfunctional destiny makes them bitter and angry but never repulsive to the spectator.

Anurag Kashyap shoots the drama of the damned on locations that echo the protagonist's inner state.

The open-aired Punjabi prelude progresses painlessly into a pained and claustrophobic psychedelic stroble-lit nightmare that includes three male pub performers who pop up willy-nilly to sing on Dev's plunge into a hellish self-pity.

Kafka would recognize and Saratchandra would probably reject the world that Kashyap's Devdas enters.

Would Saratchandra Chatterjee, Bimal Roy or Sanjay Leela Bhansali smile at Anurag Kashyap's backhanded warm and revisionist look at the life love and heartbreaks of Hindi literature's ultimate loser?

Abhay Deol plays Devdas with a wry cynicism suggesting both disgust and longing for a social system that rejects him as much he rejects it.

Kashyap's two prized finds are his 'Paro' Mahie Gill and 'Chanda' Kalki Koechlin. Mahie plays Paro with a blend of pride and resignation, fire and pathos, bringing to the part a rare and undefinable solidity. How does she compare with Suchitra Sen or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Paro? Who's comparing?!!

Kalki as the schoolgirl-turned-whore plays her character stripped of all selfpity. Not that she enjoys being what she is. But this Chandramukhi isn't apologetic about the place that life has put her in.

Anurag Kashyap's Dev D is a harsh but sensitive take on an age-old material, done with a sense of spiraling pit-in-the-stomach vertiginous momentum that's not quite lost even as the protagonist loses his way in a maze of selfindulgence.

Watch the film to see with what tongue-in-cheek temerity form is wedded to content without the director wavering in his determination to take cinema into regions that have nothing to do with convention.

And everything to do with invention.

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor is not vying for the crown of Bollywood queen despite her hit performances and high profile brand endorsements because she feels that kings and queens only exist in a pack of playing cards.

"I think kings and queens are in cards, not in Bollywood, " Kareena told reporters at an event here Saturday.

On being asked her opinion about Katrina Kaif as an actress, Kareena bluntly said: "I don't talk about other actresses in press conferences."

Kareena was present in the capital to promote a new initiative by hair removal cream brand Anne French.

She is looking forward to the release of a number of films in her kitty including Rajkumar Hirani's "Three Idiots" and Sajid Nadiadwala's "Kambakkht Ishq".

In "Three Idiots", she stars opposite Aamir Khan. In "Kambakkht Ishq", she will be sharing screen space with Akshay Kumar for the seventh time.

About working with the two actors, Kareena said: "I pick up the best from whoever I work with. When you are working with someone, you kind of get tuned to the way that actor is working. I would like to pick up all the best qualities from both these people."

The actress also spoke about her experience of working with Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone and Brandon Routh in "Kambakkht Ishq" and said it was "an honour".

The latest buzz doing the round of Bollywood is Ayesha Takia and her restaurateur boyfriend Farhan Azmi will finally get married by February end.

The couple was supposed to tie the knot last year on Christmas Eve but they postponed following the terror attacks in Mumbai on 26/11.

Apparently Ayesha who broke down completely after the Taj attack decided to delay her marriage. Apart from that Farhan’s father Samajwadi Party leader, Abu Azmi was in a hospital recuperating after an operation.

According to a close friend of Ayesha, wedding will take place in Mumbai. However the actress is frantically running around shopping for her trousseau.

Being a professional Ayesha will complete Revathy's film which is woman oriented film after marriage.