Alibaba and the 40 Thieves will have John Abraham's voice

Alibaba goes desi. I am saying like this because the much awaited animated film Alibaba and the 40 Thieves will have John Abraham's voice . After testing many foreign voices, Alibaba settled to John abraham’s voice. The film is directed by Soumitra Ranade of Jajantaram Mamantram fame.

The director of “Alibaba and the 40 Thieves” says, "We have John Abraham lending his voice for Alibaba, while Saurabh Shukla, Raza Murad, and Mukesh Tiwary do for other characters."

Alibaba and the 40 Thieves is a story based on a boy called Chinku, who lives in Mumbai and is trans-migrated into Arabian Night's tale. The music of the film is given by a group called Three Brothers & a Violin. It's expected to release by 2009.

It will be interesting to see how John's voice sounds over Alibaba because he was among those actors whose debut films were dubbed by someone else. His superhit film Jism had his voice dubbed by a dubbing artist.

Riya and Raima to play sisters

They are real life sisters. But now, Raima Sen and Riya Sen are coming together in Vicky Chopra's Seasons Greetings as reel life sisters. The episodic film directed by Vicky Chopra will apparently have six stories all coming together in unexpected ways.

Raima shooting in Italy says, "Yes, Riya and I are finally coming together as sisters. But I'm yet to hear the script, though I've given the nod."

Riya speaking about the project earlier has said, "Raima and I stay together in Mumbai. There is not a thing that we don't share. All our friends are common. If she likes someone, so do I. And if I dislike someone, she doesn't have a choice. Our friends say we should have been twins."

When Shilpa and her sister Shamita came together, it was to play soutens in Deepak Tijori's Fareb.

These sisters too had offers earlier to act together. "But we were pretty sure that if and when we come together, it would have to be as sisters," said Riya.

Sherlyn Chopra coming up with Dard-e-Sherlyn

Sherlyn Chopra aka Mona Chopra is all set to paint the silver screen red in a diamond-encrusted bikini with her sensual and sexy moves.She will soon be seen in a video directed and choreographed by Remo D'souza who has choreographed several films and item songs. In the video Sherlyn will be seen in different avatars. In one she will be a 'Moulin Rouge' performer while in another she will be a typical Bollywood item girl with all the associated jhatkaas and matkaas donning a diamond encrusted bikini.

DJ Akbar Sami has remixed and reworked the track to give it a house and club touch. "The original track 'Dard' was more of a lounge track. While it was a great piece of music, it wasn't of the dance variety. The success of an album and a music video is primarily based on the popularity it enjoys at discotheques and clubs. We have reworked Sherlyn's original track to give it an international club and house feel."

The costumes have been especially designed by fashion designer Reza with inputs from Sherlyn and Remo. "We worked on the look keeping in mind the music and the dance moves. Sherlyn is a great dancer and a sensual, sexy movement comes very naturally to her. Keeping her plus points in mind I designed the costumes for her, which includes a traditional sequence, a bikini sequence and also an international sequence."

We just have to wait for another month.

Lara Dutta on weight loss

Lara Dutta would be shooting for the action packed film Blue and has been as cool as never before. The reason being, she believes, is her strict workout routine.

"I am healthier than ever before because of all the working out I have been doing and feel that I am in my best form ever," she says. Lara will be getting into her action shoes for the first time as an actress. However, fit for her does not mean skinning herself down to nothingness.

"I have never wanted to be waif-thin, but to have a fit and lean figure, which I have achieved all thanks to the strenuous training that I have been going through preparing for the movie Blue," says the ex Miss World.

Interestingly, Kareena Kapoor's rapid weight loss was much in news as rumours spread that she was facing health problems due to the same. Though Kareena has so far been denying all such reports.

Aamir Khan is brand ambassador for Monaco Biscuits

Life is all about moments that are sweet and salty, very much like Parle's famous Monaco biscuits. The commercials of this brand have always been the talk of the town as it very clearly conveys the Sweet and Salty combo in the most subtlest and lucid manner ever.

Well, the latest one to join the sweet and salty moments is the 'Mr. Perfectionist' Aamir Khan, who has been roped in as the Brand Ambassador.

The ad definitely lives up to the reputation of the brand and leaves the viewer in good 'taste'. The ad shows a political party campaigning for its leader on the road, while Aamir and his friends are in a tearing hurry to cross the road, and they do not want to get late for the film at any cost. Even as they cross the road, they are stopped by one of the cronies of the political leader. That's when Aamir gets his 'salty' elements in place and 'sweetly' manages to cross the road and is even on time for the film.

Ajay Devgan honoured with Jasarat Award

Better known for chilled-out, down to earth, a great actor, and now a fabulous director, Ajay Devgan must have taken years of dedication and hard work to attain such a reputation. He has always been known more for his socially relevant films than his comic appearances. Finally, his noble work got appreciations.

The Urdu Press Club of India honored Ajay Devgan with the Jasarat Award at Kanpur. After doing socially relevant films like Zakhm, Legend of Bhagat Singh, Gangaajal, Apaharan, Halla Bol and his directorial debut film, U Me Aur Hum, he's finally being appreciated. Although Ajay was not present for the award ceremony, he gave his respects in a written statement stating the value of Urdu and its significance in the Indian film industry.

Along with Ajay Devgan, historian author Amaresh Misra was also honored with the Jasarat award.

Lara Dutta turns into a Bhojpuri Item Girl

When we saw this picture of Lara Dutta performing at an event over the weekend, we were just socked.

In fact it took us two minutes and more than some vigorous rubbing of our eyes to know that this is indeed the same beauty who sizzled on screen in item numbers like "Aisa Jadoo Daala Re" and “Zinda Hoon Main”.

What's with the outrageous costume darling? The complete mis-match makes her look like a B-grade Bhojpuri actress. May be Lara wanted to be at her comical best while performing at this Comedy Honors night. If that's the real reason, we are certainly having a good laugh.

Celebrities during International film festival at Cannes

For the premiere of “Kung Fu Panda”, during the 61st edition of International film festival in Cannes, France on May 15th, the well known celebrities made their presence felt. Among them were Aishwarya Rai, Angelina Jolie, Eva Longoria, Elsa Zylberstein, Lucy Liu, Rachael Leigh Cook, Phoebe Price and others.

Newcomers to watch in Summer 2008

Till date 2008 has been more or less miserable with the biggest of the films failing to do any wonders at the box office. Even then there is still some hope ahead. Apart from many biggies which would be unleashed on the silver screen in months to follow, there would also be a large number of films where newcomers would be looking forward to make an impression. Here they go..

Sonal Chauhan- a former Miss India contestant, in Jannat

Nisha Rawal and Monishka in Hastey Hastey

Neha Uberoi and Sikandar Kher in Woodstock Villa


Rajeev Khandelwal in Aamir

Mashhoor Amrohi and Vishakha Singh in Humsey Hai Jahaan

Rishi Rehan and Avantikka in Khushboo

Uvika Chaudhary in Summer 2007

Amita Pathak, Nakuul Mehta and Adhyayan Suman in Haal E Dil

Kaveri Jha- a 2005 Miss India contestant, in Hijack

Imraan Khan in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

Harman Baweja in Love Story 2050

Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharmam in 1920

Darsheel Safary becomes Cover Boy for Child

Darsheel Safary has always been in the news after Taare Zameen Par despite the fact that he hasn't signed a single film after that. So what's keeping this little boy busy?

Well its endorsements, public appearances at events, presence on T.V. shows and of course now he has even joined the bandwagon of stars who feature on the cover page of magazines. Yes, the child prodigy is seen on the cover of May 2008 issue of the magazine Child. Child is a magazine that talks about raising kids in a healthy and happy way.

So, it’s no wonder to see probably the most recognized child artiste on the cover page. In an exclusive interview, Darsheel even shows his playful and mischievous side. He talks about his hobbies, his fascination for gizmos and his love for his kid sister whom he fondly calls Neju-Peju.

Manish Acharya to make songless comic thriller

The Loins Of Punjab Presents created a worldwide stir and is now looking at Mumbai for creative sustenance. Manish Acharya’s next film in Hindi is a comic thriller which is set in Mumbai and Tokyo.

"Loins Of Punjab Presents- went further than I expected. Now it's time to return home. I'm making my next film out of Mumbai. And it's a comic thriller set in two cities. The language this time would be purely Hindi", says Acharya.

"But to me the greatest excitement is not having songs in the film. After forty songs in my last film that's quite a break. My comic thriller may have music and songs in the background like Johnny Gaddaar. But the characters aren't going to stop in their tracks to sing songs."

And guess who Manish wants to play the lead in his comic thriller? He is looking towards one of the A-lister Khans.

Madhavan signs 4-film deal with Adlabs

Adlabs has recently finished shooting of 13B starring Madhavan and Neetu Chandra and is in the process of signing Madhavan for four more films.

Commenting on their decision to sign Madhavan for their forthcoming films, Saurabh Varma, Chief marketing Officer, Adlabs says, “We are impressed with Madhavan's performance and marketing skills in 13B and therefore decided to take this relationship further”.

He further added, “When you sign a marketing expert who is also the hero of the film, we are shaping up the best talent. He makes an amazing contribution to the team and brings huge energy to the table- right from how one can exploit the film through various means and methods”.

Starring Madhavan and Neetu Chandra, 13B is a supernatural thriller and is slated to be released on September 2008.

Sanjay Dutt to play Charles Sobhraj

Munnabhai M.B.B.S aka Sanjay Dutt is taking a U-turn and is set to play the role of notorious criminal Charles Sobhraj.

Charles Shobhraj of French nationality is a criminal of half Indian- half Vietnamese origin. He has enjoyed the infamous sobriquet as the “bikini killer” and “the serpent’. The first because he is reputed to have murdered at least 20 backpackers in the 1970’s and 1980’s and the second because he has evaded the police across five continents who were on his chase. Presently he has been serving a life sentence since 2004 in Nepal for a double murder he committed a few decades ago.

The movie "Charles and I" promises to be a racy thriller based on his life. To be made by People pictures and directed by Prawaal Raman, its features Sunjay Dutt as Charles Sobhraj.

“Charles is a complex character - a charming man with a dangerous mind and dangerous intentions. Finding the right actor who has the ability to exude all these qualities at the same time was a tough call. We were looking for an actor who radiates star power coupled with the finest acting prowess to portray Charles. The only actor in my opinion who fitted that profile was Sanjay Dutt”, says writer-director Raman.

The film, “Charles and I", will be shot in Turkey, France, India and Australia. It will focus on the years of cat and mouse that Charles Sobhraj played with the law. The film is expected to hit the theatres in the middle of 2009.

Prachi Desai to play female lead in Life Partner

Prachi Desai (of Kasamh Se fame) is all set to make her Bollywood debut opposite Farhan Akhtar in Rock On. However, even before her debut film hits the screens; Prachi has already bagged her next film.

Prachi has been signed as one of the female leads in Abbas-Mustan’s home production Life Partner. The film which stars Fardeen Khan, Govinda, Tusshar Kapoor and Genelia D’Souza is directed by Rumi Jaffrey.

“Yes, I have signed the film but it’s too early to talk about it. I can’t reveal many details about Life Partner. All I can say is that when I heard the script, I loved it and am happy that I am a part of it”, Prachi confirms this piece of news.

With two big banner films on hand, it looks Prachi is all set to kick-start her Bollywood career with a bang.

Bipasha Basu at the launch of Alcome

Bipasha Basu was at the capital to launch the entry of the US-based perfume brand Alcome Perfumes & Cosmetics into the Indian markets.

Looking stunning she chose to speak to the press only about the brand, ignoring all other questions.

She said: 'It is an appropriate question. It is a wrong day to be discussing films. I would answer these questions some other time. I am here for Alcome today.'

Although she did not entertain any questions from the journalists present there, the actress, riding high on Race success, was quite friendly with the photographers.

About the brand, she said: ''Alcome' is a must buy. It is passionate and stylish. It has different fragrances for different moods. I like it and that's why I'm here”.

She played a perfect brand ambassador at the launch of the perfume brand.

Neil Nitin Mukesh does his first Ad for Sparks

Neil Nitin Mukesh is going places. Apart from the handpicked films that he is doing he's also done his first ad.

"It's for a sports brand called Sparks . And boy, did the sparks fly during the shoot! We shot almost non-stop for three days. At the end of it, I was completely exhausted. Since it was an ad for sports shoes, we wanted to make it as outdoor and sporty as possible. So we shot with me doing the most serious hi-jinks possible. To be sure it was my first brush with big-time stunts. And I enjoyed myself."

There was just one hitch. "Those three days were really taxing on my energy. So at the end of each day the last thing I wanted to hear was my trainer telling me to do my cardio exercises. I begged and pleaded to be let off. But there was no respite. I think I must've lost quite a bit of weight during that ad."

Akshay Kumar with 13 beautiful ladies

Whenever we talk about Akshay Kumar, action and stunts get directly associated with him. Hence, it comes as no surprise that the actor made a stunning entry on a bike, shattering glass at the launch of Viacom 18's new channel- Colors.

The event which took place in Bangkok saw the Bollywood star in attendance as his show Fear Factor- Khatron Ke Khiladi will be aired on this very new channel. The actor even publicly expressed what the emotion 'Fear' meant when he pulled out a python from beneath one of the tables all of a sudden, much to the shock of all those present.

Apart from Akshay, the show will be an all girls show with 13 top beauties from the world of fashion and Bollywood competing with each other. And for all of you waiting with bated breath to find out who are the lovely ladies on the show, well here's the list- Yana Gupta, Aditi Govitrikar, Pooja Bedi, Sonali Kulkarni, Tupur Chatterjee, Sayali Bhagat, Nethra Raghuraman, Anjana Sukhani, Dippanita Sharma, Payal Rohatgi and Meghna Naidu.

Must say with so many beauties around, Bollywood's Khiladi- Akshay Kumar will surely have the time of his life shooting for Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi.

Nana Patekar and Dimple Kapadia together again for third time

Actor-director Kabir Sadanand is ready to strike back! His directorial debut, POPCORN KHAO MAST HO JAO, went unnoticed at the box-office, but Kabir didn't lose hope. “I didn't want to repeat the same mistakes. I wanted to be doubly sure of my new script before I announced my next film,” Kabir states.

The actor/director has teamed Nana Patekar and Dimple Kapadia for his next project. “It's a slice of life film,” he states, “It's a love story essentially. We plan to begin shooting by the end of this month.” Nikhil Panchamiya, who had produced DIL MAANGE MORE and ANTHONY KAUN HAI, will produce this project. The makers have also signed Rehan Khan and Shifaali Shah for pivotal roles.

This is the third time Nana and Dimple have been teamed in a film, after PRAHAAR and KRANTIVEER.

Before The Rains wins at Houston World Fest 2008

Ace cinematographer and filmmaker Santosh Sivan made his directorial debut in English language with the film Before The Rains. The film stars Rahul Bose, Leopold Benedict, Linus Roach, Nandita Das and Jennifer Ehle and has been made under the banner of Excalibur Pictures.

Before The Rains has won at the 41st Annual World Fest 2008 Grand REMI Awards in the category of Best Theatrical Feature. The film revolves around a man crushed between his honesty and future ambitions. Set in the colonial period of 1937, it also says a lot about the plantation of tea and spices by the Indians during the British rule.

The film was premiered at the opening night at the World Fest.

David Dhawan got a four legged hero

Filmmaker David Dhawan has got a new hero and he is a chimpanzee. Tentatively titled C'mon Pappu, the film will also feature Akshay Kumar in an important role.

Dhawan is on the lookout for his 'hero', and if the grapevine is to be believed, he would soon fly off to Malaysia to find one that fits the bill.

Making films with animals entails a lot of special effects and the producers of the film have some mega plans lined up, which include roping in international special effects expert Stan Winston of Jurassic Park and Terminator fame.

This is Dhawan's latest film after the comedy Partner, which starred Salman Khan, Govinda, Katrina Kaif and Lara Dutta.

And Bipasha MISSed John too much

Karan Johar is busy doing shoots for Dostana at Miami with his unit. But his Dostana unit (Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra) in Miami has been seeing a sea of visitors. And the latest to join them is none other than Bipasha Basu.


First it was the Bachchans. They were missing their son Abhishek and so they landed up in Miami to be with him on the occasion of Jaya Bachchan's birthday earlier this month. Then his wife Aishwarya stayed back to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.


Well, it seems that Bipasha was missing her boyfriend and so she decided to go over and spend some quality time with him. In fact, with John parked in Miami, Bipasha too has been shooting around the globe for Siddharth Anand's film opposite Ranbir Kapoor. She has been shooting in Italy and Switzerland and is believed to have flown in to Miami for a couple of days before setting off for Bangkok, where she has another unit waiting for her.

Controversial Pics of Miley Cyrus

The Disney channel’s current favorite Miley Cyrus (daughter of eminent singer Billy Ray Cyrus) has started a controversy by appearing in compromising positions in some photo shoots. The 15 year old starlet has expressed her shock and dismay at the way her private photos have appeared in the Internet and in the upcoming issue of the Vanity Fair magazine.

The photos that have appeared in a site show her with her ex boyfriend in a close position. Another picture is even more shocking as it shows part of her undergarments. But what may cause more discontent is her upcoming series of photos shot by famous photographer Annie Leibovitz that will be published in the June edition of Vanity Fair.

The rising star has tried to defend herself saying that the magazine has offered her a raw deal. The Disney channel was quick to defend its protégé. The Vanity Fair spokespersons have countered the blame by saying that the star was well aware of the types of photo shoot and that her parents accompanied her while it took place.