Preity Zinta goes for image change

Preity Zinta has cast aside her glamorous look and adorned a classy look for her new movie, The Last Lear. The movie is directed by Rituparno Ghosh.

Everyone is raving about her new image make over for the movie. Preity Zinta will be seen in classy Sarees and Shalwar Kameezes. And she looks ravishing.

As Preity Zinta herself says, “What a pleasant change it was, from all the dolled up work I have done. I got to play Shabnam, someone so real! I love my look in the film. Ever since the posters of The Last Lear are out, the compliments haven’t stopped coming in! Everyone’s look in the film is extremely different. You can trust Rituparno Ghosh to surprise everyone with his films, even his own actors.”

The Last Lear, which releases on September 12 th is generating a lot of curiosity Other than Preity’s image make over, Amitabh Bachchan and Arjun Rampal are said to have acted in the roles of a lifetime.

Also, Preity Zinta’ s fans are eagerly awaiting her return to the screen.

Katrina Kaif says no to helpers

With six back-to-back hits in her kitty in the last one year, Katrina Kaif is now the reigning queen of Bollywood. But success has not gone to her head and she still believes in doing her chores herself.

'Katrina has not got carried away by her success. She continues to be herself,' said a source close to the actress.

The source said people were surprised to see the British-born actress carrying her own luggage at an airport even though her chaperones were with her.

"Sandhya, Katrina's secretary, was with her and though she insisted that she'd carry her luggage Katrina just did not allow her to do so! Katrina said, 'It is my luggage and I will carry it myself'.

"Katrina usually prefers to do her tasks on her own. Success has not spoilt her at all,' added the source.

'Katrina has learnt that success and failure are transitory and that one should not get carried away by them. She firmly believes in keeping her head placed on her shoulders,' said the source.
After wowing audiences in the recently released romantic comedy Singh Is Kinng opposite Akshay Kumar, Katrina has displaced top-rung actors, including Kareena Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra.

Her success story started with 'Namastey London' and continued with Apne, Partner, Welcome, Race and now Singh Is Kinng.

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif together again in Subhash Ghai's next

Subhash Ghai and Salman Khan seem to have bonded really well during the making of Yuvraaj. No wonder that that the veteran director is planning to cast Salman in yet another film after Yuvraaj. What's more! Once again his lady love Katrina Kaif will be accompanying him in this full-on entertainer.

"Yes, Salman and I have spoken about doing one more film together after Yuvraaj. It is a complete entertainer that talks about today's youth. We will start the film only towards the end of next year (2009) since Salman's dates also need to be available and even I need time to work on the script. As for Katrina, she has been signed by Mukta Arts for 3 films, so she will also be a part of this project in all probability."-confirms Subhash Ghai.

Only recently, we had informed you of Ghai's plans to start a film with Dilip Kumar in a pivotal role. So is this the same film? "No no…the film I am planning with Dilip Saab is different film altogether. It's a light hearted entertainer which will appeal even to the youngsters. Dilipji would be playing a pivotal role of an 85 year old man in the film. This film (starring Dilip Kumar) will start first after I am done with Yuvraaj and I plan to wrap it in around 4 months," signed off the Showman.

Rakhi Sawant says “Marry Me” to Salman Khan

Sassy item girl Rakhi Sawant had macho star Salman Khan completely stumped when she unexpectedly popped the question - "Marry me!' - during the grand finale of his reality television show "Dus Ka Dum".

Rakhi also produced a ring after asking Salman to marry her, according to a press statement. During the finale of the "Nach Baliye 3" dance reality show last year, when Salman was the chief guest, Rakhi had walked away from the sets in a huff.

Rakhi had lost to Sanjeeda Sheikh and Aamir Ali in the show and stormed off the stage with her beau Abhishek Awasthi in tow. Even though Salman followed her to pacify her, she snubbed him and drove off in her car.

Salman was apparently miffed with her after that. But considering that she was invited to his show, Salman seems to have forgiven the controversy queen.

Rakhi was on the show with comedian Shakeel Siddiqui to play the game. Two other celebrities, actors Rani Mukerji and Lara Dutta also graced the show, which will be telecast on September 14 at 8 p.m. on Sony Entertainment Television.

Minissha Lamba proud to don a Bikini in Kidnap

Minissha Lamba is going through a massive image makeover these days. In her soon to be released Kidnap, she would be seen in a bikini which certainly comes as a surprise to her admirers.

By wearing a bikini for Kidnap, Minissha now joins the gang of young women who have willingly agreed to get into the costume for a Sanjay Gadhvi film. After Esha Deol (Dhoom) and Bipasha Basu (Dhoom 2), she is the new bikini girl for Gadhvi.

Talking about her decision to join the bikini bandwagon, Minissha admits, "Yes, I have joined the bikini bandwagon. After all, not many girls are doing it even today, isn't it? In any case when you see Kidnap, you would realize that the makeover isn't for the sake of it. This was meant to be a part of the character and I was duly convinced that donning a bikini was indeed an integral part of the script."

The industry experts and cine-goers are definitely noticing this makeover. "We are not grown up in a conservative household and together, we watch a lot of Hollywood films. Something like a bikini is hardly a culture shock since as a family, we are quite modern in our outlook and very progressive. In any case, everyone today understands that at the end of the day, it is just a part that you are playing for a film. The buck stops there."- reacts Miss Lamba.

"And I am so very proud of that. When Sanjay told me that I had to go through this image change in Kidnap, I was game for it. I feel it was great to explore a new side of me.”- Minissha explains further.

Chandni Chowk To China to be released in January 2009

Chandni Chowk To China- has been one of the most awaited movies of 2008. The film stars Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles. While the makers were buzzing around with the idea of releasing this film around Christmas this year, the latest news is that the film has now been pushed to a January 2009 release.

In fact, the makers, Warner Bros., would be coming out with ads somewhere in September about the new release date of Chandni Chowk To China.

Wait for the film seems longer than usual for the fans of Akshay and bollywood current hottie Deepika.

Celina Jaitley to play a Kleptomaniac Stripper

Celina has just returned from London from an incomplete schedule of Tigmanshu Dhulia's King Con opposite Govinda. "The weather in London got bad. And we hardly did any work. Chi Chi had Rumi Jaffrey's film and I had to return to complete Hello Darling. So we came back."

She got into the Dhulia project at the eleventh hour. And she couldn't be happier. It is possibly the most fearsomely challenging role in the actress' career. "In King Con I play a stripper who's a kleptomaniac," Celina giggles. "I died laughing when I heard my role. I'm having the time of my life. I got the role just a week before shooting. They weren't sure about how to make the girl look. I play this stripper who's half-English and half-Indian."

Celina's co-star is Govinda. She's all praise for him. "I've worked with so many leading men. He's one of those rare ones who never tries to flirt or make a pass. I don't know why people talk negatively about him. Govinda is a very spiritual person." Now Celina has one more film opposite 'spiritual' Govinda. "We'll start working together on Aditya Datt's film. I know people are talking about me and Govinda. But he's just too nice."

Celina says she's finally able to focus on her career. "Earlier I was too much in love to give enough of myself to my career. But now I've realized work is all that matters. Love will come when it has to."

Celina was also in the news for her supposed spat with Neha Dhupia in Thailand last month. Celina clears the air. "Neha missed her flight and arrived two days late. By then Riya and I were shooting a song in identical school uniforms. The director said the hairstyles should be different. But when Neha joined us she wanted the same ribbons. I suggested different hair accessories to avoid looking identical. Neha got agitated and used unparliamentary language with me." Since this ugly incident happened in Celina's van the actress got upset. "The next thing I knew stories about our spat was being spread in Mumbai." Says Celina, "A spat over ribbons with a co-star is not my scene. I'm also being accused of spreading stories about Riya and Paritosh Painter. I reached Thailand three days late because my passport was stuck with the British embassy. I had to make up for lost time. I had no time for all this in Thailand. My mom and dad were with me in Thailand. We were constantly together. As for Neha and me, we were hardly together. After Thailand I went straight to London. I had no idea about the stories being spread in Mumbai. I guess girls working together always causes trouble. We all have our insecurities to deal with. "

On the brighter side Riya Sen called and apologized to Celina.

Katrina Kaif - the lady with lucky mascot

Katrina Kaif is enormously considered as the lucky mascot and is synonymous with success with 6 back to back hits in Bollywood. The latest being Singh Is Kinng.

Besides being the lucky charm for the producers, katrina is also considered greatly in the endorsement circles. Lately she had signed the most prestigious jewellery brand Nakshatra, endorsed by Aishwarya Rai earlier, which was synonymous with power.

Nakshatra signifies success and Katrina fits the bill perfectly, as evidenced by her 6 successive hits in a row, a record of sorts in Bollywood.

Officials of Nakshatra are ecstatic over the new signing as the sales of Nakshatra has accelerated and has tripled coinciding with the festival season and the fact that she's lucky Mascot that's why the campaign is called “Goddess of Luck”. Indeed Katrina has got the Midas touch.

Says the source "Katrina was always the first choice for Nakshatra, as she has the perfect brand attributes that is in synergy with Nakshatra which signifies success and an achiever bent of mind. And Katrina is the epitome of success"

Sources from Nakshatra also reveal, “Everyone wants to have a piece of Katrina's Luck”.

Shah Rukh Khan to come in double role

Shah Rukh Khan has not had a single release this year and has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Shah Rukh Khan came into news because of the famous spat with Salman Khan at Katrina Kaif’s birthday party. He also had a lackluster stint as host of Television game show, Kya Aap Panchvi pass Se Tez hai.

Now his career is looking up again with a double role in Aditya Chopra’s next flick, ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’. Shah Rukh Khan is not new to double roles. He had played doubles in ‘Duplicate’ and last year’s superhit, “Om Shanti Om”.

In ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ he plays the roles of a simpleton and a hippie. It is a light hearted comedy inspired by yesteryear’s director Hrishikesh Mukherji’s Amol Palekar starrer, superhit movie “Golmaal”. It is also offering a launch pad to new actress Anushka Sharma.

Bobby Deol’s Chamku goes to dustbin

Bobby Deol’s latest movie Chamku is quite boring and a meaningless fare that has failed to click at the box office.

Though starting on a promising note as an indictment of the cruel system, it meanders and gets lost in banality. Bobby Deol carries about four permanent expressions on his face throughout the movie and Priyanka Chopra is wasted in a role that sees her doing nothing else but flaunting designer blouses and a few chiffon saris. Other actors wasted include Irfan Khan, Danny Dengzopa and Rajpal Yadav.

The story proceeds like this. The story revolves around Chaman Varma aka Chamku, who is raised by the Naxalites after he is a docile eye witness to the brutal killing of his father The Naxalites perfect him in the art of killing. But his Naxalite guardians are killed by the police and now Chamku is taken up by the intelligence agencies who train him to be a political assassin. Meanwhile he falls in love with a teacher played by Proiyanka Chopra and wants to quit the killing and mayhem but there is no alternative for him except death.

The movie starts with promise but fizzles out as a hundreds of times- seen- before plot. The screenplay fails to hold your interest and Bobby Deol fails to impress you as a Bihari- Naxalite. Especially when the story shifts to Mumbai and he struts around Marine Drive in stylish leather jeans, leopard print shirts, aviator sunglasses, tribal pendants and drives a posh Mercedes.

Director Kabeer Kaushik seems to have lost his mettle. He had earlier made a brilliant movie based on U.P. Police titled Sehar in 2005. Chamku’s dialogues are shoddy and the cinematography also leaves a lot to ask for.

Pavin Ponanna dared to watch Phoonk alone

Egged on by the challenge thrown by director Ram Gopal Verma that his latest horror film 'Phoonk' was too scary to be watched all alone, a youth here has enjoyed the movie with not a single soul around, by booking an entire 227-seat theatre all for himself. The 30-year-old Pavin Ponanna, an advertising professional and a native of Madikere in Coorg district of Karnataka, booked the Inox theatre paying Rs 47,000 for a night show on Sunday and watched the entire film.

"It was a challenge that I dared to accept," says Pavin referring to Verma who dared that he would reward Rs five lakh to anyone who could watch the film alone. Though his apprehensive family offered a special pooja and insisted that he visit a place of worship before entering the theatre, Pavin said, he had little doubts he would emerge "unafraid".

"I came out unafraid, a celebrity", he said referring to the calls that poured in, after he came out of the theatre. Pavin said he would approach Verma to claim the award.

But is unsure of receiving it since the contest date was over. "I will ask Verma to hand over the reward or I would challenge him to make another film that was horrific enough to scare me," he says roaring in laughter.

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor to rock Europe now

After having a very successful concert in Sharjah, the pair of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are all set to rock Europe. The duo's show in the Middle East has filled the coffers of organizers. Buoyed by the success, the Morani Brothers, the organizers are now keen on taking the duo to Europe for a series of shows.

The Unforgettables may not have had such a great European sojourn, but Shah Rukh Khan managed a couple of good shows there. He is all set to go again in a couple of months. But before he does that, the Moranis will be taking the duo to Europe. Post the success of Race and Jab We Met, individually, the two stars have garnered quite a fan following worldwide. Apparently, for the Sharjah show, the two did not perform together. But the organizers are hoping to cash in on their popularity and get them to do certain items together. The success of the show has even made the stars quite excited, it is believed. Besides, the love and adulation, the money that is filling all their coffers is definitely welcome. And this becomes another way by which they are able to spend more time with each other. So, everybody seems to be a winner here.