Why Saif made Kareena do Mujra?

In today's time when hot item numbers are in great demand and add sparkle to films, Saif Ali Khan is treading a different route with his upcoming film AGENT VINOD. Saif is reiterating the magic of 'Mujra' in this film, which seemed to have vanished from Hindi cinema. Saif's beloved and co-star Kareena Kapoor will be seen doing her first Mujra song in the Sriram Raghavan directed film.

	view SUAVE SAIF ALI KHAN LAUNCHES AGENT VINOD TRAILER picture gallery

When we probed the actor-cum-producer about the idea behind having 'Mujra', Saif unequivocally said, ''We haven't seen a classic Mujra happening on-screen for a long time. We had enough discussions over it - like should we do an item? Should we get another big star and do a hot number? As most Hindi films have hot songs. Hot in terms of outfits and the presentation of the camera. And finally we thought we would go slightly different and make it interesting in terms of expressions and music.''

Not just Saif even his business partner at Illuminati Films, Dinesh Vijyan wanted to have a Mujra than a raunchy item number in the film.


Saif divulges, ''Even Dinesh was also pushing for Mujra rather than a raunchy kind of nightclub song.''

He further asserts, ''In AGENT VINOD raunchy night club song is there in the background and that's happening most of the time. We needed to make our item little more different.''

AGENT VINOD commences his mission on 23rd March 2012.

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Ajay & Tusshar are 2012's 'Singhs'

Playing a Sardar in a Bollywood film is definitely the 'in' thing. Akshay Kumarstarted it all, Saif Ali Khan joined in as well, Salman Khan played one in HEROES and Ranbir Kapoor in ROCKET SINGH. Going by the current fad, Ajay Devgn is all set to play a sardar in his upcoming film SON OF SARDAR. Not only Devgn, but the most unsuspecting Tusshar Kapoor is also happy to wear a pagdi in his next release - CHAAR DIN KI CHANDNI.

''Yes, of late quite a few B-town folks are playing a Sikh protagonist'', says a filmmaker, ''Earlier it was pretty much the territory of the likes of Dharmendra andSunny Deol who were rightly known as the 'sons of soil'. Other senior actors likeAmitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt too have experimented by playing a Sardar. However in recent times it is Akshay Kumar who started the trend with SINGH IS KINNG and now other actors are hopping on to the bandwagon as well.''

	TUSSHAR KAPOOR and AJAY DEVGN

It seems that Ajay will be well-liked by the audience in a sardar look. ''Ajay is playing the central protagonist in SON OF SARDAR and has already shot for it in Punjab. He had earlier played a Sikh protagonist in THE LEGEND OF BHAGAT SINGH but it was a relatively serious affair. SON OF SARDAR has been designed as a full-on-entertainer though and Ajay has gone an extra mile to get the nuances of a Sikh character right'', says a source from the production team.

On the other hand CHAAR DIN KI CHANDNI would see Tusshar Kapoor as a sardar for a major segment of the film. An out and out comic affair, the film is directed by Samir Karnik who hit gold with his full-on Punjabi drama in YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA. Though he doesn't have Deols on his side this time around, the filmmaker is hoping that 'being Punjabi' would reap benefits for him yet again for his latest outing.

Tusshar says, ''The film has a North Indian backdrop to it and I had fun playing this character here. Personally for me comedy has always worked and Samir has made sure that this one is a full-on masala out and out romantic comedy. CHAAR DIN KI CHANDNI is totally my genre and honestly, this film is the best thing that could have happened to me in the recent times.''

A couple of years ago it was Saif Ali Khan who turned sardar for one of the two characters that he played in LOVE AAJ KAL. It was a serious character but Arshad Warsi got into a comical zone when he portrayed a sardar character in DOUBLE DHAMAAL. This year though it would be the turn of Ajay Devgn and Tusshar Kapoor to get into the Sikh zone.

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Genelia: Kareena was very innocent

Kareena Kapoor's portrayal of a slapdash, chulbuli Geet in JAB WE MET has made a special mark in people's hearts and it will be remembered for years to come. So any actress who even relatively tries to play a character on those lines, comparisons are bound to happen. Genelia D'Souza's bindass & bubbly character in upcoming film TERE NAAL LOVE HO GAYA is being widely compared with Kareena's character in JAB WE MET.

	GENELIA DSOUZA and KAREENA KAPOOR

However, Genelia asserts the two characters are as different as chalk and cheese. There's hardly any similarity between the two.

Genelia rebuffs, "Kareena was very innocent in JAB WE MET. Kareena's characterGeet was a girl who did things out of her innocence. Whereas Mini, the character that I play in the film, is adventurous and brat. She wants to do quirky things and she knows about it irrespective of the consequences. She is extremely bubbly and enjoys the flair of life. But both the films have a similar backdrop."


While talking about her role in the film Genelia also points out that very few characters are etched out on women.

"Very rarely you get full-blown characters for girls. There's a very rare chance you'll get a character which will be remembered for a long time, provided the film works," says Genelia on a parting note.

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The really dirty picture: A look at the world of B, C-grade films

HitList offers a delicious bite into the fascinating world of B, C, D and E-Grade films of Bollywood

While Neha Dhupia's famous quote 'sex and SRK sells in Bollywood' holds true for A-Grade-films, there is a blooming parallel industry of B, C, D and E-Grade films that can easily do without any Khan. All they need is a heavy dose of 'erotica and cheap thrills' to get the desired eyeballs.

We chat up with a cross section of people a B-Grade-films-enthusiast Aseem Chandaver, the director of Miss Lovely (which pays tribute to C-Grade films) Ashim Ahluwalia, the king of B-Grade-films Kanti Shah, to find out the ABCs of the industry and what makes it such a cult.

What is a B-Grade film?
A B-movie is generally defined as a low budget film that is definitely not art house or pornographic.

Ahluwalia, who has spent 10 years researching on this industry says, "It's actually a meaningless term. In its original usage in 1950s America, the term specifically described a film intended for distribution as the unknown; bottom half of a double feature, often in drive-in cinemas.

It doesn't mean anything in India except it is often a raunchy film without major stars, although Dharam-ji has appeared in many." According to Chandaver, the evolution of B-Grade films started in 1987 with a film called Raat Ke Andhere Main.

Is B = Sleaze?
The popular notion is that B films are all about sex and sleaze. "They don't follow any rules, " says Ahluwalia. Chandaver who boasts of a collection of 400 titles says, "The directors express their wildest fantasies through these films. In the 80s there wasn't much nudity in B movies except for films like Pyaasa Shaitan."


Poster of Sheila Ki Jawani

The ABC of B-Grade films
These films range from B, C, D to E grade. What separates a D grade film from B and C is bad production and very bad actors.

In D grade films if there is shortage of actors they cast their spot boys as well. There are also various genres in these films horror, daku, junglee, Tarzan, erotica, naag and action.

"The horror genre inspired by the Ramsays is unfortunately dying." Ashim confesses, "C-Grade films are more honest and are characterised by violent, gory, and mostly sexual content and a minimum of artistic interest. They are not even trying to mimic A-Grade films and often have something unintentionally interesting going on."

The cult fan following
These films might be targeted at 'the jhuggi jhopri crowd', but has also managed to attract some cinephiles. Ahluwalia says, "Most people find them funny because they can be accidentally quite hilarious, " and adds, "The target audience are the people who find Aamir Khan or Amitabh Bachchan boring and would rather see a Chudail rip someone's head off or have an erotic shower."

The Baaps of B films
The founding father of B grade films are Vinod Talwar, Mohan Bhakri and D films are Raj Kumar Kohli, Joginder and K Bapaiya. "The Khooni Dracula director-producer Harinam Singh is hailed as the God of D-Grade films.

He defies every rule in the book, " says Chandaver. Suresh Jain is the uncrowned king of erotica. He made a series of films titled Doodhwali, Machhiwali, Maalishwali, Kelewali, etc. Kanti Shah is one of the most notable names

The superstars
Chandaver says, "My all time favorite was Joginder Shelley who passed away in 2009. Ahluwalia says, "The actors I like from C grade films are mostly from the 1980s. Sapna, Poonam Das Gupta, Jyoti Rana, Sheetal, J Neelam and Joginder are all terrific. My favourite performance is Harinam Singh in/ as Shaitani Dracula."

Bumps ahead
Producer of Sheila Ki Jawani Kanti Shah says that the industry is going through a rough patch due to the rise in multiplexes and the single screens shutting down.

"My next, a horror film will release in a multiplex. The budget will be thtice of my other films, " he adds saying, "Also now all the films are releasing on YouTube or digital media." Shah says, "Nearly 100 films release annually and the average budget of a B film is around 40 lakh. Their DVDs come at a cost of anything between Rs 25 to 99."

As a rule these movies make profit. Shah says, "Most movies make double the amount invested."

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Popular Celebrity Spouses

It won't be wrong to call tinsel-town the Mecca of popularity. Being spouse of a silver-screen celebrity, entitles one for the status as well. Let's have a look at some celeb spouses who, inspite of not being an actor, enjoy a parallel status in popularity. 1. Avantika Malik Nobody was aware of the name of Avantika Malik till the lady tied wedding knot with Imran Khan. Since the pious sacrament between the two, Avantika seems to be enjoying the star status with hubby Imran at all events. 2. Raj Kundra This British born Asian, a college dropout entrepreneur gained popularity for his relationship with Bollywood diva Shilpa Shetty. Now Raj is amongst some of the most popular celeb spouses to be seen on page 3 events. 3. Suzanne Khan Roshan The envy of many young women Suzanne is another celebrity spouse who was an unknown name for the cine fans. The pretty lady fetched huge stardom because of hubby Hrithik during the early days of their relationship, but now the lady herself is an iconic name in the industry. 4. Gauri Khan Forgetting the Begum of Badshah Khan of bollywood in this league will be a sheer injustice with the lady luck of Shah Rukh Khan. Gauri is another famous celeb spouse with a celeb status at par with SRK. 5. Manyata Dutt When this fair skinned diva made her debut in Bollywood with an item number in Gangajal, nobody even bothered to notice her. But as soon as Manyataa got Dutt suffixed with her name, the lady started grabbing the paparazzi attention. 6. Sanjay Kapur Sanjay Kapur hit the limelight when he wedded Karisma Kapoor in 2003. The journey to stardom for this Delhi based businessman took off from there only. His appearance on any of the public gathering, be it with Lolo or without her, started making headlines of the tabloids. 7. Shri Ram Nene Beating millions of fans of 'dhak dhak girl' Madhuri Dixit Dr.Sriram Nene, the cardiovascular surgeon from Denver, emerged as another non celeb name who had all the popularity flashes focused on him when Madhuri announced him as her soul mate.

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Veena's item number deleted for Anna!

Pakistani actress's song 'Channo' in ‘Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai' was removed from the special screening held for Hazare

Veena Malik's item number Channo in Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai was deleted from the screening held for Anna Hazare.

The film, which takes on corruption, had its cast which included Akshaye Khanna and Mugdha Godse attend the screening at his village Ralegan Siddhi.

The item number has the starlet doing her act during election time to gather more votes for a political party. Now wonder what Anna would have to say to this!

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Demystified - SRK and Priyanka's Special 'Friendship'

He calls her his 3 am friend, while she turns red even at the mention of his name.

Few actors have shared the camaraderie Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra do, but it's not a bond that hasn't burnt some bridges along the way.

May 2000
Twelve years ago, when Shah Rukh Khan crowned Priyanka as Miss India, little did they know that their names would be spelt together, more often than they could have expected. He was her lucky charm, she had said back then.

Mid-2004
It was a time when apna Miss World was facing enough trouble from her then-secretary Prakash Jaju who sued her for non- payment of dues. The first time she sought help from Shah Rukh who ensured things would get better and encouraged her to concentrate on her career. She even accompanied him on the Temptations tour back then.

August 2006
After six years, the lady landed a role beside her favourite Bollywood star in Farhan Akhtar's Don. Thanks to his allure and her acting abilities, both would often fall short of words of praise for each other. Priyanka said, "I still cannot believe I'm working with King Khan!" To which he responded, "She's beautiful and the best actress we have today."

November 2008
This was the year PC apparently found love with Shahid Kapoor while shooting for Kaminey (after breaking up with Harman Baweja of course. Remember him?) The relationship seemed fickle, yet feisty. Not to mention, it was one that good friend SRK approved of. The couple was seen spending time at Khan's Bandra residence many times since then.

January 2009
By now Chopra's love life was even more unpredictable than the Mumbai weather. Stories about trouble in the PC-Sasha paradise started doing the rounds every few months. The only constant was her affection for SRK. (By this time she had fallen out with Salman. She and Aamir on the other hand have never worked together).

October 2010
Don and his junglee billi were reunited as they began shooting for the Don sequel in Berlin. Apparently PC just couldn't stop blushing after SRK complimented her at a press conference saying, "Priyanka looked prettier than Berlin." Sweet!

December 2010
In the season's hottest episode of Karan Johar's Koffee with Karan, PC gushed like a teenager when KJo mentioned how close she was to SRK. All poor Sasha could do was provide background score. However we hear that Gauri wasn't too happy with it.

January 2011
In a surprise twist in the tale this time, it's SRK who went out of the way to announce his fondness for her. At the Screen Awards co-hosted by Khan and Kapoor, SRK asked Shahid, "Is Priyanka your sister?" Ouch!

February 2011
Shahid was well out of her life, and she needed a friend more than ever. PC promoted both her films 7 Khoon Maaf and Don 2 with SRK who was hosting the show Zor Ka Jhatka. He went down on his knees for her and the cameras. "If he was one of the seven husbands in the film, I'd never kill him, " she said.

September 2011
By now their alleged closeness was too serious to be brushed off as a promotional gimmick for Don 2. Every time the media mentioned their 'relationship', she'd get defensive, while he took it lightly. This is when wife Gauri decided to throw an Eid bash.

Priyanka was invited, but apparently ignored. Buzz was that Gauri's friend Mehr Jesia walked up to SRK and confronted him about why Priyanka was part of the party. SRK jumped to came to PC's defense saying she is a friend like most others.

October 2011
They appeared on friend Hrithik Roshan's reality show Just Dance and spent more than quality time together.

November 2011
Buzz was that by now Gauri and SRKs close friends had started smelling the coffee. Most of them empathised with Mrs Khan. A close friend was quoted in a magazine saying, "Priyanka is at every party that Shah Rukh throws. She's always hovering around him. Of course, Gauri is upset."

December 2011
Best friends Hrithik Roshan and Arjun Rampal walked out of Dabboo Ratnani's calendar launch the minute SRK entered. A few days ago Priyanka was spotted in his office late in the night.

January 2012
Over the weekend, SRK and his new best friend hosted an awards function together in Macau.

Excerpts from an interview that SRK and PC gave to HitList in November 2011... 

You both have never masked your admiration for each other. In all these years how has the equation changed?
PC: Ever since I remember, I've wanted to grow up and be like him. Perhaps like a female version. He has always been associated with the most important aspects of my life ever since he crowned me Miss World. So he has been instrumental in honing me in a lot of ways.

SRK: Personally, I am quite uncomfortable around actors. I get very conscious. But she makes me feel comfortable. She'll fix my hair if it's out of place. It's nice working with a friend like that. Also she has realised that I am as insecure as anyone else.

In the last three months much has been written about your growing 'friendship'. It seems like a perfect publicity build-up to the film (Don 2).
SRK: As an actor when you put in long hours of work, and then you have someone who you really love or feel for to share that space, you feel fortunate. What's unfortunate is when people give it a name or a tag.

Sometimes friendships or relationships are beyond what people say. So when things out of the ordinary are said, it's not embarrassing to us at least, because we know what it really is.

So why do they say you don't make friends in Bollywood?
SRK: That's a generic line. F*** off if people say so. I'm happy she's around. I can take the advantage of calling her and asking her to do a three-day shoot for me, where all she's doing is hanging from a rope. And she does it for me. She shoots on her birthday.

It may be beyond professionalism, but that's what friends do. The process of work becomes beautiful when you share that kind of relationship. I read what's written, think about it, but it won't come in the way of what we feel for each other.

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I have tasted blood now: Karan Johar

The beginning of the year saw the biggest opening ever. Karan Johar's "Agneepath" has set a new record on its opening day and promises to pick up in the weekend like never before.

Apparently, the team of Agneepath gathered on the set of Yash Raj to celebrate the success with the media. Unlike, Karan Johar's other love stories, Agneepath seemed to have more brawl and violence in it.

Karan Johar said, "The dongries and mandwa is a bit new to Dharma productions. The other action sequence I ever had in my film was Hrithik being slapped by Amith uncle. That's the only action sequence I had in 15 years career. I have tasted blood now don't know what next. "

The original Agneepath which didn't click at the box office wasn't a safe bet to play for. Karan Johar told to the reporters, "It's my own revenge to the audience. Own son avenging his father's flop (Laughs).

It's strange thing that in perception Agneepath is not a flop. Only trade knows it. There are few films like Lamhe and Agneepath world doesn't acknowledge as a failure. Youth loved it virally on videos and DVD world. "

He further ads, "I think we made this film is a big thing it's a tribute to my father. It's a special film for us it was not an easy task. To make a cult classic it comes with a lot of expectations and baggage. Your working against that baggage and trying to make your mark. I think Karan Malhotra has made this film with his conviction and he is the reason why all of us are here today. "

Besides, the success, the press conference also introduced the debutant director Karan Malhotra who was kept away from the media all this while.

Karan Johar said, "I tell to every first director let your work speak for yourself. I never gave a single interview till Kuch Kuch Hota Hai released because I had nothing to say and why should anyone hear me out when they haven't seen what I have done. Today Karan Malhotra is open to the world of media. " Among other stars it was Rishi Kapoor's performance which was praised by one and all. However, Rishi Kapoor was skeptical before doing Agneepath.

Rishi kapoor said, "If I get any credit for this film then that belongs to Karan Johar and Karan Malhotra because there conviction and confidence on me who was like unlike candidate for the role. So, all the credit goes to them. They choose me for this film. "

He further ads, "I didn't have the confidence. I might look bad but I can't look evil. This was possible because of them. "

The entire team of Agneepath including Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Karan Johar, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Karan Malhotra graced the event.

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1.5 crores? Prateik getting 'unreasonable'

The actor is apparently losing out on some plum offers due to an 'unreasonable' demand of Rs 1.5 crore per film

It had been earlier reported that Prateik lost out on Shoojit Sircar's Second Time Lucky because the production house, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, had apprehensions about casting the actor in a complex character.

Apparently, this decision was taken after watching his lackluster performance in Prakash Jha's Aarakshan. Now, however, the real reason seems to be something else. Buzz is that Prateik lost out on the film because he demanded an exorbitant fee, which the producers didn't feel he deserved.

A source close to actor says, "Prateik demanded rupees 1.5 crore for the film. Since some of his films have not worked in the past, the producers were apprehensive about paying him so much. The producers are not sure if they would be able to recover the money."

The source adds, "Prateik never gets into the financial details. It's basically his manager, who takes such calls. One and half crore is not a huge amount considering the pay packages of other stars but Prateik still has to prove himself. Things may turn in his favour overnight, if he gives a hit."

Reportedly, actor also lost out on Tigmanshu Dhulia's Milan Talkies because of the same reason. Prateik and the production house remained unavailable for comment.

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House that, Shazahn!

Shazahn Padamsee loves to dream big. After buying a spacious home in Khar, the young lady dreams of buying a property in Los Angeles. She tells CS, "I have a dream of owning a place in LA.

After all, Hollywood and LA are synonymous with one another. And who wouldn't like to have the likes of Brad Pitt, Justin Timberlake and Shakira as neighbours?

The very thought of being in Beverly Hills or Universal Studios is so exhilarating. I went there once and got totally bowled over."

Well, we won't be surprised if we see you shifting there like a certain Ms Sherawat!

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