We didn't expect Kolaveri Di to be such a huge success: Shruti Haasan

If there's anything that Shruti Hassan is more passionate about besides films, it's music. The petite lady, lady who's taken professional training in music and is at present a part of a band, says that music completes her as a person. Basking in the glory of the unusual number -- Kolaveri Di, Shruti gets talking about music:

Riding on the wave
I don't think any one of us expected Kolaveri Di to be such a huge success. Right now, we are enjoying every compliment that's coming our way.

We haven't stopped to analyse what made the song such a craze. The song has been sung entirely by Dhanush. I am there in the video by default as I was in the recording room during the making (laughs out loud).

I have sung another song in the film. So far, I have had four-five releases and have sung a song in all of them. I enjoy singing as well as acting. The song I have sung in my upcoming release is very soft and mellow.

A varied range
Music is an integral part of my life. It completes me. I find singing a very spiritual experience. I feel very de-stressed and peaceful when I sing or listen to music. I did a course in music from the Musicians Institute of California.

Till date, one of the best concerts I ever attended was one in the US.

I was much younger and had gone with my friends. The band was Meshuggah, and they belted out some fab heavy metal stuff. I also used to attend jazz and blues concerts.

However, I have also trained for five years in Hindustani classical music. So, it's been my first love. I don't enjoy any particular music genre; I listen to various kinds of songs depending on my mood.

But I am a little partial towards fusion, though I enjoy listening to classical singers like Kishori Amonkar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parveen as well. In fact, I am a great fan of Kishore Kumar.

My favourite film is Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. He was the best singer--cum-performer in India. I don't think that there will ever be someone else like him.

Filmy talent
Today, cinema is moving away from conventional themes. Women characters are getting bolder. Keeping this in mind, composers are getting more experimental with music and sounds.

I think it's a wonderful thing. If you ask me, amongst my co-stars, Dhanush, Siddharth and Suriya are good singers.

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Veena Malik wants to patch up with dad

Her father had disowned her post her controversial shoot but is it a publicity stunt?

Veena Malik

Veena Malik is still making news because of her nude photoshoot with FHM India a few weeks ago. The cover shot which had Veena wearing just a smile and little else, not only tarnished her image in her homeland, Pakistan but also strained her relationship with her family. It was reported that her father, Malik Mohammad Aslam, a retired solider, was outraged by his daughter’s dare-bare act and told the media that he wanted to disown her. But what follows smacks of a huge publicity stunt.

Veena’s UK publicist has revealed that the actress is very upset by the ‘insensitivity’ of the media and has resolved to speak to her family to clear the misunderstanding. Veena confirmed the news. “In the past my family has always stood by my side. They are angry and I understand them but I was not actually nude. I love them and will go back, sit down and speak to them; I hope they will understand,” she said.

December has been quite a tumultuous month for the Pakistani actress cum model. She enraged her compatriots after she appeared nude on the cover of the FHM magazine’s India edition with the initials of Pakistan’s secret agency ‘Inter Services Intelligence’ inked on her arm. Several Pakistani organisations and religious heads were quick to call the 24-year-old actress treacherous and demanded that she be stripped off her citizenship.

In the following days, the lady was caught in a skirmish with the editor-in-chief and journalists of FHM India whom she accused of doctoring her image on the cover of the magazine. Veena initially defended herself by claiming that her image had been morphed and sued the magazine for millions of dollars. Later, she went onto add that she had been only topless for the photoshoot and had worn hot pants but FHM, before publishing the issue, had made her appear completely nude on the cover.

Our question is: if she really wanted to apologise for her recklessness why do it through the media again? Couldn’t she have taken a quiet flight home?

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Aamir Khan names son ‘Azad’

Mr Perfectionist’s baby has been named after a freedom fighter

Aamir Khan never ceases to surprise. On December 1, 2011, he informed the world about the birth of his son through IVF to a surrogate mother. The excitement didn’t end then. As is his wont, he took his own time to come up with a name for his baby. He even asked twitteratis for suggestions and needless to say, he was inundated with ideas.

However, none of them impressed Aamir and he finally accepted wife Kiran’s suggestion and gave his son the unique name ‘Azad Rao Khan’. He said on Facebook: “Hey guys, most excited to share with you all that we have finally chosen a name for our baby boy. ...Azad. Azad Rao Khan. I left the final choice to Kiran and she has named him after my great grand uncle, Maulana Azad, the great freedom fighter, of whom the family is most proud of. Azad means free or liberated. We want to thank everyone for their warm wishes and blessings, and needless to say we are absolutely overjoyed and feel most blessed."

With a name like that little Azad Rao Khan is sure to follow in his illustrious dad’s footsteps!

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Lara Dutta's baby shower bash

It looks like the pregnancy hasn’t put a brake on her partying spirit!

Lara Dutta, proud mommy-to-be!

Former Miss Universe, Lara Dutta, is seven months pregnant, but that’s not stopping her from being out and about and socializing with dear friends. She still has the energy of a schoolgirl. Just recently she tweeted and publicly announced that pregnancy hasn’t stopped her from working out in the gym and advised other pregnant women to workout everyday but only under proper guidance.

Apart from sweating it out in the gym, Lara is also busy nowadays shopping for her godbharai (baby shower). Rumor has it that her elder sister Cheryl is planning a great party at Lara’s Mumbai residence this Monday. Invitations are being sent to Lara’s close friends in the industry and outside the film community. Lara who is married to tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi, had to disappoint her buddies in Dubai who were also keen to host a party for her here. She felt travelling wouldn’t be safe especially since she was nearing her due date.

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Bipasha lands in trouble in Russia

Guess what her 'crime' was?

Bipasha faced a challenging time in Russia

Shooting in Russia for her forthcoming movie ‘Players’ is turning out to be a nightmare for Bipasha Basu. Just last week the 32-year- old dusky beauty got a scare when a Russian admirer stalked her while she was shopping on the streets of St. Petersburg. Bips could only breathe a sigh of relief when she was eventually rescued by co-stars Omi Vaidya and Sikander Kher. The incident shook up the actress and led director-duo, Abbas Mastan, to appoint a bodyguard for Bip’s personal safety. But her ordeal wasn’t over just yet.

Three days later, Bips was baffled when she was whisked away with co-star Sikander Kher by the Russian police. Apparently the actress and her friend Sikander had committed an offense by walking in a restricted area. The police went on to explain that Bips couldn’t have missed the signs that were marked on the street that clearly indicated the area was out of bounds for tourists. In their defense, Bips and Sikander replied that they couldn’t read Russian. Bip’s nightmare ended when another policeman entered the room and recognized her as a Bollywood actress. Soon after, the two stars were pardoned.

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Akshay Kumar to rule in 2012?

After witnessing a lean phase for quite some time it seems happy days are on its way for the star. Buzz is that Akshay will have as many as six releases in the year 2012 - HOUSEFULL 2, ROWDY RATHORE, JOKER, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI 2, KHILADI 786 and SPECIAL CHABBIS and that too all with the reputed banners. While HOUSEFULL 2 (sequel to hit film HOUSEFULL) is directed by Sajid Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, ROWDY RATHORE, an upcoming action film, is directed by Prabhu Deva and jointly produced by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali & Ronnie Screwvala of UTV. The fantasy adventure film, JOKER is the first 3D film directed by Shirish Kunder. Then KHILADI 786, with which Akshay returns in his Khiladi avatar, is produced by Eros International and Akshay's home banner Hari Om Entertainment. ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI 2, sequel to OUATIM, is with the undisputed queen of television and film industry, Ekta Kapoor. SPECIAL CHABBIS is with A WEDNESDAY director, Neeraj Pandey.

So a great year is waiting ahead for Akshay Kumar!

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Abhishek-Bobby-Neil-Sikander are 'bonded players'

Shooting of PLAYERS was one big bonding exercise for its actors, especially all the four male leads, as they travelled the globe. While Abhishek Bachchan and Bobby Deol have come together earlier in JHOOM BARAABAR JHOOM (and momentarily in DOSTANA), for Neil Nitin Mukesh it was his first ever association with the two men.''Even though Abhishek and Bobby are older than Neil, he has shared a good equation with them ever since his childhood. There was an age gap for sure but in their younger days they used to have a blast. While families of Nitin Mukesh and Dharmendra go back a long way, Neil has looked upon Abhishek as an elder brother. It was time for some real guy-bonding as Abhishek, Bobby and Neil travelled extensively for the film's shoot,'' informs a unit member.

There was some fun in store for the younger generation as well, what with Sonam Kapoor being yet another star kid on the sets. On the other hand Sikander Kher comes from a 'filmy parivaar' too, hence making it one Bollywood family on the sets.

''Neil and Sikander are very good friends as well as they are more or less the same age. They know each other since their childhood days and hence it was one big party for the entire cast,' a source adds, 'The centre of attraction though were Abhishek and Bobby as they ignited quite a few SHOLAY conversations that popped up between the shots. Reason was obvious - after all, Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra were the film's leads.''

With PLAYERS sounding like an all-men saga, both on and off the sets, one wonders whether Bipasha and Sonam felt a little left out. ''Naah, not at all, both of them were pretty much a part of our gang,' smiles Neil, 'In fact Bipasha has worked with Abbas-Mustan so many times that she was almost like a veteran amongst us.'

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No 'Munni' or 'Sheila' for Geeta Basra

As is a known fact by now, Geeta Basra  has recently shot for an item number titled'Ghaziabad Ki Rani hoon Main' for ZILLA GHAZIABAD (Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi,Vivek Oberoi). Another fact which is relatively unknown is that to begin with, Geeta was apprehensive that the makers may just go ahead and shoot another 'Munni Badnaam' or 'Sheila Ki Jawaani'. Though she personally loves both the songs, she felt that the year gone by had seen so many imitations of the style and format as seen in 'Munnis' and 'Sheilas' of the world that it was about time to create something fresh and different.''If you look at it, t
here has been a 'Jalebi Bai' (DOUBLE DHAMAAL), 'Shalu Ke Thumke' (BIN BULAYE BARAATI), 'Chammak Challo Rani' (MILEY NAA MILEY HUM) and many more with everyone from Mallika Sherawat to Shweta Tiwari joining the race. Just like Kareena Kapoor who decided against calling her'Chammak Challo' as just another item number belonging to the mould of 'Sheila'and 'Munni', even Geeta checked with the makers about their strategy,'' says a friend of the actress.

This is when director Anand Kumar and choreographer Remo explained to her the concept of the song which is (obviously) set in Ghaziabad. While the song is as massy as it gets, what with the title itself reading 'Ghaziabad Ki Rani Hoon Main', Geeta too would be seen in a hot and sexy avatar.

''Yes, I enjoyed all the 'latka jhatka' and thankfully it is visually quite different when compared to many other item numbers that we have seen in recent times,' says Geeta, 'It was fun to get back into the mould. Trust me, I realised how much I was really missing the song and dance routine only after I started dancing to the beats.''

Well Geeta, we would want to see it for ourselves too.

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Kareena, Katrina, Priyanka cash in on New Year's eve

 

 

Hotties cash in on New Year's Eve: Find out who makes how much

New Year's Eve is when Bollywood brigade makes loads of moolah through private and public events

The turn of the year comes with its celebrations and new resolutions, and for the Bollywood brigade, it's definitely the best time to earn some quick moolah.

Rs 1.2 - 2 crore (approx)
Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra's charge per performance

On New Year's Eve, a lot of people are glued to the TV, watching special programmes. And the entire spectrum, from the top notch heroines to the B and C category of actresses and item girls find this the perfect opportunity to fill their purses by stepping into their dance shoes and performing at these shows.

Shooting stars
A source from an event management company reveals, "The fees of actresses and singers become double at New Year's Eve performance. The only exception to the rule is the top most stars like Shah Rukh Khan (he takes approx Rs 4 crore to dance at events), Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor. Their prices become thrice and sometime even more."

Show me the cash, honey
The source further reveals, "Most of the payments are in cash. A full payment in white that happens at corporate shows is not the case here. These shows are mostly organised by private clubs, associations or individuals. Private clubs usually pay in cash. For them, it's making use of black money and for actors it's easy cash."

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Shilpa Shetty is pregnant

Shilpa Shetty confirms that she is expecting her first baby 

Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty has confirmed that she and her husband Raj Kundra are expecting their first baby together. The actress posted on her Twitter page today (December 10, 2011), "Tweetos,"YES"an addition 2 r family is r confirmation 2 all queries:) We seek blessings from all in this very beautiful phase of our lives."

Rumours of Shilpa being pregnant had resurfaced again recently, just a few months after they first began. In June 2011, Shilpa posted on her Twitter page, "Sick and tired of all the congratulatory msgs and calls, so for the last time 'I AM NOT PREGNANT'. All this is so annoying...grrrrrrrrr."

She'd added then, "To all my followers 'If, how and when I wish to make any personal announcement, is entirely MY (not the press') prerogative! As of now there's none to make."

"I do know I am in the public domain, and everyone is curious, but these are sensitive issues, hence would appreciate the press respects my privacy. Thanks."

In September 2011, Shilpa had said about the pregnancy rumours, "There is news that I am expecting and I don't know that I am expecting. It baffles me. I always say that you do your job and I do mine. There is a line between us. You shouldn't cross that line. I wouldn't cross that line with you guys. It's about respect."

"If I do get pregnant any day, I would be more than happy to announce it. This is not something I have to hide," the 36-year-old had added then. And that's just what she's done.

Shilpa and Britain-based Indian businessman Raj Kundra got married in 2009. He has a five-year-old daughter with his ex-wife Kavita.

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