Shahrukh: Kids please don't emulate DON in real life!

With the release date of DON 2 inching closer, the makers as well as the lead actors have really started to pump up the promotions in a big manner.

With talks of SRK not really participating the whole hog in the promotions of DON 2 (like he did for his home production RA.ONE), doing the rounds, it seems that Shah Rukh Khan as well as the producers have certainly realized that the D-Day is close. And in an effort to promote the movie the lead actors as well as the producersFarhan Akhtar (also the director) and Ritesh Sidhwani are on a whirlwind tour of India.

Just yesterday (Friday), the unit of DON 2 was in the Pink City Jaipur, where Shahrukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra, along with the director Farhan Akhtar and producer Ritesh Sidhwani interacted with the media as well as the fans. When asked by the fourth estate as to why he was essaying a negative role after such a long time, SRK replied, "With negativity comes positivity, and only when we portray a negative character we can show a positive one."


Shah Rukh spoke at length about his role, the real life stunts that he had performed while shooting for DON 2 and also the movie in general, but was also quick to advice that the people should not copy what they see in DON 2. He said, "Kids please do not emulate DON in real life."

The lead actors, Shah Rukh and Priyanka also obliged the audience present there by delivering some popular dialogues of DON 2 which were really appreciated by all and there were loud cheers and claps.

Well, all we can say and hope is that the movie too is welcomed with loud cheers and claps by the audience when it releases worldwide next week!

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What advice Aamir gave to Abhishek Bachchan on fatherhood?

They were seen cozied up to each other, involved in a warm and friendly discussion at a prayer meeting held at a Mumbai film studio in the memory of the late Dev Anand, lovingly and respectfully called by the industry folks as Dev Saab.

While the first time father Abhishek was quietly listening to the senior thespian's animated discourse with a very friendly smile on his face, everyone was left wondering about the topic of conversation. Were they discussing the nitty-gritty of fatherhood? Both looked relaxed and happy, with the bright glow of fatherhood adorning their visage.

Their spouses were absent, probably busy with their motherly chores. Who knows, they may even be talking about how neglected they feel now by their wives. Both of them also left the venue together. Aamir being the more experienced among the duo was in complete command. He is also the one full of ideas and a fast mover, having named his baby boy Azad Rao Khan while Abhishek and the rest of Bachchans are still scouting for a suitable name for their 'bitiya'.


(Rajesh Kumar Singh is Editorial Consultant for Festivals and Markets for BollywoodTrade.com. He is a filmmaker, critic and market analyst)

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It's Riteish Deshmukh's birthday today!

Bollywood actor Ritesh Deshmukh celebrates his 33rd birthday today. If the media reports are to be believed then Riteish and Genelia are likely to organize a grand birthday bash today.

Bollywood celebrities wished Ritesh on this special day over micro-blogging site.

Beloved Genelia D'Souza was fast in wishing her soon-to-be-hubby, as she tweeted, ''Happy birthday 2d bestest,most adorable n d sweetest person I hav evr known n vl ever knw, Riteishd u make life special by just bein in it.''

'Heyy ritlaaa ! the biggest budmaash on the planet!!!!!! happy birthday,'' Boman Irani wished.

''happy birthday bro ! God bless you always ! Loads of love,'' Neil Nitin Mukeshposted.

Director Karan Johar  greeted, ''To my closest friend and family Riteishd....happy birthday!!!! Have the most special year ever!!!!''


''And happy birthday to 1 helluva nice guy Riteishd ... Rock On buddy,'' DirectorFarhan Akhtar tweeted.

''Wish u a very happy birthday my dear Rits a big year ahead filled with all the happiness u deserve love,'' actor Arjun Rampal wished.

Riteish is gearing up for his much touted film TERE NAAL LOVE HO GAYA with his lady love Genelia D'Souza.

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Wish hot hunk John Abraham Happy Birthday

The handsome desi boy, who has been the heartthrob of many girls especially teenagers, celebrates his 39th birthday today.

From giving a superlative performance in 7 KHOON MAAF to flaunting the well-sculpted abs in FORCE to spreading his charisma in DESI BOYZ, John swayed the hearts with his charm.


On this special day join us in wishing the sweltering hot John Abraham a very happy birthday.

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Revealed: Aishwarya in Rajni's next film

Buzz is that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will make a special appearance in the South superstar's 'Kochadaiyaan', post their sizzling chemistry in an earlier flick

There's been a lot of speculation lately about what Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's next project will be.

And now the buzz is that the new mommie may be a part of superstar Rajnikanth's next film Kochadaiyaan where she is expected to do a guest appearance.

In that case, her rumoured next with Sanjay Leela Bhansali may not be her first on-screen appearance after all, post her delivery.

Ash is said to be taking a year's sabbatical before making a comeback on the big screen.

Says a source, "There was a lot of back and forth on what project Rajnikanth would be working on, post his illness. But now he has already started work on his daughter Soundarya's film Kochadaiyaan.

Though the leading lady for the film is yet to be finalised, it was decided from the very beginning that they would request Aishwarya to do a special appearance."

Film buffs lapped up the chemistry between Ash and Rajnikanth in Robot, which incidentally was the lone hit the actress delivered in 2010. So it won't be surprising if she grabs this opportunity; to be seen beside the Boss works for her in every way.

Adds the source, "Rajni sir shares a very warm relationship with Aishwarya and there's little chance that she would say no to him.

Even during the making and promotions of Robot, it was evident that they would definitely work in a film together again.

However, now that Ash has other family and professional commitments, it seems difficult for her to devote time for a full-fledged role and hence this."

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Spotted: Mystery woman with Sanjay?

While the ongoing gossip on the sets of Dutt's next miffed him, the lady in question ultimately turns out to be a friend's wife! 

What seemed to be an innocuous remark by a bystander resulted in causing a flutter on the sets of Sanjay Dutt's film in Chandigarh. Someone posted a message on a micro-blogging site: 'Dutt been seen with a woman' during the filming of Son of Sardar.

The buzz did the rounds on the sets and people started reading between the lines. This infuriated the star to no end. As he appeared irritated, his buddy and co-star in the film, Ajay Devgn, tried to pacify him. Being the producer as well, Ajay tried to keep things under control.

But to make matters worse, the news not only did the rounds of the sets but reached Sanjay's wife Maanayata in Mumbai as well. Knowing how dear his family is to him, this further resulted in anguish for the star. To add to his woes, Dutt had not been keeping very well.

The star then tried to trace the person whose handiwork it was. It turned out to be some inconsequential guy who was a witness to the shoot proceedings. And the woman in question happened to be Sanjay's friend's wife who was visiting him on the sets with her hubby.

Confirms a unit source, "On the sets, everyone was talking about it. As Sanjay was not feeling too well, it annoyed him even more." Dutt's spokesperson maintains that such an incident did not occur. However the source says, "Everyone on the sets has been talking about it."

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Hollywood star is SRK and Priyanka's ardent admirer

Here's an actor who, unlike some of our Bollywood icons, talks about romancing his co-stars unabashedly. Having done that several times, Gerard Butler swears never to fall in love with a co-actor ever again.

But he doesn't mind sharing screen space with his Bollywood buddies, SRK and Priyanka Chopra.

With a new release in his kitty, the actor talks to CS about Bollywood, and his relationshiop with his co-stars:

Bollywood dreams
I find Bollywood's style of storytelling quite interesting and it looks really vibrant and fun. I almost became a part of Lagaan and they wanted me to do a part in Kaminey, but it didn't materialise.

I don't mind acting anywhere, but the role must excite me and it should be an inspiring team to work with.

I hold Shah Rukh or Priyanka Chopra in high regard and wouldn't mind sharing screen space with them. They are very warm people and I share a great rapport with them.

Reel and real love
I enjoy working with friendly co-stars and have also ended up falling in love with many of them. Well, it is very easy to fall for an attractive woman that you are working everyday for four-six months.

When you're making a film with someone, you get to know them very well indeed and it's too easy to develop a sort of obsession with them that you think at the time might be love. But it isn't.

That's why I feel it's better that I stay away from doing it. Earlier in my career, I had a couple of relationships with co-stars and they turned out to be disasters.

Eventually, you end up spending months working with your now ex-girlfriend, and it gets really messy for you and the rest of the unit.

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Manoj Bajpai wants more money

The actor has refused to slash his fee to act in Sanjay Gupta's 'Shootout At Wadala'; negotiations have now reached a stalemate 

According to filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, Manoj Bajpai alone can do justice to the role of Dawood Ibrahim's brother Sabir Kaskar, in his next film Shootout At Wadala.

However, there seems to be a glitch. Apparently, Bajpai is quoting a fee that Gupta cannot afford to pay. However, to be a part of Gupta's controversial real-life police-encounter drama, John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Vivek Overoi and Tusshar Kapoor have all slashed their remuneration by half.

Though Gupta and Bajpai are 4 am friends, the negotiations have reportedly reached an impasse. Says a source, "Manoj's secretary has asked for Rs 1 crore, while Sanjay Gupta's total budget for the film is R 10 crore.

While Gupta feels Bajpai is getting the role of a lifetime, the latter feels a price-cut at this stage of his career, when his solo-hero film Lanka has opened to abysmal attendance, would send out the wrong signal to prospective producers."

Gupta was forthright enough to admit there's a remuneration issue with his buddy. "But I'd never take advantage of my friendship with Manoj to get him to give me a discount. No way! He should realise the importance of this role for his career.

Dawood has been played many times on screen. But no one has played Sabir. Not much is known about him though he played a crucial part in Ibrahim's destiny.

In fact when Manoj heard my writer Milap Jhaveri's scenes and lines for Sabir's character, he simply jumped with joy. But the money issue needs to be resolved."

Gupta confirms that the rest of the cast has reduced their fee. Says Gupta, "I won't reveal what they're charging. But yes, all the actors including John have slashed their fees drastically. I am making Shootout At Wadala against impossible odds. Every actor has gone out of his way to be accommodating."

Bajpai puts the ball in Gupta's court as he points out, "Of course I want to do Sabir Kaskar's role. Which actor wouldn't? I am ready to discuss the price.

Do you know I did Sanjay Gupta's Acid Factory almost free of cost? My wife, who is very close to Gupta, had also put in an appearance in the film. I am not saying I won't do it for anything less than the price I'm asking for."

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Over the moon-a moon-a

Dhanush never expected Kolaveri Di to become such a rage.

"It's ironical that the song is viral on the Net, even though I am not much of a networking person.

I don't go beyond Twitter," says the soft-spoken South Indian actor who's known for films like Kadhal Kondein, Pudhupettai and Aadukalam. He talks to CS:

The Kolaveri craze
The making of Kolaveri Di was more like a jamming session. We were having a lot of fun and that shows in the video. We are thrilled to break the North-South language barrier with Kolaveri Di. I am simply ecstatic.

I don't think that I will be able to repeat the success of Kolaveri Di. It's an accident (laughs). I won't think of myself as a popstar after this song.

In la-la land
Music has always been a part of my life. I grew up listening to S Janaki who is as famous in the South as Lata Mangeshkarji is in the North. I am a huge fan of Ilaiyaraaja, who is a legend down South. In singers, I love listening to Lucky Ali, Adnan Sami and Mohit Chauhan.

Looking for direction
I dream of directing a Bollywood film one day. I have short-listed some actors/actresses in my mind, but it's too early to talk about it. I'll start work on it by mid next year.

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Topping the boob tube: Shows that rocked this year

Television shows have recently witnessed some unprecedented changes in content and style. We ask a cross-section of people which show had them glued to their TV sets this year

Compared to the kitchen sink dramas that have been hogging the top TRP slots on TV over the past years, mature love stories like Bade Achhe Lagte Hain and Kuch Toh Log Kahenge emerged on top this year.

Our poll result points out that Bade Acche Lagte Hai is the most popular show on TV right now. However, there have been some other close contenders as well.

Big B (or is it big bucks) ruled the television scenario in 2011. KBC 5 had viewers glued to the screen when Sushil Kumar from Motihari bagged the Rs 5 crore jackpot with a record 27 million people witnessed this historic event.

The viewers empathised with a man from a small town walking away with a big bag of money.




Bigg Boss

The saas-bahu sagas that once defined Indian television, however, were not overshadowed Saath Nibhana Saathiya garnered a TRP of 7 ever since it hit the small screen.

Interestingly, the generation leap, which is an inevitable trump card within soap operas, worked its magic as well. In Balika Vadhu, Anandi grew up to be a fine young woman, standing up against orthodox social norms.


Balika Vadhu

Ekta Kapoor's Pavitra Rishta too rates high on the popularity charts with the highest TRP reaching 6.6. There was gastronomic fare for the foodies as well with Master Chef India.

Loyal fans remained glued to crime thrillers like CID and Crime Patrol.


Reality bites

Despite its popularity, Bigg Boss season 5, did not do as well as the past seasons, despite roping in adult entertainer Sunny Leone and controversial cricketer Andrew Symonds. Probably Salman Khan's blink and miss presence in this season also managed to affect the TRP ratings.


Bade Acche Lagte Hai

Good friend Sanjay Dutt obviously did not manage to match up to Sallu as host. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs winner Azmat Hussain became a household name with his talent and cheeky repartee. Besides Bollywood stars, political crusader Anna Hazare and spiritual guru Ramdev Baba too made their TV debut with this show.

Big stars on the small screen

Not surprisingly, the small screen was flooded with Bollywood celebs making a beeline in almost all reality shows and even fiction shows to host, judge or promote their films.


Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan on KBC

If we saw Kareena Kapoor participating in a pooja in Pavitra Rishta, Vidya Balan shook a leg with Sakshi Tanwar in Bade Achhe Lagte Hain. While we saw Mahesh Bhatt offering Sunny Leone a film inside the Bigg Boss house, Akshay and John Abraham joined the girls in a jig.

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