Decent to dull start for PLAYERS; DON 2 hits a century!

The opening of director Abbas-Mustan's PLAYERS was never expected to be earthshaking in the first place, and nor was it. PLAYERS has performed satisfactorily on the first day with occupancies ranging from 25-35 percent at many places and even as high as 70 percent at some places. Though, the inclement weather in most of North, East and Central India has also taken a toll on the film's performance.

view PLAYERS stills	view DON 2 stills

The best collections have come from single screens of U.P. and the Eastern circuits. Mumbai city and suburbs have not endorsed the film wholeheartedly, especially the multiplexes. The results are faring similarly in Gujarat and Hyderabad-Nizam as well.


While the morning shows were quite dull, the positive thing is that PLAYERS has shown a growth at the latter screening. Given the winter vacation at most educational institutions, one can hope for a decent weekend.

Meanwhile, DON 2 saw a very steady second weekend of around 28.50 crore, and the two week all India net stands at over 100 crore (to be validate) for the film. With the dubbed (Tamil & Telugu) versions adding another 3.25 crore and the overseas circuits grossing a huge 60 crore plus, DON 2 is a hit to super-hit for its worldwide distributor, Reliance Big Picture, who have already pocketed 36 crore via satellite rights and 9 crore through the audio rights.

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Akshay Kumar: 'Keep your S*%t to yourself'

Earlier in the year superstar Akshay Kumar displayed his support for the green agenda by reprimanding a litterbug for throwing a cigarette packet and setting a sound example.

And the New Year seems to be no different for Akshay as he continues his cleanliness drive. This time in the wee hours of morning, 5 am to be precise, the actor went out for a walk on Juhu beach with wife when he came across a man taking a dump.

	view AKSHAY KUMAR picture gallery

Akshay twitted, 'There's literally nothing more disturbing in life than when u take ur wife for a stroll on the beach at 5 in da mornin & some guy who cant be bothered to walk to his own washing facilities decides to take a dump right on Juhu's finest beach. Poor guy got a shock of his life when my dog's stick met his rear end. I mean we'd all like to do our morning rituals in the moonlight with da waves lapping our back sides & the wind between our cheeks wouldn't we? But it just isn't done. I know many of u may have problems with this & many of u may laugh, but i had no choice than to make him pick it up with his hands & take it to it's rightful dumping ground, & he honestly did so with nothing but regret on his face, so i ended up buying him breakfast...'


He further went onto say, 'Juhu Beach is famous for being one of Mumbai's cleanest beaches, if everyone thought they could take a dump there, we would all be walking around knee deep in CRAP! I actually think the guy is as sorry for doing what he did as i am for making him remove it.'

Akki ended up saying, 'Moral of the story, 'Keep ur S*%t to yourself :)' Happy New Clean Year Everyone!'

All we can say is, Kudos Akki! Salute to your cleanliness thoughts and actions which are always louder than words!

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Bipasha-Madhavan lip-lock in JODI BREAKERS

All these years we saw movies where people tried to get the lovers close or createjodis, now get ready to meet the people, who specialize in breaking the couples! Madhvan and Bipasha play the break up experts in upcoming film JODI BREAKERS.

The first theatrical trailer of R.Madhavan and Bipasha Basu starrer JODI BREAKERS is out. Besides its unconventional pairing the promos have created a good buzz for its hatke concept, Bipasha's glam quotient, Madhavan's uber-cool dude look and not to forget a romantic lip-kiss between the duo at the end.

Directed by Ashwini Chaudhary, the film also stars Omi Vaidya and Dipannita Sharma.

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I want people to call and wish me on my birthday: Bipasha

She's a queen and loves to be treated like one. So, it's no wonder that Bipasha Basu has warned the team of her upcoming release to celebrate her birthday over 11 days on their promotional tour.

The actor, who is presently in London partying with friends and gorging on yummy food, will land in Mumbai on her birthday morning -- Sunday, January 7.

The Bong babe tells CS that she plans to gift herself a plush apartment with a swimming pool and an open kitchen this year. Here's more:

Celebrating me
Birthdays are special to me. It's the day when I take some time out to introspect and count my blessings. Also, I love to celebrate without any inhibitions. In fact, my birthday celebrations go on till the end of January every year (laughs).

So much so that most of my friends keep their X'mas trees and decorations on till January 7. I love such small gestures, and they mean a lot to me.

I'm an attention seeker when it comes to my birthday. I want people to call and wish me; no one can afford to forget it. If they do, I get upset and sulk (laughs). And I'm an expert at putting them on a guilt trip!

Surprise, surprise
I love to be surprised on my B'day and my friends indulge me. So every year, there's a surprise party that I'm already in the know of.

I just love pretending as if I'm surprised. It's better than being upset about not getting one. This year too, I've bullied them to throw me a surprise bash on the morning of January 7 when I land in the city.

My friends are just speechless by my audacity (giggles). But truth be told, I am just insecure. What if they forget that it's my special day?

For Bips, with love
I love receiving gifts, preferably expensive ones. But I am not mean enough to refuse inexpensive gifts. I like to be pampered on my birthday. But who doesn't?

Jokes apart, I like gifts, especially diamonds. However, even a card or a scented candle can make my day. I truly believe that the thought behind the gift is more important than the gift itself.

On my birthday, my house is decked up with white and pink lilies, red balloons, scented candles and cards. People know that I love sponge cakes and hence gift them by the dozen. These things have almost become a tradition.

After the formal cake cutting ceremony, it's a mad dance party with loud music. I party a lot, but only with family members and friends. That way, I can let loose without any worry.

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The Awesome Threesome

2012 seems to be the year of love triangles with many films exploring the facets of some rather 'crowded' relationships 

Tales of three people involved in one story always means a mixture of guilt, sacrifice and a happy-sad ending, almost guaranteeing a teary eyed audience, and as a result, a super hit film.

It is either two men in love with one woman or two women in love with one man.

This tear-jerking formula of unrequited love has been very well used by the filmmakers of yore. Looks like the formula is finding it's way again into some of the forthcoming films this year.

Three is company

While the plots of some such films coming up this year are diverse, the filmmakers are depending greatly on love stories with three protagonists. Like Reema Kagti who brings back Aamir Khan as a daredevil cop in Talaash, with two lovely ladies in his life (Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor.)

Interestingly, Dhobi Ghat too saw Aamir involved in a love triangle. Trade analyst Amod Mehra points out, "In most love stories, the permutations can be generated only through a third element. By far the triangle has proven to be the most successful dramatic element."


Student of The Year

Probably why, director Milan Luthria chose a love story between three protagonists as the plot for Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai 2. Adds Milan, "We see two men who can achieve the world, struggling for the attention and affection of this one woman.

It's interesting to see how money and power you possess does not really matter when you fall for someone. Here it is a matter of ego too, as both men are dons and they are used to getting what they want."

Then and now

While Yash Chopra gave us the intense Silsila, he also introduced us to the finer lines between dosti and pyaar in Dil To Pagal Hai. And now after a seven year sabbatical he returns with what promises to be the biggest love story of the year, with SRK cast opposite Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.


Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan in Silsila

Following on the footsteps of Yash Chopra and his father Yash Johar is filmmaker Karan Johar who gave us hits like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kal Ho Naa Ho. Now he is all set to release his next, Student of The Year that portrays three young and vulnerable lovers.

The offbeat lovers

Interestingly, for films like Dibakar Banerjee's Shanghai and Anurag Basu's Barfee that explore several other subjects as well, a love triangle is the constant feature.

In the first movie, Emran Haashmi, Kalki and Abhay Deol find themselves in a political war zone, while in Basu's film Ranbir Kapoor plays a deaf and mute character, while PC plays an autistic person. Ileana D'Cruz plays the third character in the triangle.

Our Top 10 Love Triangles

Andaaz (1949)
Pyaasa (1957)
Devdas (1935, 1955, 2002)
Sangam (1964)
Andaaz (1971)
Silsila (1981)
Saajan (1991)
Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)
Ishqiya (2010)

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Karan Johar chickens out

KJo opts out of Arjun Rampal's chat show fearing uncomfortable questions from a celeb hater 

Karan Johar might have asked a lot of uncomfortable questions to the celebrity guests on his chat show, but when it was his turn to be on the hot seat, he opted out.

Interestingly, after much dilly-dallying, the filmmaker refused to appear on a chat show hosted by Arjun Rampal, apparently because he isn't too comfortable facing public criticism.

Rampal's chat show Luv To Hate You's format brings together a celeb and a celeb hater, who subjects the celebrity to rather bitter criticism.

Says a source, "Normally Karan is open to any kind of invitation from a friend on any public platform. He has walked the ramp and talked on numerous talk shows for friends. Arjun is a very dear friend. But he had to say no to his show because of the nature and format of the show."

Arjun Rampal confirmed Karan opting out of the show. "Karan won't come on my show. I think he's apprehensive of what his hater may spring on him, " he said.

Better luck next time!

Arjun was able to rope in Ram Gopal Varma to appear on his chat show. Interestingly, Ramu had refused an offer from KJo for his talk show.

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Krissh 3: No rats for Roshans

Apparently, the producer/director has been denied permission by the Animal Welfare Board to use rodents in his film 

Rakesh Roshan's upcoming film Krissh 3, which is currently under production was denied permission by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to include rats in one of the scenes. The board has also sought an explanation for scorpions and frogs that were found misused earlier on their sets.

In the application made by them, Roshan's production house sought permission to include five rats. This was for a scene in which the artiste would keep all these animals and insects in a lab because he is shown to be an animal lover in the film.

However, AWBI denied the application late last month. And instead, they asked the applicant to explain about the snakes, scorpions, frogs and other creatures that were seen loitering around on the sets.

It was recently reported that the script of the film demanded real reptiles rather than animated versions. Hrithik Roshan had assured that the reptiles would not harm others or get harmed, as there were trained professionals to look after them.

The other side

When we tried contacting Major General R M Kharb, the chairman of AWBI, he was unavailable for comment.

However, on AWBI's website, the status of the application made on December 22 by Roshan's production house clearly mentions that the permission given may not be approved as the applicant needs to explain the reports on the reptiles that were found on the sets.

Speaking on the issue, Rakesh Roshan said, "We used dummies for long shots and for the close-ups we will be doing it on computer graphics."

Do you know?

The Bombay High Court issued a judgment on August 22, 2005, which required the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) to ask applicants to furnish a no-objection certificate from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) before certifying any film in which animals have been used.

There have been numerous cases of animals that have suffered ill treatment during filmmaking. Some animals have even suffered serious injuries, while some have even died. Some animals are drugged to make them easier to work with, and many have their teeth and claws surgically removed or impaired.

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Planning your wardrobe? Read Sonam's advice

She's known for her Grecian gowns, chunky neck-pieces and high heels. Yes, we are talking about Sonam Kapoor, who has stamped her place as Bollywood's fashionista.

The lady was recently in Pune to promote her latest film. In- between breaks, she gave some tips to CS readers on planning their wardrobe this season:

1 Six inches above the ground
Wear really high heels. I think high heels add to the look of any outfit, the higher the better. A multi coloured stiletto with a plain- Jane outfit is one haute look.

Shimmer on your heels or red stilettos with a tiny black dress is one party outfit that can never go wrong. My favourites heels are a pair from Dior.

2 Sequins
Although sequins could be a fashion disaster in the making if they aren't the right size or right colour, a sequined dress is in vogue.

The best options are a tiny black sequined dress, a sliver sequined dress with a red clutch or the classic black sequined gown. Make sure that your accessories are neutral if you are wearing a dress full of bling.

3 Leggings to the resue
Black tights are in this season, and the next and the season after that. They are the most easily available piece of clothing.

You can team them up with brightly coloured tunics and funky pumps for a perfect party outfit. Add a shimmery hair-band and your ready for a grand entrance.

4 Layer me over
Layering is one of the safest ways of dressing up for a party. Especially this winter season using a jacket or a shrug not only adds some life to your ensemble, but also keeps you warm.

A purple jacket or a chic black one is the perfect way to ensure you make heads turn at the party. A nice jacket over a tee will easily give you the semi-formal look.

5 Wear your attitude on your sleeve
Dress up or dress down, the one thing that you will always have is your attitude. Hold your head up high and stride into the party venue like a fashionista!

Don't be too conscious of your make up, have fun and enjoy the party. Attitude is your best accessory.

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Is Manisha filing for divorce?

Apparently, the actress announced the news to a group of friends at a party at her Mumbai residence 

The buzz is that Manisha Koirala has made a final decision to separate from her husband and has moved back to Mumbai.

This doesn't come really as a surprise. Manisha, who tied the knot with businessman Samrat Dahal in June 2010, seemed to have problems with the marriage soon after.

Just six months after the wedding, she had posted on the social networking site, Facebook that she wanted to divorce her husband.

Later, she said that she got carried away in a fit of rage and changed her mind. And then again she called her husband her worst enemy on the same site.

Now, however, it seems like she has finally decided on breaking the marriage. She is said to have settled down in Mumbai.

Recently, she invited her friends for a party at her residence and at the party, she is said to have announced that she's going through the process of divorcing her husband. She is also hoping to make a comeback on the big screen.

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Rajnikanth calling 'flavour of the season' Vidya!!!

Vidya Balan has apparently been approached once again by Rajnikanth to star in his next, despite turning down his offer last time

When Vidya Balan said no to Rajnikanth's Rana, everyone wondered why the actress would let go off such a golden opportunity, given the veteran South star's success rate at the box office.

However, that didn't deter Rajni from offering his next, Kochadaiyan to the actress. Buzz is that apart from Anushka Sharma and Asin, even Vidya has been approached to play one of the leading ladies in the film.

Says a source, "Like most people, Vidya too has immense respect for Rajni sir. Unfortunately, the last time she was approached for a role in his film, there wasn't a proper script in place. So she was not in a position to decide if she really wanted to take up the role, as the details were very sketchy. "

However, this time things seem to be looking up. Sources say that the actress has been given a proper character graph and everything that she would require to learn about the story and her role.

Adds the source, "Vidya is the flavour of the season. She has proven herself time and again and Soundarya (the producer) is looking for someone who can do complete justice to the part. Rajnikanth thinks she has great potential. "

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