Someone rightly said that there can be no smoke without a fire. Shahid Kapur, who recently had to undergo heartbreak due to Kareena Kapoor, it seems has found some consolation in Vidya Balan’s company. The two may be denying this from some time but what will you conclude from the following snippet?

Shahid Kapur who is having a guest appearance in Ahmed Khan’s next Pathshala recently wrapped his shooting for the film and guess who had been dropping in at the sets almost on a daily basis? None other than Vidya Balan reports our reliable sources. Do we need to add anything else?

Shahid Kapur’s Mercedes Benz was severely damaged when a mob of fans surrounded the actor for autographs and photographs. Shahid was in Pune to attend an event organized for the police.

When his fans saw Shahid leaving the venue, they all rushed towards him, eagerly looking forward to closely watching him. After all, it was once in a lifetime opportunity for them! However, things got out of hand when his fans wanted to touch the actor. In the minor stampede, Shahid’s Mercedes Benz was damaged.

Every time she comes on screen and disappears we yearn to see more of

her. She is one of the most spontaneous heroines who breathes life into

every frame. You guessed it right! We are talking about the one and

only Kajol.

She is all set to create records once again with her next film ‘U Me Aur

Hum’ where she will be acting opposite her actor husband Ajay

Devgan. This film is Ajay’s directorial debut and the film will hit

theatres this April 11.

But ask her what is more important in life, films or family and pat

comes the reply that she gives top priority to family and only then

comes everything else.

Kajol is in no hurry to do many films at one shot. In an interview to an

agency sometime back she was quoted as saying that she would not

sign four films in one year, but work at her own sweet pace.

There was also news sometime back that Kajol had signed a K Jo film.

Well data on these stories have not been confirmed yet, and the actress

in question has also stated that things are in the beginning stages.

But right now Kajol is having her hands full with a doting family to

take care of, a film to be released and is also being a judge to a reality

show.

This is one high-voltage mom, wife and working woman, all rolled

into one!

Things are getting from bad to worse for director Ram Gopal Verma.

The latest development is that the Noida Police of Sector 20 have

summoned the director to make an appearance before the 5th of April

failing which stringent action will be taken against him.

It all started when RGV declined that he had received consideration

from T-Series and had claimed that the documents that bore the

director’s signature was forged.

Reports suggest that handwriting experts were brought in they too have

pointed out that the signature in all the documents is that of RGV and

non else.

Well, at the moment the environment surrounding the director is as

tense as an RGV plot and we hope this director is able to get out of the

mess without much damage.

Vikram’s dream of acting in Mani Rathnam’s film will soon become a reality. Mani Rathnam has planned to make a bilingual movie in Tamil and Hindi featuring Vikram in the lead. The film thus will mark Vikram’s debut in Bollywood.

It is also learnt that Aishwarya Rai, one of the favorite heroines of Mani Rathnam might act in the film opposite Vikram.

The movie, however, will be launched by the end of the year, as Vikram is committed to do films with directors K.S. Ravikumar and Ameer.

Kamal Haasan has once again proved that he is a rare kind of artiste who leaves no stones unturned when it comes to novelty on screen.

Everyone knows that Kamal Haasan dons ten different roles in ‘Dasavadharam’, directed by K.S. Ravikumar. But few would have known how much pains he has taken to handle so much of roles.

Each and every role demanded a lot of hard work and pain to the actor, informs Anil Pemgirikar, the co-make up artist. “For example, for the role of a 98 year old lady, the makeup process consumed eight hours per day. We shot for 45 days for this scene. But, you know, the scene runs only for fifteen minutes in the film”, says Anil.

Similarly, informs Anil, Kamal watched all possible clippings of President George W. Bush for the scene featuring him and the unit shot the scene for 60 days. The screen time for the scene is just seven minutes.

New Delhi, (IANS) The Pakistani film “Khuda Kay Liye”, which delves

into the rift between radical and liberal Muslims, hits the screens here

this week, the first to have a commercial release in India in more than

four decades.

The movie, starring Naseeruddin Shah in a key role, has been made by

Shoaib Mansoor. Mumbai-based Percept Picture Company has got the

rights of the film and is releasing it with 300 prints on April 4.

“We are the first to get the rights of a Pakistani film and it’s a big high

for us. We are releasing it with 300 prints, including the digital ones,”

Nadish Bhatia, general manager of the marketing division of the

Percept Picture Company told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

“Everybody is saying ‘Khamosh Pani’ was the first Pakistani film to hit

the Indian theatres. It was a French co-production. But ‘Khuda Kay

Liye’ is a Pakistani film and the first one to hit Indian screens in 43

years,” Bhatia added.

The movie, which faced opposition from the extremists and Pakistani

clerics, was a huge hit in Pakistan.

“The film has made a record in the country. Those who hadn’t been to a

hall in 35 years made an effort to watch the film,” said Mansoor, who

was in town to promote his movie.

“We released it with only 10 prints. Pakistan is a small market, but we

still made Rs.70 million in Pakistani currency. It is surprising that a

film which discusses religion and doesn’t have any humour, songs,

dance or romance has done so well commercially. It means that it has

touched the hearts of people,” he added.

Mansoor, who has also produced the movie, made it at a budget of 60

million Pakistani rupees.

“The film has made an impact in Pakistan and abroad and I am

confident that it will make an impact here too.”

“Khuda Kay Liye” was the first Pakistani film to be included in the

official line-up of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) and it

struck an instant chord with audiences when showcased there last year.

The film stars Pakistani superstar Shaan, who impresses as the harried

protagonist Mansoor, and Rasheed Naz as the Maulana who

brainwashes boys. The film also features Pakistan’s top model Iman

Ali, who plays Maryam, a woman trapped between modernism and

conservatism.

Naseeruddin Shah essays a powerful cameo of an Islamic scholar who

embodies the voice of reason.

With the lifting of the ban for exchange of films between the two

countries, the Pakistan government has allowed it on a condition that

films will be strictly “exchanged”. For each Hindi title released in

Pakistan, an Urdu film will have to be exhibited in India.

Indian movies were banned in Pakistan in 1968 and the Pakistan film

industry had to bear huge losses. There were more than 1,000 theatres

throughout Pakistan those days, but now it is reduced to just 200.

Compared to India, which churns out about 1,000 films every year,

Pakistan’s film industry produces just about 40 movies, a fifth of what

it churned out during its heyday in the 1970s.

“This action will not only benefit Indian producers but Pakistani

filmmakers as well. Now that the films will have legal screenings,

Indian producers will get a new market. Its a double whammy for the

film industry in Pakistan,” Mansoor said.

“Pakistan will get a big Indian market and when Indian films will come

there, the business of cinema will flourish. Secondly, release of Indian

films will translate in competition for Pakistani filmmakers. In a

competition, the underdog benefits. This will help good filmmakers

come out and bad filmmakers will automatically vanish,” Mansoor

said.

Mumbai, (IANS) The “Unforgettable” concerts in July that will see the

Bachchan clan of Bollywood perform live across Europe and United

States has new glamour quotient.

Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit (Nene) will join

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, son Abhishek and daughter-in-law

Aishwarya Rai at different venues across Britain and the US, a source

close to the family said.

Riteish Deshmukh, Bipasha Basu and Akshay Kumar are also part of

the entourage.

“Saif and Shahid showed absolutely no hesitation in joining the

Bachchans on their tour. The price being offered was fine and the dates

for venues where they’ll perform also worked out to their convenience.

As for Madhuri, it would be the easiest thing in the world to join the

Bachchans for the concerts in the US because that’s where she lives,”

the source said.

Lara Dutta had opted out of the concert earlier. “There’s much more to

her sudden withdrawal from the concert than a painful knee,” a source

said, without elaborating further.

Mumbai, (IANS) Aishwarya Rai has declined to co-star with

Hollywood wonder-boy Will Smith again. This is the third time she has

turned down his offer.

“That’s true,” she laughed. “I had to say no to Will for ‘Tonight He

Comes’. I feel awful about it, but I’ve my priorities very straight. Yes,

family always comes first,” Aishwarya told IANS.

Two years ago the “Men in Black” star offered Aishwarya the comedy

“Hitch”, remade into Hindi with Salman Khan and Govinda as

“Partner”. She couldn’t do the film due to time constraints. In quick

succession, Aishwarya has turned down two Will Smith projects.

Contrary to reports, Aishwarya, who tied the knot with Abhishek

Bachchan last year, didn’t decline another Smith’s “The Seven Pounds”

to celebrate Karwa Chauth with her husband in Mumbai.

“That’s what they wrote in the US press… that I preferred to return to

Mumbai to ’starve’ myself for a religious occasion than to meet Smith

for the film. That’s completely incorrect.

“The script reading for ‘The Seven Pounds’ was just after Diwali when

Dadimaa (Teji Bachchan)’s health dipped drastically. So I didn’t make

that trip out to LA for the reading session with Will. Is that wrong?

Not to me. I’d any day put family over career.”

So are Ash and Smith star crossed?

“When it has to happen it will happen. We’d love to work together.

There’s something very charismatic about that actor. He gives off very

nice vibes.

“He’s very adventurous as an actor. He does ‘I Am Legend’ and ‘Pursuit

Of Happyness’ at the same time. He’s an actor, rapper, and a great

family man. He likes to be adventurous. I like that.”

Mumbai, (IANS) The catwalk is drawing inspiration from around the

globe at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week here.

Designer Payal Singhal drew inspiration from the work of French artist

Erte while an Italian writer’s story motivated Anand Kabra to showcase

his creative brilliance on the ramp.

Inspired by the work of French artist, designer and illustrator Romain

de Tirtoff, better known by the pseudonym Erte, Singhal rolled out her

line that marked the return of 1920’s flapper fashion.

“The line has lots of tubular dresses and low waistlines with playful

details like feathers, crystals and pearls…a 1920’s look,” Singhal told

IANS after the show, which had Bollywood actors Padmini Kolhapure,

Poonam Singh and Poonam Dhillon on the front row.

“My cocktail dresses embodied the carefree spirit of today’s women,

with modern cuts and loads of embellishments. The styling is a little

surreal and fancy and is all about being luxe and extravagant.”

On offer were tube dresses with blouson asymmetrical hemlines, fringe

dresses with lots of layers and dresses where fabric was gathered in

front and back panel to create waves.

The outfits had heavily embellished necklines with gemstones. Most of

the dresses possessed overall ethnic intricate heavy embroidery -

zardozi, sequins, stones and mirror work.

Kabra’s collection “Renato’s Malena” drew inspiration from the story

of Italian writer Luciano Vincenzoni.

“Madalena Scordia or Malena, young and recently widowed, is an

object of every man’s lust and every woman’s envy. A 13-year-old boy

Renato’s curiosity takes him on a journey well beyond his sexual

stirring to discover a different Malena, a real one,” Kabra told IANS

after the show.

“My collection captures Malena through Renato’s eyes. He discovers in

her a beautiful human being,” he added.

The colour palette ranged from white, clay, aqua blue and orange to

red, black and teal.

Using fabrics like silks and organzas, the designer crafted long dresses

with floral prints and fabric to create rose motifs on the garment.

Noodle strap dresses teamed up with scarves and belts had leather

roses.

“I used rose prints because the flower indicates so many things -

freshness, innocence, romance and exuberance.”

Then there were the jumpsuits and saris with overall hand-painted

floral prints and disco ball shimmer.

The line saw elegant texturing and embroidery. There were interesting

necklines - attached to the neckline were extended fabrics of bright

colours like red and black, which were draped as scarves around the

neck.

Commenting on the lines, Poonam Dhillon said: “It would be unfair to

compare the designers. Both rolled out beautiful lines.”

Added Padmini: “I am a big fan of Payal, but I must say Kabra’s work

was also very beautiful.”

The five-day fashion show at the National Centre for the Performing

Arts (NCPA) ends Wednesday.

New Delhi, (IANS) A new Coca-Cola advertisement featuring

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan is pegged on the theme “Jashan Mana

Le” or just have fun.

It’s simple. A group of youngsters venture out for a late night bite, only

to find the eateries shut. They meet Hrithik on the way and go on a

magical midnight tryst with the star. Cola adds the fizz.

The advertisement connects with India’s teeming campus fraternity and

young professionals who are ready to add a bit of ‘zing’ to life in the

new globalised environment. The Coca-Cola advertisements are classic

examples of the current trend in the Indian branding and advertising

industry - “think globally, act locally”.

Industry watchers call it glocalisation - a saleable mix of the global and

the local, which represents the human capacity to bridge scales from

the local to global and vice versa. The term was first used by social

scientist Manfred Lange in 1989 on the eve of the Global Change

Exhibition in Moscow.

“Advertising agencies in our country are increasingly going in for

international tie-ups. As a result, foreign brands are suddenly seeking

local attention. The art of making an advertisement look local and

endearing to Indians is the glocal spin-off in advertising,” Vipin

Dhayani, creative head of the Everest Brand Solutions, told IANS.

“When we see a spoofy campaign for MacDonald’s with Dev Anand,

Dilip Kumar and Dharmendra look-alikes making us laugh, it

immediately connects us to our very own Bollywood in such a way that

we forget that MacDonald’s is an international brand,” the adman said.

Glocalisation is a product of globalisation and the local reaction to it,

explains Zubin Driver, network creative director of the television

channel CNBC’s TV18.

“The imperatives of business, transactions and intermingling cultures

create a new bandwidth,” he said.

Glocalisation of the market and the media that is increasingly

becoming fragmented to cater to niche audiences in Tier II cities and

the semi-urban centres across the country have impacted advertising.

“I would say glocalisation really took off over the last five years. Most

global brands now have local execution. At the end of the day, the

needs and the wants of people are pretty similar. But if we use local

idioms for a global brand, it makes sense to the local audience,” Nirvik

Singh, CEO, Southeast Asia, Grey Worldwide Advertising, told IANS.

Consequently, distinctions between the national, local and international

advertising agencies are gradually blurring as new challenges are

emerging from abroad, especially in developing markets.

“Take the example of the HSBC campaign. In banking, understanding a

micro-cultural universe is as important as delivering a ‘global’

understanding of the market place,” Driver said.

HSBC had launched an India-specific campaign with the tagline “We

understand your point of view” panning the burning socio-cultural and

environment issues in the country. And it followed it up with another

campaign, “HSBC provides your solutions.”

Going by the fact that HSBC is a global financial entity, understanding

India to position itself as an empathetic brand must have been a

challenge, say industry experts. It involved building cross-cultural

bridges.

According to David Gallagher, CEO and partner of London-based

Ketchum, a leading advertising agency, the opportunities of a glocal

market will reward agencies that can most adroitly bring their specialist

expertise to the fore.

The internet has given a vital push to specialisation in a glocal market

milieu. “The internet has spawned the growth of user-generated content

and created a ‘bottom-up’ discourse in the consumption of the media

globally,” Driver said.

The trend is forcing admen and marketing people across the world to

innovate all the time. New delivery mechanisms, the recipe for brand

survival in the glocalised era, are shaping how many touch points a

new consumer has.

“The Pepsi Mycan web videos are a huge example of how engaging and

interactive content has created new level of consumer interactions. I

believe a ‘jugalbandi’ between medium and messaging will hold the key

to understanding new age communication,” Driver said.

The Indian advertising industry, one of the biggest money spinners next

to entertainment, is estimated at Rs.163 billion.

The trend, Dhayani felt, is here to stay. “In fact, it is getting larger by

the day. India is a powerhouse in terms of consumerism. With its sound

economy and population, it is obvious that MNCs will keep coming to

India,” he said.

Mumbai, (IANS) Actress Preity Zinta, co-owner of the Indian Premier

League’s Mohali team, suffered a minor injury during its formal launch

in Mohali, on the outskirts of Chandigarh.

“I don’t know how it happened,” Preity said. “But in the melee at the

launch (Monday), an elbow came and hit me straight in the eye. I had to

go through the event with a black eye wearing dark glasses.”

Eyewitnesses said there was a huge rush at the launch, and somebody

appeared to have thrown something at Preity. As one of her bodyguards

lunged to catch whatever had been thrown, his elbow appeared to have

hit Preity in the eye.

After the event, the actress spent the evening nursing her eye with ice

packs.

“It will swell a bit. I guess it’s bound to happen when one is in such

situations,” she said.

The IPL Mohali team is led by Yuvraj Singh. The tournament starts

April 18.

5.Mayawati ‘inspires’, but could Bollywood get her nod please?
Apr 03, 2008

Mumbai, (IANS) Upon learning that some Bollywood producers are

planning films ‘inspired’ by her life in politics and out of it, Uttar

Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has advised them to err on the side of

caution.

She got in touch with Tarun Rathi, the Mumbai “in-charge” of her

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), wanting to know whether rumours in her

state about movie projects on her life were indeed true.

Rathi, taking his brief seriously, immediately dashed off letters to all

the associations of producers and directors in Mumbai, seeking to

know if anyone was starting movies on “Behenji Kumari Mayawatiji.”

“Our respected Behenji Kumari Mayawatiji does not want any

filmmaker to face any difficulty at the time of release of their films,”

Rathi explained in his letter.

If somebody had already started such a venture, Rathi wrote, he should

get in touch with him. Why? Because any such producer or director

must take prior permission from Mayawati, he said.

If the filmmakers went ahead with their projects without the

“knowledge of behenji or the BSP”, they would only be courting

unnecessary trouble, which, he said, Mayawati would not like them to

go through.

There are indeed some film titles, such as “Behenji,” “Mayawati,”

“Kumari Mayawati” and “Kumari Behenji Mayawatiji”, registered with

an association of producers. And a few of these movies have already

gone into production to 3.

Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan is already facing her wrath. Mayawati

first slapped a forgery case against him in a land deal in Barabanki in

Uttar Pradesh, but the apex court ruled in his favour.

Now, look at the discomfiture that Amitabh is once again facing for

not counting the worth of some overgrown palm trees in Barabanki.

The Barabanki district authorities Monday issued a notice to the

superstar accusing him of undervaluing the stamp duty on a plot of

land he bought in the area to open a girls’ college to be named after his

daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai.

Amitabh is known to be close to Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh

and Mulayam Singh Yadav, archrivals of Mayawati.

Mumbai, (IANS) Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher is literally

going places - setting up acting schools in London and Durban. He now

plans to open a branch in the US.

“We’ve completed all the formalities. The school in London will start

some time in June, while the one in Durban takes off in August 2008,”

Anupam told IANS.

“In 2007, I started new branches of my school in Chandigarh and

Ahmedabad. What started as a very small and sincere effort to share my

acting skills with newcomers has now spread to three continents. For

our acting school, the proudest achievement in 2007 was Deepika

Padukone. Yes, she’s our product,” added the actor Anupam, who was

trained at the National School of Drama in Delhi.

The “Saransh” star is the only actor in the world with acting schools in

Asia, Europe and South Africa.

From Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution” to lead India, 2007 has been an

extraordinary of triumphs for the actor.

“Yes, when I look back on the year I do feel a great sense of

satisfaction. I did quite a large number of films, good and not-so-good!

In addition I went to Israel to do the commentary in a six-dimensional

film on India and its culture, and then I gave my voice to an

international animation film, in which I played an Indian horse.

“But I guess my biggest achievement is my acting school. I’m very

proud of our students. The one in Mumbai is so successful that we’ve

to take two batches of students instead one this year.”

Mumbai, (IANS) Actor Nana Patekar has hugely benefited from Anees

Bazmi’s “Welcome” hitting bull’s eye at the box office — the comic

caper’s success has led to his market price skyrocketing.

Nana is now getting what he used to command during “Krantiveer” and

“Tiranga”. ” ‘Welcome’ has almost tripled my salary,” the actor said.

“I’m glad the film has worked. As far as I’m concerned, I’m done with a

project after I dub and promote it. It was a pleasure doing something in

that satirical tone. All of us - director Anees Bazmi, Anil Kapoor,

Akshay Kumar, Mallika Sherawat and I - we worked hard,” Nana, who

scorched headlines recently when Tanushree Datta accused him of

“indecent behaviour”, told IANS.

Nana says he has never worked so hard and so much. And so what if his

speed was somewhat stymied recently when he injured his leg.

He said: “But now I’m ready work again, though nothing strenuous to

start with. I’ll first finish my three days’ work for Rakesh Sarang’s ‘Horn

O.K. Pleassse’. Those poor guys have been waiting patiently for me to

recover so they could complete their work.

“Sarang, the new boy Muzammil Ibrahim and the girl Rimii Sen. And

that TV actor Asgar Ali…. What talent he has! In our industry there’s no

dearth of talent. And I’m proud to be a part of it. My God! 35 years

have just passed by! I started with Muzaffar Ali’s ‘Gaman’. But even

before that I did bit parts here and there.”

The 54-year-old is super-excited about “Horn O.K. Pleassse”, which

also has Tanushree.

“It’s a very unique comedy. And I’ve enjoyed this experience

tremendously. I’ve also said yes to Satish Kaushik for another unique

project called ‘Lal Bihari Mritak’, a true-life story of a man who had to

run from pillar to post to prove he was alive. I need to work out my

dates with Satish.”

Yes, that’s how busy Nana is these days.