While its common knowledge in Bollywood to get inspired from the West and flatly deny it, director Nagesh Kukunoor believes otherwise. In his forthcoming film Aashayein starring John Abraham in the lead role, the director has decided to incorporate a scene in which John would be seen dressed as the legendary Hollywood character, Indiana Jones.

Apparently, both Nagesh and John are big fans of the Indiana Jones series and hence the director thought this would be like an apt tribute to the fictitious character. The fact that John could pull it off with his Greek God looks surely proved to be the icing on the cake.

With the latest Indiana Jones film set to hit the screens next week, we are pretty sure that Kukunoor and John would be among the first to catch the flick. After all, as the director says it’s only after watching Indiana Jones- Raiders of the Lost Ark did he decide to pursue filmmaking as a career.

 Mumbai, May 24: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan and director Priyadarshan have hit it off big time, be it cinema or cricket. “After working with him I understand why he is who he is.

“No one can match his energy, enthusiasm and passion for cinema. I’m already planning many more films with him,” Priyadarshan told reporters.

Also, ever since Shah Rukh’s Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders won a Kolkata match last month that was attended by Priyadarshan, people have started calling him the actor’s lucky mascot.

“Yes, they’re saying I’m lucky for Shah Rukh. Thank god. Yes, Shah Rukh has asked me to attend more of his matches. But I’ve been shooting ‘Billo Barber’ whereas he has completed his work and has made time for the IPL,” Priyadarshan told reporters.

Many people who attended the match were surprised to see Priyadarshan sitting quietly in the audience.

“Even I was surprised to see myself there, but I went for Shah Rukh’s sake. Fortunately, the Knight Riders won the match that day when I was there in Kolkata.

“Or people would’ve said I’m unlucky for Shah Rukh. Can’t afford that image while I’ve cast him in the most unusual role of his career, and that too after four failed attempts to work with him.”

Incidentally, Kolkata Night Riders are out of IPL matches.

Recalling his own passion for cricket, Priyadarshan said: “I was a mad obsessive cricket player as a student. Then during one local match I nearly lost my eye.”

Recalling the harrowing incident, he shudders, “I can never forget that day. The ball just slammed against my eye. I had a hairline fracture and I couldn’t see. I thought I had lost my eye. Fortunately, the eye is intact. But the nerves on the eyelid were enfeebled. So one eye is half-closed all the time.”

So has that mishap put him off cricket for keeps?

“No way! I love cricket. Thankfully, I didn’t make a career out of it. Otherwise today I’d have been working in a bank. The only reason why I don’t play is because I’m making films round the clock. There’s no time for anything else,” said the director whose recent hit was “Bhool Bhulaiyaa”.

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Mumbai, May 24: Item numbers are in vogue but Yash Raj Films` blue-eyed director Kunal Kohli doesn`t approve of them and says using the term `item` for an actress is derogatory.

I don`t believe in item numbers. Neither do I believe in item girls. How can you call a girl `item`? It sounds so cheap. It is humiliating,` said Kohli.

`I am not against the performance, but the term used for it. Let people use the term, but I will never call any song in my film an item number,` he added.

After carving a niche for himself with his previous films `Hum Tum` and `Fanaa`, the director returns to the marquee with `Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic`.

Starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji, the film`s story revolves around four orphaned children and has elements of magic, love and fun, but no item songs.

Although Kohli has roped in Amisha Patel for a song, he says it is not an item number.

`My film doesn`t have item numbers. It has special performance by Amisha Patel, but she is not just doing a song, she also has a very important role in the film.`

Mumbai, May 24: Producer-director-actor Rajat Kapoor has hit the gym with a vengeance to tone up his body for a towel-dropping scene in ‘Raat Gayi Baat Gayi’.

The scene will also have glamorous Neha Dhupia, and Rajat wants to look equally attractive.

‘Well, even I am conscious about my looks. Jokes apart, I want to look as lean as possible. I am in the same frame as Neha Dhupia,’ he said.

Apart from taking up a special diet and physical training, Rajat, who was seen in films like ‘Monsoon Wedding’ and ‘Bheja Fry’, has also been practising dropping the towel with flair.

‘The truth is that I have never gone to gym in my life, but for the first time I am going through such a tough workout session,’ he added.

As the title suggests, ‘Raat Gayi Baat Gayi’ is a humorous take on one-night stands. The comedy revolves around a married couple, their friends and one night of passion that turns their lives topsy-turvy.

The film also has Vinay Pathak in the pivotal role.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali picturised something similar on Ranbir Kapoor in ‘Saawariya’, but it was edited out from the film.

New Delhi, May 24: After winning the hearts of the likes of Brett Lee and Shaun Marsh off the cricket field, the zingy Zinta babe is at it again! The actress-turned-businesswoman is yet again trying her hands at something new, this time it being posing for the cover of the fashion magazine Vogue.

The pretty lass- no surprise here- has been caught candid on camera holding a cricket bat.

Don?t we already know of Preity?s cricket connection? Yeah we do, but guess the pretty woman doesn?t want to leave a single stone unturned to profess her love for the gentlemen?s game.

According to reports, the magazine in question wanted to cash upon the new sporty wave that Preity has touched on. Looking at the shots it seems that the actress just loved every minute of the photo-op she got, so do we call it business, pleasure or both?

The elusive and enigmatic Tabu is living life queen-size in Hyderabad.
Far from the Bollywood bustle, the choosy actress has been turning down offers from topnotch banners, opposite the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Rahul Bose.
Tabu refused Shoojit Sircar’s Shoebite and Sanjay Chhel’s Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam. But it doesn’t mean that she is saying no to every offer that comes her way.

Tabu will soon be seen in a comedy film, Seasons Greetings. It’s a segmented multi-story film. Although Seasons Greetings is light and frothy it also takes a deep look at the nature of suburban relationships. The film will be directed by Fight Club director Vicky Chopra.
According to those close to Tabu, she is now deliberately seeking roles that bring out the lighter side of her personality. “Enough of those rona dhona and stern roles for Tabu. She now wants to have fun,” says a source.
 

Kareena Kapoor can put her hopes of being cast in My Name Is Khan to complete rest. For finally Karan Johar’s first choice Kajol has agreed to do the film. Kajol gave the nod to the project on Thursday.

A source close to Kajol’s husband, Ajay Devgan, tells us, “Kajol indeed took a long time to take a call on her participation in Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan, but the problem was that she had not heard the script in detail. This week, she took a long look at the script and finally said ‘yes’.”

“Karan and Kajol go back a long way. Their dosti is not only friendship but respect for each other as well. Kajol could not have refused the film outright,” the insider further says.

So how will Kajol adjust to the US schedule? Will her daughter Nysa accompany her? Wasn’t that one of the reasons why Kajol took long to give her nod of consent? “Well, that all will be sorted out. Kajol has worked out how to look after Nysa during that period. Whether Nysa will go with Kajol or not is still not known,” our source adds.
We sent a text message to KJo (as Karan is fondly called in the industry), but he did not reply.

My Name Is Khan, directed by Karan Johar, stars Karan’s best buddy, Shah Rukh (who co-produces My Name Is Khan) in the male lead.

The only time Shah Rukh and Kareena have been romantically paired earlier was in Asoka the Great (2001), which too was produced in part by Shah Rukh Khan.
 

Rajeev Khandelwal and Aamna Shariff have been much talked about as a couple, though they have never come out in the open about their relationship.

Now, our sources informed us that the actor, who is debuting in Bollywood with Aamir, has organised a special screening of his film, only for Aamna.

We caught up with the two at a suburban multiplex where the screening was held at 4 pm on Saturday. When asked, Rajeev, as he walked out of the theatre, said, “Yes, the screening was mainly for Amna.

She had been waiting to watch the film for a long time after hearing the songs and watching the rushes, so I requested the producers to get a screening organised.”

Having a screening especially for Amna signifies her importance in Rajeev’s life. However, the actor shuns any such possibility by saying, “There are very few people for who I’d want to do this, and Amna is one of them.

She’s a close friend. I knew even before organising the screening that people would start talking again, but we’re not in a relationship. We’re friends.”
 

It had to happen sooner or later. Most of their friends said it would be sooner. “Two volatile souls like Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor can never last together,” a close friend of Kareena had whispered when she wasn’t listening.

The ‘inevitable’ has happened. There are cracks in the perfect passion already. If rumours floating out of the couple’s friendly circle are to be believed, Kareena and Saif are constantly having problems, and it isn’t Saif’s fault, really. Not yet.

Says a source, “Saif is constantly crowding her for attention. Nowadays, if you see him on his cellphone, which is most of the time, he’s only talking to Kareena. Saif has stopped communicating almost completely with all his family and friends. He never was someone to call up his parents.

Now even his mother doesn’t hear from him for weeks. Soha of course, never heard from him anyway. So that’s no different. In fact, when Soha heard that her brother was at the premiere of Saawariya (with Kareena, of course) she said, “I wish I knew, I could’ve met him.”

Dropping all communication with the rest of the world Saif has now found himself a constant preoccupation. Keeping tabs on the love of his life, and accompanying her to events all over the country which have nothing to do with him.

Says the source, “Kareena likes her space. She’s very giving in love, but doesn’t want her man to constantly question her. That’s what Saif is doing. She gets what-are-you-doing where-are-you calls from Saif throughout the day. Initially she enjoyed all the attention.

Who wouldn’t? But now it’s began to take its toll on her nerves. More than Kareena, it’s her mother Babita who’s worried and angry that Saif’s ceaseless trailing may affect her career.”
Friends say, Kareena has asked her beau to back off a bit. Quite a bit.

“But Saif is Saif. When he’s in love he’s nothing else. Ironically, he used to complain about Rozza’s constant attention. Today he’s behaving exactly the way that put him off her for good.

Hounding Kareena with his attention. She can’t help remember Shahid’s laidback easy-does-it gentle attention,” says the source.

So where does the relationship stand? “Well… it’s a little shaky. But nothing alarming yet. All Saif needs to do is give Bebo the space to find her pace.

Otherwise he’d have to get another girlfriend with a name similar to Kareena so he can get the tattoo re-done without too much pain,” says a friend.

Aishwarya smiles at the memory of bonding with Eva Longoria at Cannes.

“We bonded so well there. No one would believe we had just met. Actually, Eva, Rachida Brakni (who did the original French version of Chaos which Ash was supposed to do) and I got married recently. So we bonded over that common element,” says Aishwarya.

She then talks excitedly about another memorable moment at Cannes. “Jean Reno, the wonderful French actor, came up to me and said he has heard good things about my film, Pink Panther. These legendary actors are so hassle-free! They don’t think twice about approaching you with a smile and kind words. That stays with you and is easier than making an effort to avoid people.”

And which films did she catch there? “I caught three-and-a-half films, including the opening movie Blindness, and the new Indiana Jones film. I could only catch half of Kung Fu Panda because I had to do some press interviews. I also saw the Woody Allen film, Vicky Christina Barcelona. And I met Woody Allen, he’s wonderful!”

On her fetching look on the red carpet, Aishwarya says, “This time around, I had more time to prepare. To me, how I conduct myself at Cannes and how people react to me is far more important than what I wear. Cannes has always been a marvellous and memorable experience. And this time too, it was no different!”

Just the other day, we were wondering where’s Sameera Reddy…

Now, she’s surfaced and informs us that she was recently in Spain for a show and loved the place and the culture so much that she decided to stay back after her shooting schedule for a holiday. But then, her euphoria was short lived. She had to return back to India for a film festival in Orissa.

And now that she’s back, she is missing the sangria, tapas and beautiful beaches of Spain. But, she says she’s promised to get herself back there for more Spanish fun and frolic. But till then, we guess its going to be work over pleasure for the busy as a bee Sameera

Sneha Ullal turned many heads with her good looks and a svelte figure. She was so gorgeous that she was named as Jr. Aisjwarya Rai.

She also has some uncanny resemblance to Aishwarya. She bagged some roles in films based purely on her looks.
 
Sneha is now acting in the Telugu film ‘Ullasamga… Uthsahanga’. She is now spending a lot of time in the south in connection with her film assignments. She loves food and has taken a big liking for south Indian delicacies like sambar. She is gorging on oodles and oodles of sambar with rice, dosa, vada etc. everyday.
 
The result is that she has put on a lot of weight in a very short span of time. She now looks plump and a bit too heavy to play heroine roles in films.
 

Vidya Balan is a very accomplished actress. She has impressed both the connoisseurs as well as the common man with her grace, charm and talent. She is also seen as a big prospect for the film industry in the long run as she can handle mass as well as class films with ease.
 
But of late there are many reports that show her in a poor light. She has been romantically linked with more than one co-star. She is also said to be behaving very unprofessionally now.
 
Some reports say that she has now become addicted to alcohol. She imbibes alcohol regularly and on many occasions, she even passed out. The more shocking news is that she is reported to be hopelessly addicted to pornography as per the gossip. She spends hours together watching x-rated stuff on her personal DVD, sitting alone in her room. 

Besides women, Shahid Kapoor has a huge fan following amongst children. The actor realized that when he was shooting for a film in Pune recently. The film’s location was a school in Pune. The minute the school bell rang for recess some 200 odd children thronged on the sets to catch a glimpse of their favorite star. Some even wanted to share a word with him.

But Shahid was too busy to give them personal attention. The children refused to budge from there till Shahid squeezed out sometime to meet them. They stood there for the actor even though the recess time was over. Teachers were greeted with empty classrooms. It was only when Shahid spoke to the children and spent quality time with them they went back to their classrooms.

Shahid shared a few pearls of wisdom with the children saying that it as students they should make it a point to be in class and study devotionally. Thus the children agreed albeit reluctantly. Here’s a hero who uses his charisma for all positive reasons. Way to go Shahid!

Kareena Kapoor has been declared the cutest vegetarian that fans would love to emulate. The on-line poll was conducted by PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) and Bebo won hands down.

The actress bagged the highest number of votes giving other potential celebrities, who followed and advocated a vegetarian diet, far behind.
She has been receiving compliments by the dozen ever since she turned vegetarian and lost weight.

The Jab We Met actress is happy that she has inspired her fans to turn vegetarian. “If my fans are looking up to me and have turned vegetarian then I am happy about it. I am a pure vegetarian and it helps me keep fit and healthy. I am aware that my fans have liked my looks in Tashan and want to do something for themselves too. If they turn vegetarian for that then I am glad to be an example for them.”

However, Kareena also clarified that, “I don’t want people to come to conclusion that turning vegetarian means starving oneself to death. I have a healthy breakfast and have portions of food non stop through out the day. It is a healthy meal of varied vegetables and fruits. This meal keeps me fit I want those looking up to me for their fitness regimen to follow a healthy diet and not pay attention to stories that I survive on juices alone. That is not true! Also these rumors about me having acquired the size zero body mass is baseless. I am fit and healthy. My weight is just right for me. I would like to tell my fans that we are all individuals and body requirements vary from person to person. You should find the weight that is apt for you and keep fit. And yes follow a healthy vegetarian diet.”

So here’s to another feather in Kareena’s cap…