Aishwarya Rai’s eagerly anticipated film ‘Mistress of Spices’ directed by Gurinder Chadha’s husband Paul Mayeda Berges which has already released in UK (to release in India this week) is getting sluggish response from the audience and critics, despite their massive advertising budget.

Going by the UK box office figures ‘Mistress of Spices’ opened with disappointing response of GBP 85,563 on 50+ prints. In contrast last week’s Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Humko Deewana Kar Gaye’ opened to a smashing GBP 175,000 on just 43 prints.

Reviewers feel that the film fails to generate any heat. Also the chemistry between the main leads, Aish and Dylan lacks intensity and fire. Fans of Gurinder Chadha are disappointed to come across such a boring treatment given to the story where Aish is forever talking to her spices. (more…)

Want to see Saif’s photo, who danced his way in Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 to get imprinted in Australia’s postage stamps, released on March 27.

The 50-cent stamp shows him on stage in a green kurti with other dancers. These “instant stamps” were available on sale in Australia within two days of the event happening.

The Chhote Nawab who was dancing with Rani Mukherjee and Aishwarya Rai became the first Indian to feature on a postage stamp published in Australia by virtue of his performance in the concluding ceremony at Melbourne.

Now Saif jokes, “This shows that I am sexier than them. But (getting serious) it doesn’t mean I have overshadowed Ash and Rani. I am featured amongst several dancers.” (more…)

Mallika Sherawat’s latest release ‘Shaadi Se Pehle’ might not be getting good response at the box office but it hasn’t been able to affect the actress name and fame. The sex siren is soon going to play the Goldie Hawn’s role from Private Benjamin in a plum Hollywood remake project produced by Ravi Walia.

Being a comedy, the film is aptly titled ‘Fauj Mein Mauj’ and will be directed by debutant Murli Nagavalli, who so far has been assistant to Priyadarshan. Mallika will again play the role of a sex bomb in this film too.

The director confirmed, “Yes, I’m directing Mallika in Fauj Mein Mauj.” Talking about his inspiration from Hollywood flick he said, “It has been changed to suit the Indian audiences. The film is a comedy along the lines of the Police Academy series, but set in the army it’s a story of what happens when a sexy young woman joins the army.” On a note of caution he added, “I’m not making fun of anyone, but just making a humorous film. It’s a fictional story.” (more…)

Bipasha Basu has long retured from Brazil where she shot for Dhoom 2 with Hrithik Roshan, Uday Chopra and Aishwarya Rai but the sexy beauty can’t stop raving about the her trip to the place always high on sun, sea and sights.

Bipasha said, “It was great fun! This was the first Hindi film (Dhoom 2) to be shot there and Brazil is a fun place. Uday has stayed back for a holiday. We all had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.”

The actress also told that since she looked like a local there, she blended in with the Brazilians. She said, “one day, I was sitting in a front of a shop in Rio, and someone, thinking I was a local, started asking me the price of stuff. It’s just that I couldn’t speak the local language, Portuguese.” (more…)

It has come to our knowledge that when Mallika Sherawat was offered Shaadi se Pehle initially she was apprehensive about doing the film and at one stage refused the offer. Why? She wasn’t quite sure of playing second fiddle in the film.

Also the sex bomb after getting too much attention from international front (her tiny-winy role in The Myth) and accolades from Time magazine had started taking herself too seriously. She had even started hoping for different roles, other than what she was offered at that moment.

So even though she was excited about the prospect of doing a film with Mukta Arts she wasn’t sure. At that moment the director of Shaadi Se Pehle, Satish Kaushik and her secretary Kalim convinced her doing the film. They advised her to continue playing a sex bomb in a couple of movies and then work towards being a serious actor. (more…)

Actress Aishwarya Rai is going very hard on herself these days. Her tight schedule and bad weather conditions in Rio de Janeiro where she was shooting for Dhoom 2 literally left her speechless. She has now been diagnosed with laryngitis.

Aishwarya said, “I can barely speak. Though my voice is getting better, it will take some time for it to get back to normal.” The infection has even made the actress postpone the shoot for J.P. Dutta’s Umrao Jaan in Lucknow.

For now, the actress is yet recovering from the overwhelming response she received at Melbourne. Ash undertook a 34-hour journey from Brazil, where she was shooting for Dhoom 2 to represent India at a performance with other actors at the Commonwealth Games finale. (more…)

In ‘Mistress of Spices’ Aishwarya Rai portrays an Indian woman in San Francisco running a spice shop. Hollywood actor Dylan McDermott is paired with her. Gurinder Chadha’s husband, Paul Mayeda Berges who is donning the director cap for the first time, speaks about Aishwarya, the film which was shot in San Francisco and Kerala and the novel written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni which was adapted into the film.

What factors prompted you to sign Aishwarya Rai for the role of Tilo in Mistress of Spices?

While working with Ash on Bride and Prejudice, we started to think that she would be perfect as Tilo and it would show a whole new dimension of the actor. She read the script and immediately understood the character. She wanted to play the role of a natural, soulful woman who helps her customers, holds onto her traditions, and at the same time, slowly opens up to new possibilities in her new life in America. (more…)