Rituparno Ghosh has given Akshay a role that will be remembered for a lifetime and the actor who has mastered the art of action and comedy is eager to triumph as an intense lover. Now Akshay is having an image makeover by growing his chest hair and a beard for his traveler look in ‘Rahgeer’ - the film inspired by Dev Anand’s ‘Guide’.

You can very well imagine Akshay in Rahgeer by getting a hint from his long haired look in the recent cola ad of ‘Thumbs Up’ where he has done some great stunts.

Now back to Ghosh’s Rahgeer. Rituparno has asked the actor to look his worse … oops! best for the part as Vidya Balan’s lover. Rituparno chuckled, “The smooth suave look just doesn’t go with the character that Akshay is supposed to play in Rahgeer. Akshay has pomised some serious hair growth before we leave for Bangkok for the shooting” (more…)

Vidya Balan talks about her forthcoming films.

'Parineeta' changed my life.

Dada (Pradeep Sarkar) was very sure he wanted only me for the role. His confidence and faith in me really boosted my energy levels. It helps when someone stands and backs you. I had done nearly 80 ads by the time I came to an acting career, still one needs inspiration from the right quarters. He was sure no one else could play Lolita. I think people who debut at an early age have had to wait a few years to get that kind of a role. In that way, I am lucky. Touch wood.

Sequel to 'Munnabhai MBBS'!

I play Sanjay Dutt’s love interest in ‘Munnabhai Meets Mahatma’. But it’s not a sequel per se. The characters Munna and Circuit are there in this movie also, but it is not a sequel to ‘Munnabhai MBBS’. One of the great things about the film is that everyone sees it as a fresh film, including Rajkumar Hirani. It may be titled ‘Munnabhai Meets Mahatma’ or ‘Munnabhai Lage Raho’. I also loved ‘Munnabhai MBBS’. There was not a single unwanted moment in the film. Picture ho to aisi! (more…)

It seems like Parineeta girl Vidya Balan has become everybody’s favorite. Deepa Mehta who has till date made films on serious issues has decided to cast Vidya as Stella for her next film which will be a comic caper.

Deepa is doing something different by going for a comic genre and so is Vidya. Vidya has developed a serious image in the industry but with this international film tentatively titled Stella she will break her sober mold.

So how Deepa decided to cast Vidya? “I saw Vidya in Parineeta, and thought there was something extremely warm, earthy and old-worldly about her. Lurking beneath the graceful presence is a sense of mischief which you can see in the lighter flirtatious moments in Parineeta. I want to tap into that side of Vidya”, said Deepa Mehta. (more…)

Evergreen lyricist Gulzar was nominated for three of his works in this year’s Filmfare awards - ‘Dheere jalna’ from ‘Paheli’, ‘Chup chup ke’ from ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ and ‘Kajra re’ again from ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. Of course his ‘Kajra re’ was the hot favorite of everyone. Gulzar thinks this award wining song is not devoid of poetry. At this moment he is writing songs for editor Shirish Kunder’s directorial debut ‘Jaan-E-Man’ and wants to learn the language of mainstream cinema.

You seem to be on a quest for new peaks to conquer.
Recently I returned from Chennai after a music sitting with Mani Ratnam and A.R. Rahman. We are working together again after ‘Dil Se’ for Mani’s ‘Guru’. Again we’ll try to attempt a different sound. Guru has a serious layer below the surface, which I’ll tap as a poet. Mani Ratnam is the only director who asks for abstract images. It’s lovely to share my poetry with him. His Hindi is getting better. But I’m lagging behind. My Tamil should improve soon.

As a lyricist, I’d say my first turning point as an abstract lyricist was ‘Humne dekhi hai un aankhon ki mehekti khushboo’ in ‘Khamoshi’. Another turning point was Mani Ratnam’s ‘Dil Se’ where with ‘Chaiyyan chaiyyan’ my sufiyana phase started. Now let’s see, perhaps with ‘Guru’ there will be another turning point. It’s wonderful to work with a director who expresses scenes musically. (more…)

After delivering hits one after the other with film like Zinda, Water and Taxi No. 9211 the whole world has become fan of John Abraham.

But John said that he is a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan because when most of the established actresses refused to work with him, Big B came to his rescue.

This is what he said - (more…)

Farhan Akhtar assistant Reema Kagti who is making her debut as a director with film ‘Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd’ has accused director Nikhil Advani of swiping her story for his film ‘Salaam-E-Ishq’.

This means we have two films in the making that has more or less the same storyline of six couples on Honeymoon. (What a waste!)

Reema revealed that she had narrated a story idea to Nikhil when she was assisting Farhan for Lakshya but things could not get materialized with him at that moment. “I had narrated my love story woven around six couples, to Nikhil Advani. He also had a second round of complete script narration with my dialogue writer Anurag Kashyap. I don’t know why he didn’t do the film”, she said. (more…)

Akshay with Arnold

What will happen if Bollywood action hero acts with Hollywood action superstar? Obviously, Ultimate Dhamaka! It is said Akshay Kumar is slated to do a Hollywood film with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Talks are in progress and our Akki is excited and looking forward to the project. Both the stars are known for their action performances so when the two come together, audiences will surely get to watch a punch packed action flick.

Preity to Concert

Preity Zinta, after the success of Temptations in 2004 is looking forward to do another one. It is said Preity is now part of Heat 2006 concert which also includes Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley. (more…)