Neha Dhupia plays Bollywood actress in US TV mini-series
Neha said she was signed for the show after an audition since the series’ executive producer Tabrez Noorani was a friend.
The show will be aired on IFC, an independent film channel. The three-part one-hour mini-series will premiere on the US television on August 6 and Neha has been invited to be part of the premiere telecast.
Neha said that her character Lalima in the show is of an overbearing, typical heroine who is known more for controversies than her acting skills.
“Its spoofy and comical. It also has elements like how talent does not always get priority in showbiz,” she said.
Bollywood Hero also stars American comedy actor Kris Kattan. The story is about Kris wanting to come to India and star in a Bollywood movie with Neha.
“We shot in and around Mumbai. Cameos by Keanu Reeves and Drew Barrymore were shot in Los Angeles,” she said.
“The series was shot in a very professional manner. Noorani is the line-producer of Slumdog Millionaire. The crew did not throw any attitude. There was no time wasted,” she recalled.
Agencies
Chasing the eclipse
It was to be an once-in-a-lifetime celestial experience and though most of India and Mumbai in particular couldn’t enjoy it due to the cloudy skies, the news channels more than made up for it. All of us sitting at home could view the total solar eclipse as it was happening in the early hours of July 22. Almost every channel was bang-on in capturing the beautiful sight of the moon blocking the sun phase-by-phase. Initially, one could glimpse just a shadow on the sun; gradually shadow bands grew leading to the sun’s crescent phase. The beautiful diamond ring was seen when only one point of light was left. Even through the TV screens, the effect was dazzling. Finally it was time for the total eclipse when only the Corona of the Sun could be seen giving it a faint halo look. It is a sight nobody will forget in a long time.
Both Hindi and English channels had roped in scientists, priests, astrologers, tarot card readers, fortune-tellers etc to give their perspective on the great natural phenomenon. Scientists rejoiced the event saying it could help them study and analyse various aspects of the sun and its effect on the earth. “It is interesting to note animal behaviour when the sun disappears suddenly and there is total darkness,” said scientist Y S Rajan. Tarot card reader Poonam Sethi cautioned that the eclipse would have an adverse effect on every planetary sign. “The sun is considered as the father and all the other planets are his children. It is the force of life and when it vanishes for a few minutes, it will have an impact on all its children (planets) and therefore planetary signs and us mortals.” Priests were advising ways and means of countering the ill-effects of the grahan. Images of thousands of people taking a dip in the holy river Ganga filled TV screens. But the sight of little children suffering from ailments buried neck-deep in sand during the eclipse in the hope that they would be rid of all their sicknesses that was heart-wrenching.
At the other end of the spectrum were reporters from various channels, who had gone aboard the specially-chartered flight to view the eclipse and were relaying their experience and the images live. The eclipse was best summed by an air-force pilot who said, “In my 40 years of flying this has been the best, once-in-a-lifetime experience. One moment, I was flying in bright light and suddenly darkness descended when the Sun was totally covered and I could see the stars. It was a beautiful sight, like flying on a moonlit night.”
_Screen correspondent
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty launches spa in Mumbai
Yet another Bollywood actor has made it big in the field of beauty biz. After launching perfumes, a Yoga DVD, and acquiring a stake in IPL cricket team, Bollywood hot lady Shilpa Shetty launched her medi spa named as 'IOSIS' in Mumbai.
Commenting over the launch of spa, Shilpa said: "Our idea behind opening IOSIS is that obviously people cannot do the treatments at home so we want them to spend some time with us and rediscover themselves."
The 34-year old actress further added that the wellness and beauty industry is growing and her idea behind the medi spa is to help people rediscover them.
Besides Rekha, Shilpa's close pals and Bollywood actresses Pooja Batra and Sushmita Sen were also present during the occasion. This is a joint venture of Shilpa Shetty and well-known entrepreneur Kiran Bawa.
The medispa will be a fusion of four - styling, spa, salon and skin treatments. Every treatment will be under the supervision of trained professionals.
Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan would be playing the role of the father of a teenager in his next coming flick My Name Is Khan.
At the same time, in a second movie, directed by Anubhav Sinha, he is playing dad to a grown-up child.
Talking about the story Karna Johar, who is the director of My Name Is Khan said, “Yes, Shah Rukh is playing father to a teenager in MNIK.
It was never an issue for either Shah Rukh or me. But then why should it be?
Johar adds further, “His son Aryan is almost 11. In my first film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, when Shah Rukh was 30, he played a college student!”
When asked about its affect on the career, Karan Johar says, “Actors should not worry about these things. I don’t think they should allow these aspects to interfere in accepting roles based on such things.”
I'M NOT A ROCK STAR
Though her debut movie Luck wasn't so lucky for her, Shruti Haasan [ Images ] didn't go unnoticed. The actress who also sang in Soham Shah's movie looked striking though she could have opted for a better launch vehicle.
She spoke to Nithya Ramani about her rock band, her take on love and relationships, and who she thinks is the most dishiest actor in Bollywood. Excerpts:
How has life changed since Luck?
It hasn't changed. I am as excited and happy as I was the first day I decided to be an artist. I get to meet new people and do fun stuff.
This is your debut. How was the experience from first day to last of shooting Luck?
Awesome and nerve-wrecking at times. I was debuting and wondered what I was doing here, if I could pull this off, shooting with creatures that were at any point ready to bite off a limb. It was all in all very exciting to have had that opportunity.
You are a rock star. How did acting come your way?
I am not a rock star. I am averse to that word. I am a musician, I play the piano and have learnt all kinds of music. Right now the band is in a transitionary phase and I am looking out for new musicians. I am very excited about the new music that is going to come out.
Being an entertainer, any form of entertainment has always my calling. I was studying music in Los Angeles. I also acted in a few shows and enjoyed it. I realised it was something I could do. I then started thinking about it seriously, started looking at scripts and meeting people.
What are you favourite songs?
There have been so many songs in the history of Indian cinema that it will be unfair to choose just a few.
What is your take on love and relationships?
Love is important and it does make the world go round. And why it is so great is because there are so many different kinds of love. It is a very unique and powerful emotion.
Who are your favourite actors?
There are so many. People think I am being diplomatic but I truly cannot pick one.
Lisa Hopes to Veer towards Bollywood
As part of the action in the movie, Lisa is rescued by Salman fighting a lion. "The scene is a rescue act," confirms director Vijay Ghilani, "Liza Lazarus is on a hunting spree in the jungle. Suddenly, a lion attacks her. Salman spots her in trouble and fights the lion to save her."
Lisa's next production will be to finish her undergraduate course and take on her Masters. "My current ambition is to complete my University degree, then I will always have that to fall back on," she says, "Later I would like to further my career and specialise in working with cancer patients. I am particularly interested in the development of x-ray machines and radiation, and would like to further my knowledge by doing my Masters degree in this area."
After 7 years Ash and SRK together
If reports are to be believed after a span of seven years both will be seen together on silver screen.
The verbal war between duo with Salman Khan has had hit the headlines in the past. Hence, it seems that the enmity with Sallu Mian helped duo to come close.
Their relationship had turned sour during the shoot of SRK's home production ‘Chalte Chalte'. Sallu had created a ruckus on the sets and Ash had to be ousted from the movie. It didn't go down well with the world's most beautiful woman and since has not worked with Sharukh.
However the title of the movie is yet to be decided but duo are agreed work together.
Well, in the past Aish had played sister of Shah Rukh in 'Josh' and a dead beloved in 'Mohabbatein', it will be interesting to see what role she does against SRK.
It would be worth watching Bollywood's colossal stars reviving the magic with their onscreen pairing since.
Hollywood teaches Anil Kapoor about weekends!
I don’t know how Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar are going to like this, but Hollywood seems to think that|
|
Anil himself is modest about the recognition. “Obviously, Slumdog changed my life,” he admitted, “but then it changed the lives of everybody connected with the film, including Danny Boyle.” This new global positioning has plucked him out of Bollywood and stationed him in LA, where his talents are being put to use on the Emmy and Golden Globes winning American TV series 24.
“It is an espionage and political thriller,” he explained, “it catches the highest eyeballs in the world. What Friends is for comedy, 24 is for drama and action.” He plays a Middle Eastern nation’s President who is in the US for a peace treaty in the UN with the American President.
“I won’t mention which Middle East nation,” Anil said apologetically, “but the series is contemporary and about what’s happening in the world... you will know.”
This is the eighth season of the show, and perhaps its last, with our Anil having canned six episodes already. He’s about to start the seventh and eight, but the launch of his film Ayesha, which he is producing for daughter Sonam, brought him back to Mumbai for two days. I caught up with the old Bollywood war horse over breakfast on one morning.
He sprinted up two flights of stairs like a spirited young colt to scrambled eggs and multi-grain toast, yelling at me over his shoulder, “When your hands are full, you don’t need to work on fitness.” Then, over coffee, he talked about the Hollywood press’ glowing reports on his success.
“This is... what... I... the whole thing is like getting an opportunity to learn so much... I feel like a newcomer, like I’m just beginning. My daughter said, ‘You have a family, you have money, you have fame and the back-up of work at home, and here’s the opportunity to be there, to work with big players on a global stage. What more could anybody want?’ It is true. I was also offered a few studio roles in Hollywood. But I said no. I don’t need the money and I have enough work at home. My hands are full.”
That is also true. He is launching Ayesha on August 2, and he’s already got No Problem, another film he is producing, happening in South Africa since July 11. As for being among the best-known Indian faces on the planet, Anil muttered uncomfortably, “I’m humbled by it. But better I be modest, down to earth and rooted, let my work speak... yet, in my own small way I feel I was a stepping stone, I’m convinced there will be another Slumdog, and there will be many Indians actors who will be ten times bigger than me... but I feel proud, I’m one of the first mainstream actors to do a film like this out of the box.”
He’s busy juggling two careers now (“let’s see where it takes me”), last week he travelled three continents, from LA to Durban and then Mumbai, taking advantage of one night in transit to meet filmmakers in London for future international projects. “I love my work passionately,” Anil said.
“Saturdays and Sundays in LA, I get restless, because everything shuts down. I just learned what a weekend is. In Bollywood, we work 24/7. There it’s bad manners to call up anyone for work on the weekend. Duniya ulti-seedhi ho jaye, but they remain shut. So I go hiking!” But his heart is still in India.
“I’m doing a film for Anees Bamzee, there’s Ayesha, No Problem, and if there’s something else that’s exciting, I’ll do it here,” he said, undeterred by the failure of his recent film Short Kut at the box office. “I’m ready to fail, I love it when people make fun of me, it makes me feel superior,” he said. “It means I’m up there. I get upset if people ignore me.”
People, meanwhile, were not ignoring him at our breakfast table. They were looking at him curiously from afar, giving him space. Anil Kapoor, despite the burnished copper hair, spectacles, and tracksuit, still looks and behaves like a film star. “Being recognised anywhere in the world, that’s the most exciting part,” he told me. “Earlier, when I travelled, it was only the Air-India crew that knew me. Now on any airline, even in China, they come for autographs and pictures. I like that!”
Kareena's silence speaks
Tired of constantly jabbering on screen in films as far-ranging as Jab We Met and Kambakkht Ishq, Kareena Kapoor has now taken a conscious break|
|
After playing the unattainable and thoroughly unlikeable diva-bi*** in Kambakhht Ishq, Kareena is moving on to play a more real salwar-kameez-clad Punjabi girl in Raj Kumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots and also in Rensil D’Silva’s Kurbaan.
In 3 Idiots, she plays a girl who has nothing much to say and she keeps mum, much to Kareena’s relief. “I play a quiet and nice Punjabi doctor,” says Kareena. In Rensil D’Silva’s Kurbaan, she plays a character close to her heart and she loves the silence that the character permitted her. “I’ve got one of the best roles of my career. Rensil D’Silva is such a fine storyteller. Again this girl speaks less and acts more. I play a simple Delhi girl who finds out that her husband is a terrorist,” reveals Kareena about her role in the film.
“I need my acting energies to be re-fuelled. I have been playing talkative characters in all my recent films. Omkara was the last really quiet character I played. In 3 Idiots, I’m soft and gentle and that’s the real me.
I like my silence to speak for me. Unfortunately, in this business I am constantly asked to voice my opinion on everything,” adds Kareena. In fact, she has requested Saif Ali Khan and the director Sriram Raghavan, to let her play a spy in Agent Vinod, which will again be more about action rather than words.
Koena's the showstopper
Koena Mitra may not have tasted much success in Bollywood , but the actress certainly hasn’t lost her touch when it comes to sizzling on the
|
|
Proving that she’s still in the reckoning when it comes to grabbing eyeballs, the former model sashayed down the ramp confident as ever. And as the showstopper recently at the Bangalore Fashion Week, the overwhelming response that the Bong beauty got, washed out even that smallest bit of nervousness the ramp-scorcher was feeling on taking to the ramp after quite a break.
According to a source, “Not only was she cheered the loudest, but even off the ramp she was chased by her fans eager to get their pictures clicked with her. It got really tough for Koena to get away from them all.” Well, seems like Bollywood or not, the fashion scene is still rocking for this hotstepper.
< 1 2 3 4 >
