Puri Jagannath wants to show Amitabh Bachchan’s young persona!

Puri Jagannath

Tollywood director Puri Jagannath, who is returning to Hindi movies after seven years with 'Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap' in which Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan plays a bold and colorful role, tells he made the movie to tell the people that the 68-year-old actor is still young.

'I'm a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan since childhood and I used to watch all his movies. But then came a time, when he started doing films that I didn't like him in,' Jagannath said.

'After 'Mard' I didn't see his movies till he did 'Sarkar' and that was perfect for him,' he told.

'I wanted to make a film just for him and make it in a way that I can tell people that he is not old. He still has that fire, he still has that charisma. Hence was born the idea of this film,' he included.

In 'Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap', Bachchan is seen as an angry man who wears bright, bold, over-the-top clothes and hates it when someone calls him old. The movie also stars Hema Malini, Raveena Tandon, Sonu Sood and Sonal Chauhan and is slated for release Friday.

The 44-year-old director, who had a grim beginning at the Bollywood box office in 2004 when he made 'Shart', is confident about success this time and believes that people will like Big B in the new image.

'I have been confident about this character from the very beginning. Bachchan is very good with every emotion, whether its's drama or comedy, and he is truly an entertainer. So I'm sure people will like him in this image as well,' Jagannath told.

The Telugu director, who has made successful films like 'Badri', 'Pokiri', 'Chiruta' and 'Neninthe', among others, said working with Bachchan was one of the best experiences he has ever had.

'It was a wonderful experience working with Bachchan. He is a very cool and calm person and very co-operative. I learnt a lot from him,' he told.

'Sometimes he even used to give his opinion. He is very committed and focused. He will practice the scene at home, will tell me how he will do it and if I make some last-minute changes, he would incorporate them,' he told.

'He used to always be fully prepared. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him,' he included.

After 'Bbuddah... Hoga Tera Baap', Jagannath is looking at making a stronger presence in Bollywood and planning to start working on three Hindi movies next year.

'I want to do more Hindi films now. I have three scripts. I want to start working on them next year. However, the cast and other things are not confirmed as of now,' he disclosed.

Aamir Khan says, my item no. not a publicity stunt!

Megastar Aamir Khan, who is set to appear as an 'item boy' in the number 'I hate you as I love you' in his production 'Delhi Belly', makes it very obvious that the song is an integral part of the story and not just a promotional gimmick.

'The item number was not done for the promotion of the film. It's there because the director and the writer felt that it needed to be included. The character of Disco Fighter was always in the script. Even when the first draft came, it had Disco Fighter,' Aamir said.

'But Disco Fighter had no scene. It was a character which appeared on the wall. Arup (Vir Das) in the film is a big fan of Disco Fighter. When he goes to see a film he goes to see Return of Disco Fighter.

'There is another character called VJ Suhaya. In the opening scenes of the movie he speaks about having a song 'I hate you as I love you' and all that. So by the end of the movie, the song comes that he was talking about. It has a link with the story of the film. So it was required,' he told.

Aamir continued that his filmmaker wife Kiran Rao insisted that he be the face of the song.

'This idea of, I would say, item bomb came suddenly to Abhinay and Akshat and Kiran also loved it. When Kiran asked me to do it, I took it up,' he told.

Directed by Abhinay Deo, 'Delhi Belly' is a youth-centric bold film, which stars Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapoor.

But, Mr. Perfectionist is aware that his last minute entry might raise the expectation of his audience to a certain height, but he insists it won't decide the fate of the movie.

'We want to excite the audience. Yes, the attention would shift momentarily, but no film can work on an item song. I think the film has to work in itself. Until the film is made well at its level, audiences won't love it. If audiences won't love it, the film can't be successful. True test would be on 1st July,' told Aamir.

By the way, megastar Amitabh Bachchan is also featured in an item number 'Go Meera' in his film 'Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap', which is releasing on the same day as 'Delhi Belly'.

But Aamir tells there is no competition with Big B.

'I don't feel any competition. I would definitely not compete with Amitji because I don't think I am capable of competing with him,' told Aamir.

He added that there is enough audience for more than two movies to run and succeed at the same time.

'I think we have such a big audience of 1.4 billion that two, three, four cinemas releasing at a time is a non-issue. There is space for all films. Films have to be good then only they will run,' he told.

My lip lock with Hrithik is normal thing: Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif has injured her foot and is being forced to rest at home. The break, unluckily, happened on the sets of a film when Katrina accidentally hurt herself. The fortunate part, as Kaif herself puts it, is that the foot damage occurred when she'd wrapped up two films and was readying to plunge into the third.

Freshly, her 'bikini' issues with Dhoom 3 had gathered momentum, though Katrina has clarified in media that she was never considered for the film in the first place!

Moreover, her personal equation with (reported) former flame Salman Khan has come under the media scanner, since the actress has signed up with enemy Shah Rukh Khan for a film, setting tongues wagging full throttle.

Katrina, however, sees no cause for concern on the issue. "People try to look too much by searching for the fine print, but there are no issues with me doing a movie with Salman, Shah Rukh, Ranbir, Hrithik or any other hero, for that matter. I prefer leaving the personal equation out of the professional one."

Her close scenes and reported lip lock with Hrithik Roshan in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara too isn't a factor that stresses Katrina, as she reveals that "it was part of the scene like any other."

Asserting that she's no adventure freak ("I did learn scuba diving for a couple of scenes, but I don't think that I'd try it again"), Katrina also wishes to set the record straight as regards her turning producer.

"I'm not turning producer too soon, anyway, not even for my sister Isabella who's busy studying now," the actress is quoted to have told.

Hot actress Charmee gives dates in advance for a film with Amitabh Bachchan!

Charmee Kaur, more well-known as Charmee down South India, marks her memorable Hindi debut with Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap enacting Amrita, the bubbly naughty daughter of Raveena Tandon in the film helmed by Puri Jagannadh.

The Punjabi girl from an English convent school in Vasai, Mumbai, has graduated to being a major star down South and her filmography boasts of Charmee sharing frames with A list heroes such as Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Ravi Teja, Balakrishna and others.

Revealing as to how she managed to bag the plum role of Amrita in Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap, Charmee reveals, “I know Jaggan (Puri Jagannadh) quite well, he's a friend and one day, when we got talking he asked me if I would do 'Bbuddah'. I was quite taken aback and asked him if he was offering me a role in his film? I said I would do it if I get to share one frame with Amitabh Sir. That's when Jaggan told me that he wanted me to play Amrita in the film. I was like 'God, if this really coming true for me?' Jaggan then asked me if I had the dates to spare for Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap. I told him that for Amitabh Bachchan, I would produce dates if it was necessary!”

Ram Gopal Varma says, 'Not a Love Story' is not a biopic!

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma's next 'Not A Love Story' Firstlook

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma's next 'Not A Love Story' is inspired by the real story of the heinous murder of TV executive Neeraj Grover, but the director claims that it's not a biopic of Kannada actress Maria Susairaj, who has been convicted in the case.

'The film is not a biopic. It has been inspired by the incident but not based on that particular incident. The characters are imaginative and I wanted to show the state-of-mind or the emotion that might have driven them to do such a crime,' Verma said reporters at the first look of the movie here at Cinemax Versova.

Grover was stabbed to death by former Navy officer and Susairaj's boyfriend Emile Jerome in her flat. The actress was Thursday convicted of destroying evidence.

The tagline of the movie 'In the summer of 2008, two lovers killed a man, had sex in front of the body, cut it into pieces, packed it in a shopping bag and disposed it' -- is a relevant pointer to the original case.

The gory trailer of the movie shows how Mahie Gill and her fiance Deepak Dhobrial murder Ajay Gehi and burn his body pieces in a jungle.

'This is a story of two very ordinary people. The girl in the film is a very simple girl, the ones I meet regularly in course of my career. One fine morning, how these simple people can go completely bizarre and do such a terrible thing, which a normal person cannot imagine,' told Verma.

Aamir and Sameera advice for Salman’s arrange marriage!

Bollywood’s most suitable bachelor, Salman Khan’s single status is becoming a cause of concern for many a Bollywood celebrity, even though Salman Khan is bindaas about being a bachelor at 45.

Just freshly, we heard Aamir Khan tell that Salman should be handcuffed and led to the wedding mandap and made to marry. Now, actress Sameera Reddy, a well-wisher of Salman, tells it is high time Salman got married.

At Godrej GoJiyo’s anniversary party at the Leela Hotel, Mumbai, Sameera told its regrettable that Salman is still single despite having had so many girlfriends.

“I feel it is very unfortunate ki Salman ke itne saare girlfriends hote rahte hain aur unki kisi ke saath shaadi nahin hoti hai. I think it is really unfortunate for Salman kyonki I think the girls really benefit a lot aur end mein Salman Khan is all alone by himself,” Sameera told when asked to remark about Salman’s single status.

Like Aamir, Sameera is also of the view that Salman Khan should have an arranged marriage.

“I really feel it’s time he really has an arranged marriage,” Sameera tells.

Aishwarya Rai shuns all speculations about leaving bollywood!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is going to turn into mom, sent excitement and jubilation all over. The good news was also accepted with mixed reactions. While some were happy that the actress will at last settle down, few were doubtful about her return to the screens. Well, here’s what gossips have it of late….

Speculations are that Aishwarya will be soon back on field and she has already signed her next venture. The former Miss World is said to have been roped in for Viacom 18′s production and the film will go on floors late 2012.

According to official source from the banner, they have discussed few interesting script ideas with Aishwarya and she has liked it. “She has committed to doing the film next year and she will be consulted for the final subject of the film,” the source included.

Viacom 18 is currently having Abhishek and Bipasha starrer ‘Players’ and an Amitabh Bachchan starrer.

Abhishek says, Aishwarya is going to have to spend more time taking care of me than a baby!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan are expecting their first child in upcoming December month. The to-be-dad is super thrilled about being a father. He talks about what kind of father he will make, in an interview with a popular magazine.

What’s about the new baby on the way, you won’t be the baby of the house…
(laughs) Yes, I never thought of that. No, I won’t be but it’s wonderful. It’s very hard to describe how I’m feeling…. I mean it’s nice, everybody is smiling, everybody is just very happy at home. The house is filled with flowers and people are calling and congratulating. It just feels wonderful. It still literally hasn’t sunk in that there’s going to be a child… you know, an offspring, I haven’t gone into that father zone yet.

Can you imagine yourself as a dad? Or is that intimidating?
I love to spend time with my nephew and niece. I love kids. I think I am pretty good with them. I think when you know you are going to have a child, there’s a lot more stuff to think about like how to bring up the child, what principles and morals you will teach him or her… You start thinking of all that kind of stuff… I still haven’t started that. But I think I will, as and when as the time approaches. Right now, I am just enjoying the moment but I think pretty soon like every man, I will have to sit down and say, ‘ok this is going to be your child, you have to take care, provide….’

Now you will get lots of instructions from everyone around you…
Yes they’ve already started. But thankfully, I have a bit of experience with children because of my nephew and niece so, but tips are always welcome.

Are you going to reading books on preparing and taking care of the kid?
Yeah, I’d love to do that. I’ve already started looking for them. Although there are so many ‘experts’ around. My parents, Aishwarya’s parents, my sister and brother-in-law and my friends, most of who are all parents. But even so, when you hear your wife is going to have a baby, you just go into a different level of panic. You feel like you need to know more. Just hearing other people say things isn’t always just enough. So yes, I am going to do all of that….. I am looking forward to it. I think it’s a fun period.

Are you going to be a overexcited father in the delivery room, like you did in some movie..
Yes, Salaam Namaste. But, no I’ll be pretty normal. That way, I am pretty chilled out.

Better husband or better father, what do you think?
I’ll have to be both. I’ll try and be good at both. But I am not worried…I think I’ll be a good dad. Because I love kids and they generally take to me. I am feeling bad for Aishwarya because I think am going to be more than a handful to handle. She is going to have to spend more time taking care of me than taking care of the baby.

Why do you say that?
I don’t know I am just…. You know it’s weird, when you finally share something with the world, it suddenly hits you that, ‘Okay, this is happening now.’ Since we’ve made it official, I’ve been only bouncing off the walls.

Your father shared the news on her blog. Why didn’t this (news) come from you?
There’s a very good reason for that. I wanted my father to announce it because he’s the head of the family and I remember him telling me that when my mother was going to have my sister Shweta, he said his father. And dadaji, with great pride, as the head of the family wrote letters saying ‘the next generation of my family is coming.’ I wanted to give my father that and he was very thrilled to do it. He’s the one who called the rest of the family and announced it. I wanted that moment to be his as well.

There have been congratulatory calls and a lot of positivity but there’s also been some negativity, how do you deal with these things?
There hasn’t actually… I haven’t faced much of it. But that’s life. Right now, it’s just such a happy time for the whole family that I am not even going to bother with it. At a time like this, if there are people who are only going to think negative thoughts, then they don’t deserve any attention.

Sonakshi Sinha unwillingly leaves Kamal Hassan’s film ‘Vishwaroopam’!

Sonakshi Sinha, the Junior Shotgun, who is in great demand, ever since Dabangg happened, walked out from two South projects with two of the biggest stars of Tamil cinema, Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan.

Sonakshi was the original choice for K S Ravikumar’s ‘Rana’ oppsite superstar Rajnikanth, but has now been replaced by Deepika Padukone. The newest we hear is that the actress has opted out of Hassan’s bilingual movie in which she was to play his wife, due to her prior commitment to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s venture, Rowdy Rathod.

Sonakshi was super thrilled about working with the Kamal when she signed ‘Vishwaroopam’. But unhappily, the shooting got postponed. This caused clashes with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Rowdy Rathore’ and so she had to opt out.

A source close to the actress revealed, “All her excitement is a thing of the past. She has determined that she is not doing Kamal Hassan’s movie. But trust me it wasn’t easy for her to take this decision. She has lost her first chance to work with Kamal Hassan. Hassan had serious creative differences with Selvaraghvan. Then, Hassan decided to direct the project himself. And consequently, there were delays in production. “

The source included, “Sonakshi was extremely professional, while explaining her case to Kamal Hassan Productions. There is no enmity between Kamal Hassan and Sonakshi.”

Hassan’s search for a substitute is already on and Deepika seems to be the likely candidate. Previously, Deepika had filled in for Sonakshi, who was the first choice for the Rajinikanth starrer, Rana. Seemingly, Rajinikanth was uncomfortable to pair up with his friend Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter.

Salman Khan signs film No Entry Mein Entry in whooping amount 10 crores!

Salman Khan is unquestionably the flavor of the season. He is on cloud nine. With Dabangg and Ready being among the all-time smash hits of the Indian film industry, Salman’s fee has taken a high jump to a level that makes him the utmost paid actor in Bollywood.

After much controversies, Khan has signed the sequel to Anees Bazmee’s No Entry, titled No Entry Mein Entry, with Boney Kapoor for a whopping amount of Rs 8 – 10 crore.

Boney Kapoor knows Salman Khan’s increased market value after the super successes of his last two movies and did not object to the star’s higher acting fee. He seemingly paid between eight to ten crore rupees to Salman for doing No Entry Mein Entry.

According to a close source, director Anees Bazmee reveals, “I don’t know the exact amount that Salman Khan has received for No Entry Mein Entry. I am busy working on the script. But yes, Salman deserves whatever he gets.”

It’s really nice, Salman becomes the highest paid actor in Bollywood industry.

Actress Maria Susairaj gets 3 yrs imprisonment in Grover murder case!



Kannada film industry actress Maria Susairaj



Kannada film industry actress Maria Susairaj

Kannada film industry actress Maria Susairaj

Kannada film industry actress Maria Susairaj

Victim Neeraj Grover

Maria Susairaj's boyfriend and former Navy officer Emile Jerome got

Kannada film industry actress Maria Susairaj was today awarded a maximum three years'' sentence while her boyfriend and former Navy officer Emile Jerome got a 10-year jail term in the brutal killing of Neeraj Grover, a day after they were absolved of murder charge.

Maria can walk free anytime and Jerome will have to be behind bars only for seven more years since they have already been in jail for three years during the trial.

She was convicted of demolishing evidence while Jerome was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder prompting angry reactions from the victim’s family and a section of the legal fraternity.

Sessions court Judge N W Chandwani yesterday acquitted the two of the charge of murder of the TV executive three years back and convicted of a lesser offence.

The sentence was well-defined after the judge heard arguments by the prosecution and defense on the quantum of punishment. The prosecution had sought a life sentence for Jerome.

In a gruesome crime, Neeraj was killed and his body hacked into several pieces and disposed off in a forest in neighboring Thane.

Neeraj's brokenhearted father Amarnath Grover described the sentence as an acquittal for Maria. "Why were Jerome and Maria given different sentences, when both were there when Neeraj was killed and his body brutally disposed of," he questioned.

Jerome was convicted on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 (part I) IPC which attracts life term in jail or imprisonment up to ten years. Both he and Maria were also found guilty of trying to destroy evidence under section 201 IPC which provides for a maximum three years in jail.

Both the accused had been charged by the prosecution with murder, criminal conspiracy, common objective and causing vanishing of evidence.

Ek Tha Tiger will release on 1st june 2012

Yash Raj Films romantic-thriller “EK THA TIGER” goes on floor end July and is slated for a 1st June 2012 release.

 Directed by Kabir Khan and Produced by Aditya Chopra, the film stars Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif in the lead roles.

 The film is based on a story by Aditya Chopra and the Screenplay & Dialogues have been written by KabirKhan and Neelesh Misra. Aseem Mishra, who has worked with Kabir on New York, will be the DOP. The music will be scored by Pritam.

 The film has generated tremendous anticipation since its announcement. Wait for updates as we go along.