By Jilawatan

Come August and Hyderabad will be the destination of one of the most controversial and ‘dirty’ movie shootings of the year.

Major portions of “Dirty Picture,” a film loosely based on Southern siren, Silk Smitha’s life will be shot in Film City and Jubilee Hills area. Hyderabad Times caught up with director Milan Luthria of “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai” fame, who was on a location scout in the city. “It’s natural that we shoot portions of the film here in Hyderabad, to capture the flavor of the South,” says the director.

Controversies galore: Silk Smitha’s life on celluloid could ruffle a lot of feathers, considering she was involved with bigwigs from Tollywood. “We are not making the film for controversies. Our movie explores how she became one of the most powerful women at a time when men ruled the roost,” explains Milan. Earlier, Silk Smitha’s boyfriend and filmmaker, Vinu Chakravarthy, lashed out at producer Ekta Kapoor for not taking his consent before making the film. “It’s ridiculous. We are just using her as a parameter to make a film on women of that era,” says Milan. The choice of Vidya Balan to play Smitha on screen too was criticized by Vinu. “Vidya is a fine actress. She has an innocent face, yet there is this underlining sexuality about her that no one else has. It fits the role. She was sexuality personified in her sarees in “Ishqiya,” he reasons.

The men in her life: With Nasseruddin Shah, Tushar Kapoor and Emraan Hashmi playing the three men in Vidya’s on screen life, one can’t help but probe who in particular are the characters based on. “No one as such. Our writer Rajat has written the characters in such a way that it does not represent anyone living or dead,” treads the director carefully. But with a movie based on a Southern siren’s life, how come none of the actors from the South are involved in the project? “Well, it was a conscious decision. If one actor brings in the Southern accent, then we would have to take all the actors from here itself,” says the director, who is now gearing up to shoot with Akshay Kumar for the sequel of last year’s hit, “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai.”

“We wanted to take the story forward to the time when Shoaib already became a dreaded don. We decided to replace Emraan with Akshay, as the latter’s seriousness and larger-than-life persona on screen suits the character,” says the director.

Friends in the city: Milan has many Tollywood connections. “I assisted Mahesh Bhatt during “Criminal” and I’ve been friends with Nagarjuna since. Same with Chiranjeevi, who did “Gentleman.” How come he never cast them in his movies? “By the time I started making movies, they stopped doing Hindi films. But I’ve heard good things about their sons, Naga Chaitanya and Ram Charan Tej. The next time I’m in town, I’ll drop in and say hi to my old friends,” says Milan.

By Jilawatan

No, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is not getting competition with her husband! However, buzz is that the two actresses have been roped in to play wives to Junior Bachchan in two upcoming films.

Vidya Balan, who has been on a guest starring spree, has been roped in to play Abhishek’s better half in Dum Maaro Dum. Earlier, the actress had signed up for a cameo in ‘Thank You’, playing Akshay Kumar’s wife.

This is not the first time that the actress has been seen opposite Abhishek Bachchan. The duo were seen together in ‘Paa’, where they played parents to Amitabh Bachchan.

Kangna Ranaut, on the other hand has taken up a role opposite Bachchan Junior in RGV’s next, Department.

The film, which has just been announced, revolves around three cops and the extra-constitutional activities they engage in to maintain a civil society.

By Jilawatan

Bollywood is considered to be a superstitious lot, not willing to take risks especially when it comes to trying to ensure the success of their films at the box-office.

Apart from auspicious mahurat dates and naming of films, even casting of actors considered lucky mascots for the makers is increasingly the norm. So, what happens when both the leading actor, as well as, the film-maker have their own ‘lucky’ stars. Well, they simply cast both! And according to the buzz that’s what happened in Anees Bazmee’s Thank You. The film that stars Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Bobby Deol also has a surprise cameo by actor Vidya Balan, apart from an item number by Mallika Sherawat.

Apparently, while Bazmee considered it was lucky to include Mallika as she she had made a cameo in his earlier hit Welcome, Vidya is considered to be lucky for Akki and reportedly that is what helped the director zero in on her for a vital role opposite Akshay. A source reveals, “Akshay and Vidya have had two superhits together Bhool Bhulaiya and Heyy Babyy and hopefully the combination will click again. So the makers agreed immediately and cast Vidya.” In fact according to another insider, the length of her character was considerably increased and even a song was thrown in after Vidya agreed to come on board. The source adds, “Vidya’s also of course a talented actor, so it was like a win-win situation for the film. So things fell into place, even though Anees already had his own lucky actor Mallika in the film.”

But Sherawat and Balan are not the only ones. Rani Mukerji and Kajol too have been considered film-maker Karan Johar’s lucky charms, although he has gone on record claiming Shah Rukh Khan to be the luckiest mascot. In fact, according to Bolly-lore, if Kajol tripped while shooting for a film, then the film was bound to be a super hit.

Actor Salman Khan is the lucky boy for the Barjatyas, while Katrina Kaif’s been proven lucky for Akshay. Anushka Sharma’s now being considered lucky for her film-makers too. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali swears by his heroine Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, while actor Sridevi was apparently the lucky mascot for the Chopras. Actor Madhuri Dixit was considered to be lucky for Indra Kumar, but then so was a particular tree in Ooty that he featured in all his films, while Urmila Matondkar was both the muse and the mascot for Ram Gopal Varma.

By Jilawatan

Akshay Kumar is ready to bring us some more laughs in his next starrer Thank You and now the buzz is none other than Vidya Balan is set to make a cameo as Akki’s wifey! The actress will appear in a few flashback scenes and we bet fans are excited to hear this little piece of news!

Thank You stars plenty of A-listers, including Sonam Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Irrfan Khan, Suniel Shetty and Celina Jaitley. The romantic comedy tells the story of a young tennis player, played by Sonam, who falls in love with a playboy, portrayed by Akshay. Bobby, Irrfan, and Suniel are all hardworking men who head off for work each morning. However, Bobby is often distracted by pretty women! By night these three men are ready to take on the town at the hottest parties.
Things get messy as all these men are married! As the wives are clueless the boys get in no trouble – that is until Akshay Kumar steps into town. He charms all the ladies and soon exposes the men and ruin their lives. This movie’s trailer is packed with laughs, drama, music, and fun so we can only imagine what Thank You has in store for its full release on April 8. Are you excited about Vidya’s cameo?

By Jilawatan

As Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai sequel will roll soon, the hunt for the leading lady of the film, which stars Akshay Kumar in lead, is on. Top contenders likely to bag the role are Kareena Kapoor and Vidya Balan!

The sequel will show Akshay as a matured Dawood, the role essayed by Emraan Hashmi in the first part. As Dawood was allegedly linked with Mandakini, the makers are having trouble in finding the right actress to play her part in the film opposite Akki. It’s reported that Mandakini’s character needs a strong actress who can emote well on celluloid.

Now the speculations are rife that either Kareena or Vidya can be approached for the role. As per sources, Ekta Kapoor, the head of Balaji Motion Pictures, wants a top actress to play the lead. The production house is already working with Vidya in Dirty Picture and Kareena is quite close to Ekta and her brother Tusshar Kapoor.

By Jilawatan

Anees Bazmee is super busy shooting his next comedy Thank You starring Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Suniel Shetty, Celina Jaitly and Sonam Kapoor. The crew shot extensively in Canada recently. As expected, it’ll be a comic film from Bazmee.

Buzz up!
If the aforementioned star cast wasn’t enough, director Anees Bazmee has now decided to add one more star to this already star studded film. Our sources reported that Vidya Balan recently shot for the film in Mumbai. Vidya however will be seen only in a cameo role as Akshay Kumar’s wife in Thank You. When we spoke to Anees Bazmee, he refused to comment on this.

With so much star power, Thank You definitely is one film to look forward to.

By Jilawatan

This man is a true khiladi. Not the kind he was famously known for, instead, now he is plain, simple bratty.

His pranks are as solid as his B.O ratings, and Akshay Kumar is damn proud of it too. While talking to ZOOM, he revealed a wicked prank he had pulled on Vidya Balan. Apparently, the beauty is still reeling under the effect. Apparently, while shooting for Heyy Babyy, Akki convincingly told Vids that a certain Punjabi radio channel wanted to do a telephonic interview with her, and they had requested her to talk in Punjju as far as she could. The naïve Vids quickly brushed up the little Punju she knew and readily did the interview for a whole of 20 minutes. Only that the RJ at the other end was none other the man himself, Akshay.

Later at night over dinner, he suddenly broke into his fake RJ Punju accent, and Vidya’s jaw dropped. She instantly recognised the voice, and knew it was prankster Akshay at play. And you don’t want to know what followed. Plates, spoons and other objects went flying across the room, while Akshay ran for his life. Well, we know what the lovely Vids wanted desperately for dinner that night. A grilled Akshay Kumar, for starters.

By Jilawatan

It needed the Bombay Times to make this happen… bring all of Bollywood that was in Mumbai on December 4, under one roof for the
merriest party of the year! They came to celebrate BT’s 15th anniversary. And to say the party rocked would be an understatement. True, the who’s who of B-Town have made it under one roof for several causes and celebrations in the past. But what made the BT bash exciting and exclusive was the camaraderie that was witnessed between the legends, the badshahs and the beauties of Bollywood at Mumbai’s historic landmark, the Taj Mahal Hotel & Tower, that night.

The sultry Bipasha Basu promised she would there at 10.45 pm with hunky beau John Abraham, and this striking twosome did exactly that. Ajay Devgn wrapped up his shoot at 10 pm on Versova Beach, took a detour to Juhu to fetch wife Kajol who had just returned from Sydney. And before the clock hit 12, lo and behold — this superstar couple were with us.

Karan Johar made a solo entry, looking dapper as always, talking animatedly on his cell phone, unmindful of the bevy of beauties who longed for him to include them in his power gaze. Priyanka Chopra came in like Pretty Woman with her efficient entourage trailing silently behind. We were warned that Shah Rukh Khan would make a back door entry; gates were checked… and yet nothing could check the madness and the mayhem when the Badshah arrived. Akshay Kumar was almost making it to another location, or so said his manager… but the Khiladi rarely goes wrong when wife Tina is around. So there they were in the midst of our revelry, this handsome pair… cordoned off by their own personal security, causing a mini pandemonium.

The security cordon at the Taj gates crumbled for a few minutes when the biggest Bollywood phenomenon to have walked the earth arrived. Fresh from the accolades of Paa, and driving down from Lonavala just for us, Amitabh Bachchan came with his superstar son Abhishek. And, as if on cue, the diminutive bundle of talent Vidya Balan followed, causing a flutter in the lobby. Next morning, even while Bollywood slept off the effects of its BT hangover, the energy-plus Big B flew off to Chennai.

Aamir Khan, of course, warned us he’d be late. But for the second time in one evening the crowds on Apollo Bunder outside the Gateway of India broke into a midnight dance when the numero uno drove in. Dressed in a Tee-shirt that he designed, Aamir came in solo from his own fashion show…

Interspersed by the glittering arrivals in between of Bollywood hotties Sameera Reddy, Kangna Ranaut, Shriya Saran, Neetu Chandra, Payal Rohatgi, Anupama Verma, Riya Sen, Mugdha Godse, Sushma Reddy, Sherlyn Chopra, Shenaz Treasuryvala, former Miss Indias Parvathy Omanakuttan and Simran Kaur Mundi, Miss World Diana Hayden… this was a show that even the most hardcore cynic would have to admit was the party of the year. Tellyland’s glitterati also turned up in force, from Ronit Roy to Urvashi Dholakia. Truly, if the BT Party was filmed, it would have a golden jubilee run..

By Jilawatan

The graceful Vidya Balan has turned a new leaf. After her unsuccessful attempts to revamp her wardrobe in “Heyy Babyy” and “Kismat Konnection”, the actress has decided to go easy on the glamour quotient.

“It’s not as though I’m disowning my efforts to do glamorous roles. I’m proud of ‘Heyy Babyy’ and ‘Kismat Konnection’. But this year I’m doing films that don’t need me to stretch my personality. I’m very happy doing roles that come naturally to me. That’s what I decided about my career this year,” Vidya told IANS.

Vidya has just given the nod to Nikhil Advani’s next film “Chand Bhai”, which would surprise many. It is a raw, realistic and song-less film on juvenile delinquency.

“It’s nothing like the high-flying glam stuff that one expects from Nikhil after ‘Chandni Chowk To China’. ‘Chand Bhai’ is a stark, very real kind of drama. And I get to co-star with a very talented actor Akshaye Khanna with whom I was in Nikhil’s ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ though we had just one passing shot together,” she said.

The actress admits “Chand Bhai” doesn’t feature her in the central role.

“The film revolves around a delinquent boy’s character. But I’m very happy to be part of a film that addresses itself an important social issue. This year I think I’m done with searching for various bylanes to my screen identity. All my forthcoming films have a sharp sense of social purpose, and that definitely includes Vibhu Puri’s ‘Chenab Gandhi’, which I’m enormously excited about because it’s produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.”

Vidya has been attending costume and reading sessions for “Chenab Gandhi” and is spellbound by the script. The film also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Hurman S. Baweja.

“I haven’t really interacted that much with my co-star Hurman as yet. With Mr. Bachchan, who plays the title role, I share a lifelong bonding. Right from ‘Eklavya – The Royal Guard’, we’ve been paired in so many films right up to ‘Chenab Gandhi’ and now Balki’s (R Balakrishnan’s) ‘Pa’.

“If I did all the films last year that I was offered with Mr. Bachchan, I wouldn’t be working with anyone else,” said Vidya, adding she’s excited to work with Abhishek Bachchan for the first time in “Pa”.

‘We’ve never been paired together. It would be interesting to have another interesting co-star to work with,” she said.

Vidya recently saw”Ghajini” and was bowled over by Aamir Khan.

“I’m dying to work with Aamir. And Shah Rukh Khan of course is my favourite. I said on Sajid Khan’s chat show I want to kill Shah Rukh’s wife. No one took me seriously. There was no enhancement in the security around her. Sad.”

On the big screen, Akshay Kumar and Sajid Khan came together in Heyy Babyy. Now a year later, they return with ‘Sajid’s Superstars’ where Sajid chats up with Akshay Kumar.

- Getting candid, Akshay Kumar talks about his early days as a waiter in Bangkok and as a struggling model/actor. He mentions an incident, which has left a huge impression in his life. When he had just started off as an aspiring model, he got a furious lashing from a modeling coordinator. Apparently, he was signed for a few thousand, a princely amount for him at that time, and he was so happy that he was already in a celebration mode. Suddenly, he got a call and the person from the other side of the phone was quite rude. Reason? Akshay was quite late. He was surprised though since he was supposed to be at the venue at 6 PM. This is when he realized to his horror that the committed time was in fact 6 AM!

- He lost the assignment and was truly dejected. He thought that his career was in doldrums and this is when a man (now his make-up dada) spotted him and referred him to filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty. The veteran producer-director took an instant liking for him and signed him there and then for a film as a lead hero. His signing amount? The same as promised by the modeling agency. The time at which he was signed? 6 PM!!! Filmy, very filmy!

- Sajid Khan mentions an interesting anecdote about Akshay’s earlier days when he had just started off as an actor. None of his films had released by then but he was already working on 6-7 films. This is when Sajid had invited Akshay to be a part of an inter-college dance show as a judge. Footage of this real life event is shown exclusively on ‘Sajid Superstars’!

- Akshay Kumar shows a different facet of himself as he sings a song. However, surprise factor here is that he does so in Swahili language. Apparently, he learnt the language when he was in Bangkok!

- To spice things further up, Sajid brings up the incident, which happened around a year back on the sets of Welcome. As reports had come in then, Akshay Kumar had allegedly slapped Nana Patekar during filming of a dance sequence. Akshay Kumar reveals what had really happened!

- Akshay Kumar was in a tit-for-tat mode during the entire conversation as he faced quite a few bouncers and answered them tactfully. Sample these!

- Karan Johar – ‘Amongst your last six films, which is the one that you feel should have flopped? Akshay – Kabhi Alvidaa Naa Kehna. Why did Akshay mention KANK when he hadn’t even acted in it? Find it out?

- Riteish Deshmukh – ‘Aren’t you bored of your hits?’ Akshay – ‘I am surprised that you are saying that. Isn’t Heyy Babyy your biggest hit till date?’

- Anil Kapoor – ‘Would you cut down your price for a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film?’ Akshay – ‘I am sure he would cut down his price to work with me’

- Malaika Arora Khan – ‘If Twinkle Khanna were to host a chat show, would you still charge for it?’ Akshay – ‘My money is her money and her money is my money. Our money is our children’s money and I handle my children’s bank account’! So, there you go!

- Dia Mirza – ‘You and Shah Rukh Khan dance at weddings and charge for it. Is there anyone for whom you would not charge money?’ Akshay – ‘You, because by that time I would have cut a deal with your husband’!

- No wonder, with majority of questions being centered on money, Akshay cried out loud that why was his bank balance being the center of attraction. He did refute reports though that he is paid 50/60/70 crores as written by some sections of media. The news may have never failed to shake up the industry but Akshay truly denied by stating – ‘I don’t charge that kind of money’!

- However, Vidya Balan’s question still remained to be on the similar lines. She asked – ‘What is your real price? And in case it is indeed around 50 crores, can you give me 10% of that?’ Akshay – ‘I will give you entire 100%, provided….’ What did Akshay say in the end? What is his condition?

To know about this and a lot more, tune in to ‘Sajid’s Superstars’ at 2000 hrs IST, Saturday on the newly launched channel COLORS!