BOLLYWOOD- GOSSIPS & NEWS

Veena Malik tries to sell…with sex!

The Pakistani wannabe starlet visited the red light district in Mumbai to promote her new film, Zindagi 50-50

Sometimes we just gotta wonder about life. She is not bad looking, she is not too old, she is not that bad an actor that she cannot be moulded and she could be any one of the many PYTs trying to make it in Bollywood. But then why – and this is an impassioned plea – does Veena Malik insist on taking the down and dirty fast track to fame…or should that read ‘notoriety’?

Instead of taking it slow and steady and working on her acting chops, this gal has chosen to shed all her inhibitions after she shed her clothes and is working it with a flash of flesh and a pout of over-painted lips to grab attention. And where Sherlyn Chopra has gone kind-of, maybe, perhaps, borderline respectable with her bona fide shoot for Playboy magazine and a film being showcased at Cannes, Veena has just sunk lower in the cheap stakes with every move she has made, from denying a nude cover shoot to her latest stunt for that share of the limelight.

Her latest is an appearance in the red light district of Mumbai (Kamathipura), where she met sex workers and distributed condoms, all to promote her new film, Zindagi 50-50, in which she plays a lady of the streets called Madhuri. And frankly, rude as we may sound, she fit right in to the environment she was visiting, with her overly low cut red top and those frighteningly pouty red lips…shudder! Ask us or not, but in our honest opinion, Ms Malik needs a new career guidance counsellor. She is on a track that will not get her more than C-grade (or below) projects in moviedom if she keeps going in her particular direction. But maybe that is what our wannabe heroine is aiming at…. Who knows!

Salman Khan to resume Mental shoot next week

The shoot had been stalled following the fighters’ issues over payment

Salman Khan and his brother Sohail Khan, who have been battling the stunt fighters’ demands, can now breathe a sigh of relief. The Lavasa schedule of the Salman starrer,Mental was shelved last month after the fighters from the South refused to shoot, as they demanded equal remuneration to that of Bollywood fighters. They claimed they were being paid half as much as the B-town stuntmen and the movie had only 30 percent fighters from down South.

Producer-director Sohail is said to have lost around 12 days of shooting and incurred heavy losses amounting to few crores of rupees. A source close to Sallu says, “Salmanbhai is disturbed with the South fighters abandoning the schedule of the big budget film mid-way. And so he has decided not to work with them.”

However, the President of Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), Dharmesh Tiwari supports Salman‘s decision. “As per the All India Film Employees Confederation (AIFEC), 70 per cent of the fighters have to be local and 30 per cent from the region of the fight master (the south in this case). The demand by the southern fighters for 50 per cent representation is unreasonable and just not acceptable. They have to adhere to the rules. I don’t think Salman’s decision is wrong,” he said while talking to a newspaper.

Wethinks now that this issue is solved, the Khan brothers should shift their focus back on completing the film on time and getting an apt title for their film since they aren’t really happy with Mental.

Happy times for sad endings in Bollywood?

When rockstar Rahul Jaykar jumps to his death in the climax of 'Aashiqui 2', not many were sure if a sad ending would work for the love story. But shattering all myths about sad endings' fate at the box office, the film became a runaway hit. A trade source says, "Actually, such excuses (tragic ending) crop up when a movie sinks at the box office and the concerned filmmaker looks for justifications to save face." 

Says Shagufta Rafique, the writer of Aashiqui 2, "We did not think of any other end. The film is about a man who ends his life so that his lover can live on; we never worried if the ending will affect BO performance. I won't call it a risk, it was about being true to the story."

But despite the success of tragic love stories — Ranbir Kapoor'sRockstar (2011) is another recent example — not many filmmakers are ready to take the risk. For example, the original storyline of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi 6 (2009) had Abhishek Bachchan's character dying. But after pressure from the studio, the director changed it. Both endings were shot and there were reports that the film would be re-released with its original climax.

This trend is not new. Twenty-five years ago, Mansoor Khan had also shot two climaxes for Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). A trivia on the film states that while the older audience wanted a happy ending, the younger ones preferred a sad one. Finally, the director chose tragedy. In fact, Mughal-E-Azam (1960), the mother of all Bollywoodlove stories, ends on a tragic note.

Says film writer Dilip Thakur, "The sad ending of Ek Duje Ke Liye (1981) became the high point of its BO success, though there were reports of lovers committing suicide after watching the film. But there have been instances of filmmakers changing the end of films. One example is Rajesh Khanna's Baharon Ke Sapne (1967). Kajol's Sapnay (1997) also had different endings in different languages."

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt recalls how Arth (1982) didn't have any takers initially because of its sad ending. He says, "The know-it-alls of the industry said, an end in which the woman turns her back on her husband and lover, would prove disastrous. The film was not sold for a year. But if it worked eventually due to its so-called sad end. Even with Aashiqui 2, it is the tragedy that has contributed to its success."

Devdas is another classic example. Says a trade source, "It's a movie that has been attempted several times in Indian cinema. The film projected the male protagonist hitting the bottle with a vengeance, but did that aspect keep the audience away from theatres?"

Interestingly, actors like Rajesh Khanna and Shah Rukh Khan have benefitted from being tragic heroes. Thakur says, "After Aradhana (1969), Khanna wanted to die in every film — be itKhamoshi (1969), Safar (1970) or Anand (1971). So much so, Amitabh Bachchan was supposed to die according to the original script of Namak Haraam (1973). But that was changed on Khanna's insistence."

Mahesh Babu all set to make his Bollywood debut

Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu is all set to make his Bollywood debut with director duo Krishna DK-Raj Nidumoru's upcoming film.

Southern actor Dhanush is making his Bollywood debut with Raanjhanaa next month, Ram Charan Teja will reprise the role of megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the remake version of Zanjeer, Prithviraj Sukumaran made his acting debut with Aiyyaa and his recent release was Aurangzeb and now Mahesh Babu is set to enter B-town.

"We are doing a film with Mahesh Babu. We were in talks with him since six months. It is an action-comedy film. It is not a remake of any south film, it is an original subject," Raj told PTI.

The makers are in search of a leading lady and are open to having either a known actress or even a newcomer, whoever fits the role.

This untitled film is likely to be made in two languages - Hindi and Telugu. The shooting for the film will begin by the end of this year.

The director duo rocked the Hindi box-office with their zombie comedy film Go Goa Gone, starring Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das and Puja Gupta.

Post the release of their recently released film 'Go Goa Gone', Raj and DK are set to start another film with Saif Ali Khan.

The film will be a romantic-comedy and will see Saif romancing Ileana D'Cruz.

"The shooting for this film will begin in a month. The story is based in LA but it has nothing to do with NRI couple. It is a completely original film," Raj said.

Bollywood fashion at Cannes

(Any opinions expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily of Reuters)

The image of Aishwarya Rai in a striking yellow sari with lots of gold jewellery walking the red carpet at Cannes 2002 is one that a generation of Indian movie fans may not forget.

Few Indians were familiar with Cannes until the actress made an appearance on the French Riviera. Not only did Rai introduce fans back home to the world’s leading cinema showcase, she also made global audiences take note of Bollywood. This year, the 66th Cannes festival is showcasing India as a guest country to mark the centenary of its film industry.

Celebrities such as Sonam Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Frieda Pinto and Amitabh Bachchan made an appearance – and had to step up their fashion game.

Glamour is key at the annual film festival and the trek down the red carpet is fraught with risk for the glitterati.

The clothes one wears at such events are not merely a sartorial statement but have a lot to do with one’s identity. Remember fashion’s golden rule: you are what you wear. The Bollywood brigade at Cannes may seem a bit like the contestants in the national costume round of a beauty pageant. Keeping their identity intact while representing their country on an international platform is praiseworthy, but is it making a fashion statement?

Take, for instance, Vidya Balan. As expected, the actress opted for traditional Indian chic at Cannes. Balan, best known for her voluptuous turn in the 2011 Bollywood hit “The Dirty Picture”, covered her head on one occasion and seemed almost ready to twirl in a classyKathak move. Her blouses were close-necked and full-sleeved, and it seemed she went a bit overboard in trying to portray a conservative image.

Sonam Kapoor, known for her dramatic sense of style, made her Cannes debut two years ago in a Jean Paul Gaultier gown. This year, she wore an Anamika Khanna sari with a striking traditional nose-ring. Her other Indian outfit by Shehla Khan, which we found difficult to put a name on because it’s bizarre, was an aberration among the stylish outfits Kapoor has been sporting at Cannes. She made an attempt to mix and match both Indian and Western looks but it didn’t work all that well.

At her last Cannes outing, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan got a lot of bad press for turning out in unflattering gowns that did little for her post-pregnancy figure. While some admired the actress for embracing her body image, others dismissed her as a mere memory of the model who won the Miss World title in 1994.

In a vengeful swish of gowns and skirts, Rai Bachchan made her way back this year into the good books of most fashion aficionados.

“Gown looked very very nice and she truly stood tall … the white shirt looked truly very lovely on her,” says designer Leena Singh.

While she did wear a Sabyasachi creation, Aishwarya stood out for embracing her own style sense. At Cannes, that has meant some great gowns from Elie Saab and Armani Prive over the last decade. She has successfully defied votaries of traditional Indian fashion on the red carpet.

While Aishwarya’s simple yet sophisticated look won her applause, her father-in-law got more brickbats than expected.

Amitabh Bachchan, the grand old man of Bollywood, disappointed most with his black sequined dinner jacket at the opening night premiere of “The Great Gastby” as well as the bathrobe-like belted jacket with white shoes he wore later. Bachchan has impressed many with his dapper suits on the Indian version of the TV game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” but at Cannes, he was just not himself.

“Bachchan is Bachchan, so he doesn’t have to do (the) over-the-top thing to represent himself, you understand?” says Leena Singh. “He has got so much of substance in himself, his presence is enough to talk of his style.”