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Asian Voice - Saturday 16th June 2012

Kamal to go to Hollywood? The Ulaganayagan' is going global, so to speak. The leading star of south Indian cinema is ready to make his Hollywood debut, if one has to go by what sources say. It is said he would make an announcement about a production he was soon to start with Barrie M Osborne, the producer of blockbusters like 'The Matrix' and 'The Lord of the Rings'. Recently, Kamal screened his forthcoming film 'Viswaroopam' to Osborne. The Hollywood producer is all praise for Kamal ever since he watched the film. "The story is really surprising and exciting. It gets you right into the movie and keeps you off-balance because it changes and shifts, things you can't anticipate. I love Kamal's acting, writing and direction," Osborne said. It is said that the duo would come together for the project shortly.

Priyadarshan taking ‘Naadodigal’ to Hindi Samuthirakani's “Naadodigal” is the latest South Indian movie to enter Bollywood. Well, Priyadarshan is all set to remake it in Hindi and interesting point of the story is that he is joining hands with cinematographer Santhosh Sivan with whom he worked 17 years ago in “Kalapaani.” Reports say that like “Naadodigal,” the Hindi version will also feature newcomers in the lead roles. Currently, Priyadarshan is busy with the pre-production works. The movie will be shot in Mumbai and Mysore. Manisha Korde, who had written script for “Billu Barber,” a remake of “Kuselan,” is penning the script. The cast and other crew are yet to be finalised.

Samantha walks out of Mani Ratnam's 'Kadal' Much to the shock of those in the film industry, Samantha has walked out of ace director Mani Ratnam's prestigious project 'Kadal'! Mani is currently on the look out for a new face to replace her. The film has made several headlines as it brings back Mani Ratnam to what he is best at, an out and out romantic entertainer and marks the debut of Karthik's son Gautham. Several scenes have already been shot and the shoot was taking place in locales near Kanyakumari until recently. There are rumors that the actress walked out of the project due to other offers, a date clash between her and cinematographer Rajeev Menon and that the actress was recently suffering a skin allergy due to shoot in the water!

Hot Garam masala Kareena Kapoor mum on wedding date If grapevine is to be believed, actress Kareena Kapoor is set to tie the knot with her beau Saif Ali Khan soon, but she is mum about it as of now. She dodged questions related to her wedding at an event. Asked if she browses through bridal wear online, Kareena said: "Your question doesn't interest me." Kareena was put to wedding-related queries on the sidelines of the launch of a brand's new campaign. Meanwhile, Saif's family members, including his mother Sharmila Tagore and sister Soha Ali Khan, have reportedly said that the wedding will be Oct 16 this year. Asked to confirm the date, Kareena chose not to respond.

Akshay thanks fans for ‘Rowdy Rathore’ success Khiladi Kumar is back with a bang! Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha's “Rowdy Rathore” is doing exceptionally well at the box office. Watch it for Akki's Dabangg avatar and Sonakshi's Chikni Kamar. Akshay Kumar has thanked his fans for giving “Rowdy Rathore” the biggest solo opening of his career. "I owe a huge thank you to my audience! You are the only reason behind the biggest opening weekend of my career! Love Rowdy," Akshay tweeted. Rowdy Rathore may enter Rs 1billion club, say trade experts. Made on a budget of Rs 450 million, the film released on Friday last earned Rs 298 million on the first two days.

Ranbir Kapoor, Vidya Balan win top IIFA honours Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor and actress Vidya Balan walked away with top honours for their films "Rockstar" and "The Dirty Picture" respectively at the 13th International Indian Film Academy awards (IIFA) at Singapore on Saturday. The IIFA awards were given at a glittering ceremony in Singapore Indoor Stadium. Ranbir, who played the role of an aspiring singer who aims to make it big, beat actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, to walk away with the trophy of best actor in a leading role. On the other hand, actress Vidya Balan also continued her winning streak by picking up the award for best actress in a leading role for "The Dirty Picture". She emerged victorious among Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Mahie Gill and Kangna Ranaut. 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' sweeps technical awards Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar's 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' starring Abhay Deol, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin, walked away with five awards for best editing for Anand Subaya, best sound recording mixing for Anuj Mathur and Baylon Fonseca, best choreography for Bosco-Ceaser, best screenplay for Zoya and Reema Kagti and best cinematography for

B-Town hotties praise Farah for her acting skills The Bollywood bandwagon has been raving about Farah Khan's acting debut. Choreographer-director Farah Khan may have made stars dance to her tunes all these years and called the shots on the sets. Now she is making them sit up and notice her acting talent as well! Ever since the promos of her forthcoming film with Boman Irani went on air, several B-Town actresses have been surprised to see Farah as an actress. She can pack a punch as an actress as well and give them a run for their money! Says a source, “Actresses like Priyanka Chopra and Sonakshi Sinha called up Farah to congratulate her. They simply

loved the promos. They really feel she has done a great job of it.” Adds the source, “Priyanka was among the first one to call. She praised her and told her how fantastic she looked in the film. Sonakshi told her that she was waiting to see her film. Farah was surprised to receive the calls as she considers herself new to acting. She has done it as a oneoff thing.” Even filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap have been bowled over by her performance. He states on his microblogging site, “Farah Khan and Boman are rockstars in Shireen Farhad ki nikal padi, super awesome. Really looking forward to it.”

I'm not interested in politics: Aamir Khan He doesn't want to enter politics and candidly admits he has no solutions to problems. Actor-filmmaker Aamir Khan, basking in the "dream reaction" to his TV show “Satyamev Jayate,” says his purpose is served if his efforts make people introspect. Each Sunday since May 6 had seen the 47-year-old bring Indian television audiences face-to-face with issues like female foeticide, dowry, child abuse, malpractices in medical profession and honour killing. An entertainer rarely does that, and Aamir is happy in his space. "I am not interested in politics, so I won't be joining politics. I feel what I am able to do from where I am, from the stream that I am in, is much more. I can contribute much more (this way). So I am happy doing that," Aamir said in an interview . He admits one TV show and one person's efforts cannot bring about any change, but says "information and knowledge make you act differently." And that, through “Satyamev Jayate,” is his effort. When asked about the love he received from audience, he said, “This is a very dream reaction that we are getting...right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, people are watching it in the small towns, villages, big cities...”

Meet Bollywood's new Miss Knowit-all

Elena Kazan, who has signed her second Bollywood film, has been stocking up on information about the industry since her college days in USA. Elena Kazan is one foreign import to Bollywood who seems to be quite ready to take on an industry that has a certain take on white skin extras. It’s almost rare to come across someone among them who has watched myriad Hindi films and even understands Guru Dutt’s genius as well as Kalpana Lajmi’s subtlety. She even speaks Hindi fluently! With her Central Asian surname and German-Russian roots, Elena is definitely cued in to the industry than a lot more industrywallahs. Born in Moscow before moving to Berlin, the now Mumbai-based starlet didn’t really grow up watching Hindi movies but her eventual visit to United States as an exchange student changed everything. There she used to borrow rented DVDs with subtitles, through which she even picked up the language. Being self-confessedly adventurous, after her education she travelled to Kolkata to work for an NGO. Alongside she was modelling and auditioning for roles in the local film industry too. In India since 2008, Elena calls her B-Town journey “rather accidental” and has appeared in several Bengali films before sharing the screen with Saif Ali Khan in “Agent Vinod.” After that minor role, Elena will be next seen playing the lead opposite Randeep Hooda in debutant director Solomon Ahishor’s forthcoming film. “I’m essaying this edgy Iranian girl with a dark past and a complicated present in a revenge drama,” the 25year-old adds.

B-Town's 3 'heroines' to clash on Sept 21 Shilpa names son Viaan Sonakshi turns to mum Poonam for advice

Priyanka trying to make friends of her enemies

Priyanka Chopra seems to have gone into PR overdrive. The actress has reportedly been at the receiving end of a hate campaign in Bollywood, prompted by whispers of an affair with Shah Rukh Khan. A peace treaty of sorts was negotiated when she was invited to, and attended, the 40th birthday party of Karan Johar, the man rumoured to have led the antiPriyanka campaign. Since then, Priyanka seems to have decided that she needs all the friends she can get in Bollywood, and is losing no time in making amends with former foes. First it was Salman Khan, Priyanka's co-star in films such as “Mujhse Shaadi Karogi” and “Salaam-E-Ishq,” and who happens to be SRK's sworn enemy.

Carlos Catalan. 'RA.One' followed with four awards for best special effects, best sound design for Resul Pookutty, best song recording for Vijay Dayal for 'Chammak Challo' and best production design for Sabu Cyril. Niharika Khan won the award for best costume design for 'The Dirty Picture' and best make up award went to Vikram Gaekwad for the same film. 'The Dirty Picture' also won the award for best dialogues.

Call it “The Dirty Picture” effect or the flavour of the season, a spate of woman centric movies will see light of the day in coming months. Sridevi, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and many others will give heroes a run for their money. After the release date of Shirish Kunder's “Joker” got shifted to Sept 14, Madhur Bhandarkar has delayed his upcoming film “Heroine” by a week. The film that now releases on Sept 21 will clash with

two other women-centric films - Sridevi's “English Vinglish” and Preity Zinta's “Ishkq in Paris.” “Heroine” starring Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda revolved around the life of a film actress. Sridevi's “English Vinglish” is about a housewife, who enrolls for an English speaking course in order to please her husband and family. “Ishkq in Paris,” Preity Zinta's maiden production, marks the comeback of the actress.

Actress Shilpa Shetty has named her son Viann Raj Kundra. "Hey tweetos, Yes, its official, Did the naming ceremony today, our son is christened Viaan Raj kundra. It means Full of life and energy," the 36-year-old tweeted. Shilpa, who is married London-based Raj Kundra in 2009, gave birth to her son on May 21. This is Kundra's second child - he has a daughter, Deleena, from ex-wife Kavita. Kundra also introduced the son on microblogging site Twitter. "Please welcome twitter's youngest user my son Viaan Raj Kundra. Be nice to him and he may reply," he tweeted.

Sonakshi Sinha will now play a gangster's moll in “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2.” "As part of my homework, I have to watch a lot of movies from that era to understand the fashion, behaviour and other nuances," says Sonakshi. For the uninitiated, the sequel's story is set in the '80s, when the Mumbai underworld was fascinated with Bollywood, especially the women. It was not uncommon at that time for starlets to be romantically linked to gangsters. Although the “Rowdy Rathore” leading lady refuses to accept that her role was inspired by a real-life actor, she does plan to seek advice from her mother Poonam Sinha. "My mother is always there for me with inputs and suggestions,” she says.