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Asian Voice Saturday 3rd December 2011

Anjali turns brave for Vikram’s ‘Karikalan’

Vikram’s historical flick “Karikalan” has got its third female lead. After roping in Zarine Khan and Mithra Kurian, Anjali of “Angadi Theru” fame has been signed to play a key role in the forthcoming Tamil movie. Sources say that Anjali will be seen in a bold character. The actress has confirmed the news and said she would be seen

in the role of a leader of a faithful group. The “Kattradhu Thamizh” actress’ character demands her to learn sword-fighting and horse riding. The actress claims that she is game for it. However, Vikram will be seen in the historical role of Karikalan Chola, one of the popular Tamil kings of early Chola during the Sangam period.

Kareena Kapoor gets to choose her leading man Just a few days before the film goes on floors, the cast of Madhur Bhandarkar's film “Heroine” has undergone a change. According to sources close to the project, leading leady Kareena Kapoor refused to get intimate with actor Arunoday Singh on screen. And Randeep Hooda had to fill in Singh's shoes. The Sudhir Mishra protege, Arunoday Singh had been a part of the project from the very beginning. At that time, Singh was to share screen space with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. An excited Arunoday had then said, "Why feel the pressure? I am not going to fight a battle. To work with Aishwarya would be amazing and I am looking forward to it." Unluckily for Singh, he is no more a part of the project. Randeep Hooda is. The decision to replace one with the other has however, come as a surprise. Hooda, in his Bollywood career spanning a decade, has carved a niche for himself in films that are generally tagged as 'different'. The five film old Singh too entered the same space, eight years later. But leading lady Kareena seems to prefer Hooda to the newer actor. "Kareena approved of Randeep filling up for Arunoday. She was also informed at the earlier stage when Randeep was being approached," said a source. "Randeep is very happy to work with Bhandarkar and UTV. “Heroine,” after all, is a big film. He will be playing a cricketer in it," added the source.

Shah Rukh offers to strip at IFFI opener

Selvaraghavan blamed for ‘Vishwaroobham’ delay Kamal Hassan has finally opened up on why he took over reins of ‘Vishwaroobham’ from Selvaraghavan, who had claimed that he walked out due to his commitment with other projects. The legendary actor has pointed his finger at the filmmaker for not utilising his dates and which also made Sonakshi Sinha to opt out of the bilingual film. Kamal Hassan said that as Selvaraghavan did not respect his time, the actor was forced to take the

responsibility of directing “Vishwaroobham.” “It was my project and my story. But time was running out. Sonakshi’s dates were gone. My dates were also running out. I do one project at a time. If the director doesn’t respect my time, I will have to.” He believes that when someone fails to utilise his dates, the project becomes his own. Meanwhile, the multifaceted actor has roped in a New York- based actress Pooja Kumar to play the female lead in ‘Vishwaroobham.’

Bala-Atharva film titled ‘Eriyum Thanal’

There were reports recently that National Award winning director Bala, who has made some pathbreaking Tamil films, has signed Atharva (son of late actor Murali) to play the lead role in his next film. The movie is reportedly inspired from a Malayalam novel. Now the latest buzz is that the film, which is a full-fledged family entertainer, is tentatively titled “Eriyum Thanal.” The film

narrates the struggles that a couple face to raise their children. G V Prakash is likely to compose the music. An official announcement is expected soon. Atharva has wrapped up the shoot of “Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal,” directed by Elred Kumar. The movie is also being made and released in Telugu as “Nirantharam Nee Voohale.”

Shah Rukh Khan turned an otherwise drab official function into a rib-tickling affair by offering to strip and reveal his bermudas on stage at the inauguration of the 42nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Shah Rukh, the chief guest at the inauguration of the 11-day festival, was at his hilarious best and had union minister for information and broadcasting Ambika Soni and Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat in splits by threatening to strip down to his beach wear, which he claimed he was wearing beneath his formal slacks. “I wanted to wear my bermudas, but then chose to wear my suit. But I am still wearing bermudas beneath. Do you want me to take my pants off,” he asked, leaving the 1,000 strong audience laughing their guts out. “The younger girls (referring to compere Tisca Chopra and actress Rituparna Sengupta) and Ambika are saying ‘take it off, take it off’!” Khan chided in banter, after being at the receiving end of Soni’s playful jibe at him in her introductory speech. Soni had earlier said that it was “extremely easy” to get Shah Rukh Khan to attend the festival and that she did not have to approach any “powerful” friends and people to coax the Bollywood badshah to attend the mega I&B event. “All I told him was that we need to him to come to the festival to raise the profile of the IFFI (International Film Festival of India). And he said yes,” Soni said, The festival will screen more than 100 movies from 65 countries and will have special packages like ‘Master Classes’ by renowned film personalities like Milcho Manchevski, Hugh Welchman, Laurence Kardish and a first of its kind package of 3D and animation movies.

Ranveer Singh is single and ready to mingle Ranveer Singh has mellowed down a bit. His slight change in demeanor makes it clear that the actor is aware about the huge expectations that ride on him post the success of his debut film “Band Baaja Baaraat.” But has the supposed womaniser fallen into the love trap in real life as reported? News of the actor seeing “Dabangg” girl Sonakshi Sinha has been doing the rounds. Ranveer reacted, "We are young and we work in a glamorous world of films. I am doing a film with Sonakshi called 'Lootera' and we have interacted during a photo shoot and at an award performance. A lot has been made out of this. We are friends but we are not good friends. We do not hang out as often as it's mentioned." After a little more probing, Ranveer confessed, "I am single."

Aishwarya's baby is most wanted!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has joined the ranks of Hollywood celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lopez, whose babies were on the list of the most wanted pictures by American tabloids and celebrity weekly magazines. In fact, there is buzz that a leading tabloid called the National Enquirer wants to get its hands on the first, exclusive pictures of Beti B. Over the years, it has become a trend for media houses to pay ludicrous amounts of money to capture private moments of celebrity mums with their new-born babies. Needless to say, this is huge publicity for the publication in question, and those quoting the highest price often get exclusive rights to the pictures. The follow-up to the development is a mad rush to bid for her daughter's pictures and get an exclusive first look.

Akshay Kumar wants martial art to be part of school curriculum

Sonakshi Sinha was at the recently concluded Paris Fashion Week and is already feeling like a Hollywood diva She says “I'm always under the microscope for my style sense and fitness quite often. But it really doesn't bother me, because fashion to me is wearing what I am comfortable in and that suits my body type. There is pressure from a lot of people to lose weight, but I don't think my audience would want that. I'm happy with the way I look and most importantly healthy. My first film projected me as a very Indian, village-type of a girl. But since I was born and brought up in Mumbai, I'm really not like that. I am a very urban girl. I like being casual, cool and spunky.”

Anil Kapoor to play host to Tom Cruise Come December and Anil Kapoor is all set to be the most sought after man in Bollywood. After all, he is playing host to Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise during his visit to Mumbai. Cruise is expected to arrive in Mumbai on December 2 to promote his film “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” .Among many things planned, Anil and Cruise will also have a special exclusive screening of their film for around 1,500 fans. This is the first time fans will get to see the film much before the film releases on Dec 16. Besides, Anil also plans to throw a lavish party in honour of Tom Cruise during the actor's stay in Mumbai.

Katrina Kaif is the favourite of cyber criminals

Gauhar Khan’s lip surgery goes awfully wrong Model-turned-actress, Gauhar Khan, had to cancel the shoot of her reality TV show Khan Sisters, after her lip augmentation surgery goes awfully wrong. Gauhar confirmed the incident and said, "I wanted to try the temporary lip augmentation procedure, which lasts for around 3 to 4 hours. But I didn't like the way it looked at all at that point and so, the shoot of Khan Sisters had to be stalled, as I was in shock and wasn't comfortable being captured on camera for that moment."

Actress Katrina Kaif could be a heartthrob of millions but she has also earned herself a sobriquet of being the 'most dangerous Indian celebrity' as the cyber criminals are using her name as a favourite key word that exposes computers to malicious software. The actress has emerged as the most dangerous celebrity in the Indian cyber space for year 2011, according to a report by the internet security company McAfee. Fans looking for results on search engines using strings such as 'name of celebrity' combined with words like 'free downloads', 'hot pictures', 'screen savers', and 'videos' are at a risk of running themselves into websites with malicious software and online threats. McAfee researched popular culture's most famous people to reveal the riskiest celebrity sportsmen, actors and politicians across the web to pick up the 'most dangerous Indian celebrity'. According to the report, Katrina is on top leaving behind Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor. In a celebrity crazy country like India, cyber criminals find it very lucrative to use the names of popular figures as keywords to lure people to sites with malicious software. This year's study found movie stars top the most dangerous list, while sports stars and politicians are among the safest.

The smashing on screen chemistry of Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra will scorch the big screen this December as King Khan returns to menacing and romancing the cat like Priyanka Chopra for the sequel of “Don.” Buzz has it that Shah Rukh is extremely fond of Priyanka and thinks she is one of the most talented actresses he has worked with. Their mutual admiration for each other has led to their latent and intriguing chemistry on screen. Going by the film poster and the recent trailer, the pair seems to have already set the temperatures soaring. So don’t miss Shah Rukh an Priyanka’s onscreen chemistry in “Don 2” set to release on the 21st December 2011.

I'm happy with the way I look: Sonakshi

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar looks very fit but surprisingly does not have a trainer and has never lifted weights; and even his diet does not sound like a doctor's prescription. Yet Akshay has one of the most enviably lean, agile and defined bodies in the business. "I believe that an unhealthy and unfunctional body is an uneasy, unhappy way to live life," says the actor who is only getting fitter with age. "It doesn't mean you have to be a champion. Eat right, know when to stop, do enough exercise to use all your muscles. You must be confident that if you live on the 28th floor of a building, and there's a fire, you will be able to throw your child over the shoulder and run down to safety effortlessly. There is no end to physical happiness." Akshay owes his outlook towards life to martial arts, particularly Karate. "In fact, my life's ambition is not to become a huge superstar or actor," he confesses. "Before I die, I want to see some form of martial arts taught in every school in the country and see it become a part of the curriculum. Children should not be given their board exam certification unless they study it for three years. Every child should have the opportunity to fight, defend and discipline. That's how it is in Hong King, Singapore, Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries. It inculcates self discipline and a sense of agility. Yoga and martial arts are the two oldest and the most complete forms of exercise." It's this sense of discipline that still runs the King Singh's life. He gets up at 4.30 am and is in bed by 9 pm. "People who invite me to a party know that I will leave early because I have to be in bed. And let me tell you, I hate night shifts," he says. So he climbs trees or a specially designed 30-foot indoor climbing wall with his son, practises yoga or martial arts or hangs off a 13-storey building. "Please, please write that you should not try this without supervision," he says hastily.

SRK and Priyanka’s chemistry roaring in ‘Don 2’

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd December 2011

Vidya : I’ll be happy to get married

Mugdha says no to Madhur Bhandarkar Mugdha Godse refused to take the stage at an event when she was told to present an award with the director Madhur Bhandarkar at a recent event. Adds the source, "Mugdha's sudden change of mind shocked the organisers. However, she did not mind going up on the stage with anyone else." Though Madhur had provided her a break in Bollywood with “Fashion” there has been buzz that all is not well between the two. Though they greet each other cordially in public, there is a bit of resentment from Mugdha as she was left to make it on her own in Bollywood.

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan is dating Siddharth Roy Kapoor but has never talked about it. The actress was in Ahmedabad recently to promote her upcoming film where she dropped her guard. She said “I'll be happy to get married. But at the moment I am enjoying my courtship period." When asked to describe her relationship in one word the actress got coy, "Undhiyu is the word that describes our relationship - tasty, sweet, spicy and salty. It has everything," she blushed.

Emraan Hashmi promotes his film in the Parliament The makers of “The Dirty Picture” are going all out to promote their film. Recently the team was in Delhi for the same. During the promotions in Delhi, the crew decided to go one step ahead and headed to the Parliament to promote the film. Emraan Hashmi visited the Parliament to distribute copies of the music CDs to the MPs. Tweeting about this Emraan says, "Off to Delhi for promotion of @thedirtypic. Land at 12 pm and head straight to the Parliament. 1st ever film promotion to take place there." Later he added, "After Parliament I'm meant to take the Delhi metro to Rajiv Chowk and head to the holy Nizamuddin Dargah to seek blessings for."