8 minute read

BUZZThe We Are Family

So Sydney’s Indian community is waiting to see Karan Johar’s next offering …. And while we all have known it as Stepmom, it’s now going to be called We Are Family. After mulling over the title of his Hindi version of Chris Columbus’ 1998 comedy drama Stepmom for a long time, Karan has finally decided to go with the name We Are Family. The 38-year-old filmmaker had promised fans that he would announce the name of the film on Twitter first, and he kept his word.

The movie is a heart-warming tale about a terminally ill divorcee who has to accept the new woman in her ex-husband’s life as the stepmother of her kids and the problems they face to find a common ground of understanding.

While it was earlier being called Love You Maa, Karan was still on the lookout for a suitable title and had even asked his Twitter followers to suggest one.

We Are Family, directed by Siddharth Malhotra, features Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. It is expected to release in October. The trailer has been released on YouTube already

Meanwhile, it’s ‘family’ time at lead actress Kajol’s place as well, with second baby due soon. She’s enjoying her second pregnancy, with no diet restrictions to spoil her fun. She’s indulging her taste for cuisine she likes the most, and the latest on the list is South Indian dishes. In fact, she even invited famous south Indian chef Muthuswami to her house as a part of a private south Indian food festival, attended only by family and close friends. Hubby Ajay is happy to let her get on with it, and has taken on some of her maternal responsibilities. Recently he took time out for a vacation with daughter Nysa, and has even volunteered to attend school meetings and swimming lessons, stilling his wife’s complaints that he hasn’t had enough time for them. And of course, to be on hand at the time of Kajol’s delivery, Ajay has arranged his schedule so that he’s always within city limits and never too far away from home. Now how’s that for planning? Kajol’s not just discovered a doting father in Ajay, but a loving hubby as well. Lucky girl!

Bollywood presence at Dhoni’s do

Bollywood actor John Abraham flew to Dehradun to attend Indian cricket captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni’s wedding to Sakshi Singh Rawat, giving the ceremony a touch of filmi glamour. Dhoni and his school friend Sakshi dated for two years before tying the knot, and will follow through with a reception in Mumbai later in the week.

Although hunky John’s equally sexy girlfriend Bipasha Basu couldn’t make it, she took to microblogging site Twitter to congratulate the couple.

“Wishing Mahi and Sakshi a very happy life together forever. Sad that I can’t be there,” she tweeted. Not to be left behind was Shilpa Shetty’s post, “Congratulations in order to Mahi and Sakshi, wishing them all the happiness and marital bliss forever.”

The buzz is that Suresh Raina, RP Singh, Aashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh attended the wedding, but Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag gave the ceremony a miss, very likely opting for the reception in Mumbai. It won’t be surprising if Bollywood turns out in full force, along with stars in the cricketing world. Congrats to Dhoni and Sakshi, that’s another one hit for a six!

The Kinng is back!

Akshay Kumar’s too smart a cookie to rest on his laurels.

Before Singh is Kinng becomes Bollywood history, Akshay’s back on the wagon, getting set with a sequel to the box-office hit. However, the new movie will be directed by Vipul Shah, as Anees Bazmi seems to have too much going on at the moment.

“We’ve finally cracked an idea that works for the sequel, after planning and plotting for two years since the first film,” says Vipul, who worked with his writer Suresh Nair to finalise the key concept of the movie.

Natually, Vipul’s not too keen on disclosing details, but rumour has it that the sequel will begin where Singh is Kinng ended – in Australia, and will then move on to Canada, it is speculated. Akshay has a huge fan following and close ties with the country, which is like his second home.

Akshay’s been bombarded by fans about a sequel to Singh is Kinng, with Sikh fans anxious to know when they’ll see him play the charismatic Singh again.

The only person still to come on board is Akshay’s queen, Katrina Kaif who’s completely booked out till next year. And naturally, given her contribution to the first film, a sequel without her is unthinkable. And she knows it!

“She won’t let Akshay or me make it without her,” laughs Vipul. “We’ll just have to work around dates.” Well, get ready for it – another king-sized comedy coming our way….

Guess Who

She may come from a filmi family, but she made her mark on the small screen

United in dance

Arshad Warsi and wife Maria Goretti’s marital problems are old news now, but it seems that the couple have finally made up and in a show of solidarity, they will perform together on the dance reality show, Zara Nach Ke Dikha. The couple will go a step ahead, claiming for the aam janta that they are giving their relationship a much-needed shot in the arm and are starting afresh. The trouble started when reports of Arshad cozying up to Dia Mirza hit Bollywood circles, and there was a time when divorce seemed likely on the cards. But gossip gleaners have discovered that this time round, Arshad and Maria do seem to be truly happy. Arshad confirmed this when contacted. “We are rehearsing for the grand finale of Zara Nach Ke Dikha it’s a very tough job. Ever since I’ve been acting and Maria’s had our boys, we haven’t danced together in public,” he says. The versatile actor also confirmed that the couple have had their differences but says, “We are very happy now, and that’s all that matters!”

Let’s hope the couple dance together forever…

Mithun’s the youngest star in the industry

After more than 30 years in the Indian film industry, three national awards in his kitty and over 300 films to his credit, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty still feels he is just 27 and getting younger. “I am getting younger day by day. Mind you, I am only 27-plus. I am the youngest star in the industry,” he revealed in an informal chat.

“But I don’t want to wish anyone the hurdles I had to go through to be here,” added the actor, who rose to become a dancing sensation with movies like Disco Dancer and Dance Dance

“Dance is like my religion. It is like god to me and like worshipping. It is in my blood. I knew that it was only through that I could have come in the industry,” said the hero of yesteryears, who was last seen in Veer.

Mithunda looks younger than ever, but its not dance that keeps him fit. Instead, he exercises every day. The actor is upbeat about his role in Gautam Pandey’s recently released Bengali movie Shukno Lanka

“I play a junior artiste in Shukno Lanka and it gave me a rare opportunity to retrace my struggling days... It is almost similar to the humiliation and the treatment faced by junior artistes in real life,” he said. “But it is not a story about me or that junior artiste. It is about a dream knocking at your door and living that dream. Look at me, I was nobody but I rose from that to whosoever I am today and even changed the definition of dance in this country,” he added.

The film also stars Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Debashree Roy and debutante Australian actress Emma Brown.

Mithunda, as he is fondly known, worked in a slew of low budget B-grade movies in the 1990s. When asked about these, he shared a professional secret: “There are three categories of films I do - films that make money where nothing else matters, films that satisfy me and films that hit the gallery with all the action and dialogues that make audiences go gaga.”

Mithun’s future projects include Sphagetti 24X7 with son Mimoh, Golmaal 3 and Bengali movies Aami Subhash Bolchhi and Ek Nadir Golpo. His schedule is fairly balanced as he does two Bengali and two Hindi films every year and his TV reality shows Dance India Dance and Dance Bangla Dance

“That’s how it works for me,” he says.

Not bad for 60 going on 27, don’t you think?

Emraan goes for the young

Ever wondered why Emraan Hashmi is so often paired opposite young actresses? It’s because he’s discovered lady luck in these new heroines and, as he says, “it makes some great on-screen chemistry and works for the film”.

“Most of my successful films have been with new actresses and young girls,” confided Emraan.

The not-so-young 31-year-old will be wooing one-film-old Prachi Desai, 21, in thriller Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai; debutante Neha Sharma, 22, in Crook: It’s Good To Be Bad, 24-year-old Sagarika Ghatge in 24x7 Raftaar and Shruti Haasan, 24, in Madhur Bhandarkar’s comedy Dil To Bachcha

Hai Ji

“All these girls are extremely talented. Some of them are very new faces and there is always a need by the audience to see fresh faces. It has worked in my films earlier and definitely worked for the audience too, to see me paired opposite them,” he said.

Emraan’s stint with younger actresses started with Zeher in 2005 in which he romanced single-film actresses Udita Goswami and Shamita Shetty. He then wooed Tanushree Dutta in her debut Aashiq Banaya Apne, and Nisha Kothari, debutante Geeta Basra and Isha Sharvani, who were all 22 at the time in The Killer, Dil Diya Hai and Good Boy, Bad . Also on his list are Sayali Bhagat in her debut project (2007); Shriya Saran Awarapan the same year and Sonal Chauhan in hit Jannat in The actor, however, considers his pairing with Kangana Ranaut, 23, as the most fortunate. “Kangana and I have had a few hits together like Gangster Raaz - The Mystery Continues, and now we are starring in Once .... That’s a successful pair for me,” he said. And what about his infamous ‘serial kisser’ image? “That really doesn’t bother me any more. Everyone is doing it in movies now. For some reason, people have put this image, but if it’s a requirement of a film, it has to be done,” he said philosophically.

Rumours were rife that Shruti was apprehensive of being paired opposite him for his kissing tag, which Emraan takes with a pinch of salt. “That’s nothing new. I don’t really blame anyone. It’s a very intimidating image for people and if she is scared, I don’t blame her,” he said with surprising candidness.

And apparently, he’ll continue to kiss in his upcoming films.

Variety seems to be the spice of this man’s life!

Neil Nitin is daddy’s boy!

Veteran singer Nitin Mukesh, who turned 60 recently, got his life’s most cherished gift, a Mercedes, from son Neil Nitin Mukesh. The Mercedes is the one car that the senior Mukesh had wanted to own almost all his life. “You had to see his expression when I took him blindfolded to the garage where the car was parked. He jumped up and down and squealed like a child,” Neil says excitedly.

“He then ran to his best friend’s apartment and got him down to see the car. The two of them were like school kids on their first outing to Disneyland. It was full paisavasool for me,” he added.

For Neil, this was the proudest moment so far. “If I’m earning a certain amount of money, my biggest wish is to make my family happy. I planned the car for a year for dad’s birthday,” he says.

“When I bought myself the Audi Q7 last year, dad was like... ‘Ok, but Merc’s the car for me.’ Then itself, I decided the gift for his 60th birthday,” chuckles Neil.

On his dad’s birthday, the entire family drove in the golden Mercedes to Amby Valley to celebrate the occasion.

“My whole family was here. We took a boat into the middle of the lake and stayed in the waters the whole day, singing my grandfather’s (Mukesh) songs. There’s nothing I enjoy more than being with my family,” he adds.

Now there’s a good son for you!

Last issue Caption Contest winning entry

What’s Amitabh saying here?

Amitabh (to photographers): Hang on guys, take a couple more photos of us… don’t rush off yet!

Rishi Patnaik Hornsby Heights NSW

Rishi wins a free ticket to new Hindi film IHateLuvStorys

Another good one

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