the Buzz

kat’s keeping busy

Poor Katrina Kaif! She’s shooting heavy duty action sequences with Salman Khan in Thailand for Ek Tha Tiger, but instead of spending her time off shopping or lounging by the beach, the actress is training by night for her forthcoming action sequences, which include handto-hand combat, with Aamir Khan, for Dhoom 3

“Aditya chopra has flown in three special trainers for Katrina to get bodytoned for her action sequences with Aamir in Dhoom 3,” said a source, adding that the trainers have to make her look convincing as a combatant assassin in the movie.

And Kabir Khan is making the actress do other kind of stunts in front of the camera as they shoot during the day. An on location source revealed, “It’s two completely different kinds of action discipline for Katrina on camera for Ek Tha Tiger and off camera for Dhoom 3. And it’s sapping her energy. her metabolism is confused - as during daytime she is doing hardcore raw action with Salman, and in the night she trains for highly sophisticated Jackie chan kind of flips and somersaults for Dhoom 3”. Luckily, for the over-exerted diva, she now has some reprieve on the Dhoom 3 front. Apparently Aamir Khan has informed his producers that he is not quite ready for action. So poor Kat can take a break. well, we’re just glad that Kat will feature in her toned, super-glam body on the big screen before long… watch this space!

GUeSS WHO

Big B turns nostalgic on 39th wedding anniversary

megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan have been married for a whopping 39 years, and they seem a fairly content couple. despite both enjoying celebrity status in their own right and being grandparents, the couple are still going strong and seem to have moulded into a cocoon of affection and caring which should be an example to all couples, young or old. celebrating their wedding anniversary made the Big B nostalgic, as he recounted their wedding day on June 3, 1973 on his blog bigb. bigadda.com

Amitabh recounts that he and Jaya had planned a holiday in London to celebrate the success of Zanjeer, but his father harivansh rai Bachchan wanted them to get married before going on the vacation.

“Zanjeer had just released. And Jaya and I and a few dear friends had decided that if the film did well we would all go to London for a holiday. After a few anxious days on the results of the box office, it was time to put our decision ‘in line’. So I told my parents, who I had now invited to come and live with me, as is the culture in our land, about our decision. And my Father came down heavily on me - ‘If you are planning a holiday with this girl, you will have to marry her and go, else your decision is denied.’

“I was an obedient child! I got married the very next day in a quickly organised wedding with family and some dear friends, without any fanfare, and left for the holiday that very night,” he further posted.

Big B says that his wedding was not a lengthy affair.

Wasseypur premiere gets full house at Cannes

We’re waiting with bated breath for the Sydney Film Fest to screen Anurag kashyap’s Gangs Of Wasseypur. The 5 ½ hour epic, screened in two parts, saw a packed audience at the at its world premiere at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival recently.

eager crowds lined the streets outside the JW marriot hotel at Cannes for the show, while Bollywood celebrities kalki koechlin, ( Anurag’s wife) Huma Quereshi, Richa Chadda and Reema Sen walked the red carpet.

Also attended by kashyap, male actors manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui and female music director Sneha khanwalkar, the premiere saw a full house in an 800-seating-capacity hall.

Both parts of Gangs Of Wasseypur, a gritty take on the coal mafia, were screened at the festival’s Directors’ Fortnight, a non-competitive section. Sadly for Sydney fans, director Anurag will not be here to introduce the film. He will be busy with preparations as the film hits the screens in India on June 22.

“ weddings entail great amount of ritual and protocol and decorum and priests and pundits and maulvis. They last for days with great fanfare. Ours was a simple Bengali pundit wedding, exchange of flowered garlands, the mangalsutra, the sindoor and it was all over before the women from Jaya’s side could stop their finger-in-mouth screams of ‘odododooooo’ … or words to that effect,” he added.

ell, 39 years on, the marriage has persevered, their children have become successful and they’re content. The Bachchans have a lot to be thankful about. So good luck and here’s to hitting

TV-time’s back for Bollywood biggies

They snubbed it as small fry in comparison to the mega bucks doled out for featuring on the large screen, but now Bollywood’s biggies are queuing up to gain mileage on the small screen. Yes, Indian television is coming of age, with mainstream Bollywood actors, producers and directors taking a long hard relook at this medium for the masses.

Aamir Khan upped the growing trend with Satyamev Jayate, a well-researched show focussing on crucial social issues. Before that, of course, stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah rukh Khan and Salman Khan had discovered the reach of television. however, it was this hardhitting and socially conscious show from Aamir that brought about a change in attitude towards the small screen within Bollywood.

Now we hear that producers Vipul Amrutlal Shah, ritesh Sidhwani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are planning a bouquet of television shows covering anything and everything from soaps to social issues, reality shows and game shows.

Shah, who is making a comeback on TV after a long gap, explained the movement saying, “ whenever there is a platform, which is strong and powerful, everyone wants to work on that. Everybody recognises that TV is a very strong medium and has grown multi-fold. Its increasing popularity is the reason why people from silver screen are coming on TV.” Shah’s successful past skirmish with TV was in 1999 with Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka he has now returned to the small screen, producing Bhai Bhaiya Brother ritesh Sidhwani is ready with a game show for television, teaming up with Farhan Akhtar to bring in a new and enthusiastic audience. Bhansali, too, is keen on bringing his style of lavish filmmaking to the small screenalbeit as a producer of serial soaps. “TV is the most powerful medium today, and it will grow even more powerful tomorrow. I feel it is important for my work to reach out to the homes of the people, rather than people coming to the theatres to watch my work,” said Bhansali, whose film splendorous, to say the least!

YrF TV, a wing of Yash has already done shows like Mahi Way, Rishta.Com, Khottey Sikkey and Kismat looking forward to a long and productive relationship with TV. So now Bollywood’s finding itself in competition with a rival it had long taken for granted. watch out Bollywood, TV-time is here to stay!

Awaara will be aawara

Time magazine may have added Kapoor’s Awaara to the All-Time 100 Best list of the greatest films made since 1923, but Kapoor brothers randhir and rajiv are strictly against remaking this and any of Bollywood legend r films. “we don’t want to touch any of Kapoor’s films,” they said. “we have given up the idea of making a remake of very difficult to reproduce the same magic now”. The showbiz brothers were speaking at a special screening of the movie to commemorate the acting legend’s 24th death anniversary. raj Kapoor died on June 2, 1988, at the age of 63. made in 1951, Awaara was one of the classics which showed Kapoor in the role of a tramp. The film also had Nargis, one of the prime actresses of the golden era.

AmITABH-JAyA

Even though the hindi film industry has some of the best talent today, the brothers feel that there is no comparison to raj Kapoor.

“There is no actor like raj Kapoor today. People remember him today because of his showmanship. we are so happy that even after 60 years, people watch his films. Till the time people love has received acclaim from the audience and critics alike, leading Arjun to state that a star surname is not a criterion for recgonition, but good work is. “You are as good as what you do in front of the camera. Nothing else matters, your surname, from where you come or where you will go ... The audience is very intelligent. It gauges you and knows if they want to see you or not,” the 26-year-old said, of his debut in Arjun made his point by citing the Band Baaja Baaraat actor anveer is a prime example of that. Somebody like him came out of nowhere. It just shows

What’s Aish whispering to Abhi here?

Aish: Abhishek, you’ve got to protect me this time – they’re all talking about my weight gain. Can’t you open your mouth at least once and stick up for me?

Pankhuri Goel Champion Lakes WA

Pankhuri wins a double pass to new Hindi film Rowdy Rathore champions dempo to pick up stakes in the Goa-based sports club. dempo, India’s most successful club in recent times, has an annual budget of around rs.12 crore. But Shah rukh’s involvement will surely be a boon for the club, and will very likely bring in a raft of sponsors. So there is hope for soccer in India, and kudos to SrK for going beyond the cricket.

The King Khan’s interest has excited soccer clubs, who have struggled for recognition from sponsors in a bid to keep the sport alive at a national level. Talks are still in progress, but it’s a tremendous boost and one that is likely to have a domino effect, as other star celebrities begin to emulate SrK, perhaps with the hope that they can emulate his success!