THE buZZ

Make way for Munnabhai 3

Is anyone out there missing Munnabhai? Well, it’s good news for fans of the character, as filmmaker subhash Kapoor has been roped in to direct the third instalment of the highly successful Munnabhai franchise. the film will go on the floors early next year. the first two films –Munnabhai M.B.B.S. and Lage Ragho Munna Bhai – were directed by rajkumar hirani. And the unusual jodi of sanjay dutt and Arshad Warsi made the films enlightening and entertaining, with boman Irani thrown in for good measure. but these super successful films were made in 2003 and 2006 respectively, so it’s been a big break for the iconic Munnabhai. And which issue will he tackle next, the upcoming election? Kapoor is reluctant to comment.

“right now only one thing has been finalised that I will be direct the film. nothing more than that,” he said. naturally the trio of sanjay, Arshad and boman will be a part of the film. the leading lady is also yet to be finalised.

Kapoor’s ongoing Jolly LLB also stars Arshad and boman along with Amrita rao in the lead roles. Laced with humour, the film is a satire on the country’s legal system, and will release in mid-March. so let’s get ready for some more Munna capers!

Desi Gangnam is gift for dad

Actor Jackky bhagnani has an unusual gift for his dad, producer Vashu bhagnani, regardless of whether he may want it or not! It took Jackky a long time to get the rights to Korean singer Psy’s superhit number Gangnam Style for his film Rangrezz, but he finally clinched the deal. directed by Priyadarshan, Rangrezz releases on March 22, and features actress Priya Anand opposite Jackky.

sHILpA sHETTy Is wELLNEss ICoN

An elated shilpa shetty was named the Wellness Icon at the ndt V Good times Lifestyle Awards 2013 in Greater noida recently. the actress and reality t V star is married to businessman raj Kundra and has a nine month old baby boy called Viaan. shilpa tweeted that she is happy to continue inspiring people in the field of wellness and fitness. she received the trophy and certificate looking fit and fabulous in a green leopard print dolce & Gabbana dress. It’s interesting that the actress was picked among so many of her seemingly equally fit contemporaries. but good job shilpa, show us how it’s done!

“I thought that Indians should also have this song. so I started a conversation, which took three months. When I got the papers signed finally, I took them to my dad and said, ‘you have done a lot for me and I have got a gift for you’. he was shocked to see that gift,” said the 27-yearold actor.

“We call it Desi gangnam,” said the actor, who admits he is now “trying to establish my own identity.” not too sure how he’s going to achieve that considering that Gangnam Style is now last year’s style! A good gesture, but a tad late, Jackky! but as it’s desi, maybe Jackky will make the song trendy again. Good luck with that, Jackky!

Directing SRK is on John’s wish list

John Abraham turned producer with Vicky Donor, so can direction be far from his thoughts of progress in bollywood?

not really, as the hunky actor admits that direction is also a part of his plan, and he would especially love to direct superstar shah rukh Khan some day. “I think I will do a fairly decent job directing, because I feel I have a vision and I would like to get that across,” the 40-year-old said.

“I would love to direct shah rukh! (he is) very interesting and very charismatic… I would not like to play on his strengths, but I would like to get something else out,” added John.

Generously, John admits that other actors are also interesting to direct.

“Aamir (Khan) directs himself, so that’s interesting about Aamir. each one is different and probably if I am doing a fun film, may be Akshay Kumar. but I am not thinking about it right now, so it’s completely hypothetical. I may (also) direct newcomers,” said John. his latest release I, Me aur Main hasn’t done that well at the box office, so it’s likely that the dream of directing may become a reality sooner than later! Good luck, John!

Charm in character, insists Soha

soha Ali Khan is almost as outspoken as big brother saif when it comes to the film industry.

the actress recently made it clear that she doesn’t believe in the ‘hero-heroine dynamics’ of bollywood. Instead, the actress prefers a character-driven role in a movie, even if she doesn’t get to play the protagonist’s role.

“I look for character-driven scripts. I find the words ‘hero’ or ‘heroine’ very absurd. We all play characters,” said the outspoken actress in an interview recently.

even her debut bollywood film Dil Maange More, released in 2004, reflected this choice. “When I did my first film, I chose the character of a girl who chooses her career over the boy. but then everyone was like, ‘you are not the heroine of the film! she has to get the hero.’ but I felt the other role was more interesting,” soha said.

the 34-year-old daughter of veteran actress sharmila tagore is appreciative of the kind of cinema the Indian film industry is witnessing currently. “It is not star-driven. It is script and plot-driven... this is more exciting for me,” she said. soha has been a part of offbeat films like Soundtrack and Midnight’s Children as well as commercial films like Rang De Basanti and Tum Mile. And she is happy the lines between the two are blurring gradually. “In the 1970s, there was commercial cinema and parallel cinema. now that line is not so clear. Good films work at the box office, with offbeat subjects or actors. so the distinction is blurred now,” she said.

“I want to be part of good cinema...with songs or without songs, with or without masala, with or without salman Khan. the story should be good, the character should be good. Whether it works or not is secondary,” she added. soha also admits she regrets being a part of some films, but she doesn’t allow herself to dwell on it too much. soha will be seen next in tigmanshu dhulia’s Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns but if there’s one thing that annoys this actress, it’s references to her royal background. ‘don’t rub in the royalty, please!’ seems to have been soha’s underlying statement when, while promoting the new film, she made her displeasure clear at her royalty references being relentlessly rustled up. director dhulia put his foot in it when he said at the event that he chose soha to play a princess in his film as she looked every inch the royal in royal finery. to this, the

“ there is no point regretting anything. I don’t look into the past. of course, there are films which I have done, which have not worked. but I don’t dwell in those,” she said.

wHo woRE IT bETTER?

sharp-tongued soha retorted, “oh yes, I even sleep in royal clothes.” explaining her snappy response, soha said, “It is true. When I was asked if I was comfortable playing my character because of my royal background, I did respond that way. but I was being facetious in merely stating how ‘unroyal’ my dress sense is. As a matter of fact, I am so bohemian in my dress code that only recently have I started wearing shoes instead of chappals. so I was actually making fun of myself!” naturally, soha added she is very proud of her royal antecedents. “I embrace my identity. It is a privilege to come from the background that I do,” said the daughter of the late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who was nawab of bhopal until 1971, when India abolished royal entitlements. Well, we’ll be seeing princess soha in royal style soon!

Urvashi impresses in debut film

urvashi rautela is just 18, but has already impressed director Anil sharma with her debut performance in Singh Saheb urvashi is said to have replaced Ameesha Patel in the movie, and will be seen romancing sunny deol, who is 38 years her senior. urvashi was in the news for winning the I Am she Miss universe pageant in 2012, but she had to give up her title because she was found to have been 25 days below the minimum age limit of 18 years. sharma, who had earlier directed Ameesha and sunny in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, says Ameesha was never signed on for Singh Saheb The Great “she was supposed to be a part of the film, but officially we never signed her. It was very much a media created news,” said sharma.

The Great sharma believes she has a long way to go. “As the leading lady in the film, urvashi has done a wonderful job. so let us welcome this new girl with all our good wishes,” he said.

Looks like urvashi has had more success with bollywood than beauty pageants. Good luck to her!

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