Bollywood stars tune in to television

Bollywood is descending on the small screen. Television channels, in their quest to grab eyeballs are forking out big money to attract the top names of the Indian film industry. And it seems to be working, with Bollywood stars realising that they can earn big bucks from the idiot box, sometimes more than what they get from movies.

It all began when the magic of Amitabh Bachchan as host for Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) on Star Plus mesmerised audiences across the country. The programme continued with Shah Rukh Khan replacing Bachchan. But now more stars are making a beeline to appear as hosts on TV shows.

Salman Khan will hit the tube in June with the game show Dus Ka Dum on Sony Entertainment Television (SET). According to industry experts, Khan is charging Rs 80 lakh for 30 episodes or a cool Rs 24 crore from the programme.

That is much more than what he usually charges for a movie around Rs 6 crore to Rs 8 crore per film, and which will take him anywhere from four to six months to complete. The SET programme, on the other hand, gets over in fifteen weeks.

Star couples Ajay Devgan and Kajol are judging Rock and Roll Family on Zee TV and are believed to be charging Rs 20 lakh each for 26 one-hour episodes. That translates to the husband-wife duo earning over Rs 10 crore. Compare this to Devgan's fees of around Rs 5 crore for playing the lead in a movie, while those of Kajol's are much lower.

Urmila Matondkar is hosting Waar Parivaar, a musical show on SET and is charging Rs 15 lakh for each episode. The 51-episode show will help the actress who incidentally does not have too many Bollywood roles at the moment earn over Rs 7.5 crore. That's not all.

John plays with Strings

Bollywood hunk John Abraham is all set with his first ever music video for the Pakistani band Strings. Koi Aanay Wala Hai is Strings' latest album after a gap of four years.

The basic concept of the video is, 'There is an angel watching over everyone.' John features as an angel who sights a beautiful girl in trouble. He falls in love with her and chooses to become human to be with her forever.

The most expensive Indipop video ever, Koi Aanay Wala Hai has been shot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The music of the album Koi Aanay Wala Hai takes a lot of inspiration from contemporary British rock and music from 1960's and 1970's. It features eight energetic tracks composed by the duo Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood.

Looking forward to the album, Shridhar Subramaniam, Managing Director of Sony BMG says, "We have been associated with Strings for over 5 years now and have released great stuff like Dhaani and Najanay Kyu. Now a part of this longstanding relationship is John Abraham with Koi Aanay Wala Hai and that's truly a matter of pride for us. The music and the video are exceptional. So we're very sure of a great response to this one!"

Bollywood goes moist-eyed on Mothers Day

From old hats like Shabana Azmi, Hema Malini and Mahesh Bhatt to young actors like Sonam Kapoor, Celina Jaitley and Abhishek Bachchan - on Mother’s Day they all talk about the contribution of their mothers in their lives and give them credit for their success. Here is what the actors have to say on the special occasion:

Sonam Kapoor: My mother is my best friend. What she has taught me is to value the people who love me. I never take anyone for granted. When I was working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and struggling to live up to his penchant for perfectionism, she would step in to guide me. During that crucial time my mother taught me to be patient and strong and to follow my heart. My mother is an exceptional householder. She doesn’t have just three children, but four, my father being the fourth. He has to talk to her like 20 times a day. If I can run my household after marriage with half my mom’s efficiency I’d consider myself a successful woman.

Raima Sen: The biggest thing I’ve learnt from my mother is patience and to respect other people’s space. Also, to be strong-willed! She has also taught my sister and I not to make the mistakes she made in her career. She has brought up both of us as independent women capable of taking our own decisions.

Shabana Azmi: Where do I begin? My mom has taught me compassion, generosity of spirit, and not to make an issue out of everything in life. I’ve inherited my taste in clothes from her. Above all, she has taught me acting and how to approach a role.

Abhishek Bachchan: My mom has taught me to try and be a good human being.

Urmila Matondkar: Mom has taught me not to be judgemental and to love and accept people as they are. From her, I’ve learnt that if you’re patient the best is bound to happen for you.

Shilpa Shetty: What have I learnt from mom? Everything! Most of all I’ve learnt the importance of dignity in my conduct. She also taught me never to let anyone trample on my self-respect.

Rani:Thodi Film,Thodi trouble

Yash Raj Films has once again got embroiled in a controversy over the title of its forthcoming movie "Thoda Pyaar, Thoda Magic," which has Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji in lead roles.

The film is co-produced and directed by Kunal Kohli.

Actor-producer Saahil Chadha has challenged the title of "Thoda Pyaar, Thoda Magic," saying it is similar to the title of "Thoda Life, Thoda Magic," which is his first film as a producer and he had registered it with the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA) two years ago.

My first crush was a woman: Riya Sen

Q. If you had to date a historical character, who would he be and why?
A. I think Romeo. He is good looking and romantic. He is every woman’s dream.

Q. If the guy you have hots for turns out to be a gay, what would you do?
A. I wouldn’t be heart broken. I won’t care. I would just split with him.

Q. If you are going out on a date and some one makes a pass at you, would you want your guy to fight with him?
A. No. I won’t. He should be happy that I’m getting the attention. He should feel proud of it.

Q. Your first crush?
A. She was my standard three class teacher. My first crush was a woman.

Q. You get along with men of which sun sign usually?
A. Virgo, Sagittarius and Gemini.

Q. If you went out on your first date and came to know that the guy has plans to spike your drink?
A. I would slap him right there and enjoy the party.

Bollywood hunks and their bikes

Women may swear by what they wear but boys will be boys. Men's fashions can take sharp twists and turns especially when cars and bikes enter the picture.

With Harley Davidson about to make a grand entry in the Indian two-wheeler market Bollywood's macho men have their dreams come true.

John Abraham's love for bikes is as old as the hills but the actor had to wait till he turned 12 to ride his first bike.

He's often seen racing on Mumbai roads on bikes and sweet heart Bipasha being the indulgent girlfriend even gifted him a Suzuki Hayabusa.

Bollywood goes backless

'Kajol cries alot these days!!!'

When Bollywood actress Kajol, who is currently on the panel of judges of Zee TV's reality show 'Rock N Roll Family' along with husband Ajay Devgan and mother Tanuja, broke down on the sets of the show, her husband chose not to console her.

While everyone on the sets was busy preparing for the next performance, Kajol started crying on the sets for no apparent reason Monday.

Satish Dutt, the director of the show, told on phone from Mumbai: 'Yes, Kajol was crying badly and everybody was there at the sets. I called Ajay and asked him what had happened to her. He said that ever since Kajol's dad has expired, she has been crying very often since she misses him a lot.'

Kajol's father, director Shomu Mukherjee, died April 10.

Dutt added that although Kajol's mother Tanuja hugged her, Ajay opted to stay away and let her calm down on her own.

Kareena bitten by 'Love Bug'

Kareena Kapoor seems to be bitten by the 'Love Bug' for sure, as the actress is pretty excited to take up the romantic role in 'Main Aur Mrs. Khanna' opposite Salman Khan.

Talking of her costar and the rapport she shares with him, Kareena says, "We bonded beautifully when we did 'Kyun Ki'.

But that was a very unusual kind of film and our romance was rather strange. In Main Aur Mrs Khanna we share a very romantic relationship".

Of course, when love is in the air in real life, everything in reel life too looks fascinating for sure!! - Shubhash K Jha.

Forget cheergirls, Riya is here

Bollywood actor Riya Sen has been appointed as the brand ambassador for Indian Premier League’s official website, www.iplt20.com.

According to an agreement, Riya’s role will require her to attend the IPL matches, interact with cricketers and post her interactions and views on the website.

Talking from Dubai, Chief Technical Architect of www.iplt20.com, Akash Aurora confirmed Riya’s appointment. He said, “Yes, we have appointed Riya as the brand ambassador of our website.”

Explaining why they chose Riya, Akash said, “We saw Riya attending a couple of the IPL matches. We observed that she was quite well-versed with the game and its proceedings.

Rather than having somebody naive on board, we preferred getting someone who knows about the game. Riya was our first choice and we went ahead with her.”

“Riya has already signed the contract. The duration of the contract will depend on the response we get from our readers,” Akash added.