After providing some cool gyaan in Reel life (as a Professor in TAARE ZAMEEN PAR) now Mr. Perfectionist – Aamir Khan is all set to take the role of a Professor in real life.
If the current reports are to be believed than actor Aamir Khan has been approached by India's topmost management Institute IIM–Ahmedabad to become a visiting professor at their Institute. Apparently the premier institution is initiating an elective course on �Introduction to Contemporary Film Industry' and is looking forward at the B–Town bigwigs to enlighten the students on the same. The course is expected to cover production, economics and marketing, in short the business & financials of the film industry.
Apart from Aamir, other B–towners who have been approached to share the nitty–gritty's of the film industry with the students are Karan Johar, Ronnie Screwvala, Om Puri, Ram Gopal Varma, Mahesh Bhatt, Kishore Lulla, Kamal Hassan, Apoorva Lakhia, Madhur Bhandarkar and Vidhu Vinod Chopra
The students are also equally keen to learn from Professor Aamir Khan.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Aamir - The new Professor of IIM-Ahmedabad!
Ash, Abhishek to shoot in Kerala
Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's new film with Mani Ratnam -- tentatively called Ravan -- will be shot in a forest near the Athirapally waterfalls in Kerala. The film's shooting with other artistes has already started; the couple will join them very shortly. According to a source, Mani Ratnam is finalising the locations, and the shoot will start sometime next week. Incidentally, the Athirapally waterfalls is Mani's favourite location. He had earlier filmed parts of the Dil Se song, Jiya Jale (picturised on Preity Zinta ), and the Guru song, Barso re (picturised on Ash) at the same location. Mani Ratnam was earlier toying with the idea of shooting the film in "It was not considered as a safe haven for shooting, so the shooting of Ravan shifted to Kerala," said a source. 
Mani Ratnam had scored a hit with the younger Bachchans in last year's Guru. Let's hope the ace filmmaker re-creates the magic at the box office.
Ajay and Salman in London Dreams
After basking in the success of his last film Singh is Kinng for a while, Vipul Shah is back to business. The producer-director is busy filming his next directorial venture London Dreams in and around the British capital.
The film stars Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan in lead roles while South sensation Asin is the female lead. Its is after almost a decade that Ajay and Salman are acting together and fans would be eagerly looking forward to see if they can recreate the Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam magic all over again. As for Asin, she surely seems to be making all the right moves in Bollywood; after having worked with Aamir Khan in the forthcoming film Ghajini, she will now be seen opposite Ajay Devgan and Salman Khan in London Dreams.
The trio was spotted shooting some pivotal scenes in London recently. Ajay looks dapper in his suit as usual but a striking feature is the studs that he is sporting on his ear. As for Sallu, he looks every bit the 'Rockstar' that he is in his blue and green checked shirt while Asin is seen looking lovely in the lavender dress. With such a stellar cast and Vipul Shah at the helm of things, London Dreams surely is touted to be among the biggies next year.
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Salman is Not My Favourite Khan
Remember Mahek Chahal, the nayee padosan from the not-so-popular 2003 film of the same name?
Well, the girl's back with a string of films under big banners, a new worked-out bod, "lot's more knowledge about the industry and acting," as she honestly admits, and, much to her dismay, a strong link-up with Salman Khan.
Her first release this year will be Boney Kapoor's Wanted: Dead and Alive, where she stars with Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Mahesh Manjrekar and Vinod Khanna. And everyone's already talking about the song she's done with Sallu in the film. But, the grapevine is also talking of her being Salman's newest 'object of affection' - after Katrina, Salman seems to be taking a keen interest in Mahek's career. After all, she also stars with Sallu in his brother Sohail Khan's Main aur Mrs Khanna.
Ask Mahek what she has to say about the link-up, and she tells us the cliched "Salman's just a good friend" but she's quick to fight in her defence. "He's helped so many newcomers in the industry, be it Sajid-Wajid, Himesh Reshammiya, Sanjay Chhel or Katrina. It's just because I am a girl that I am being targetted. His genuine help is being deliberately viewed in a negative manner. And if I really was his latest 'object of affection', I'd have got the lead roles in the films I'm doing with him, right," she asks, tongue firmly in cheek. Point taken.
But what's also upsetting Mahek is that these "rumours" are taking away from the fact that she's genuinely put in a lot of hard work for her second innings in Bollywood. "I agree I made some terrible mistakes when I started out. But I've learned from them, I now know how the industry works, I've worked on my acting, dancing, Hindi and my body, and it's unfair that all the credit for my getting film offers is going to Salman! What about all the hard work that I've put in all these years," says the Norway-born model-cum- actress.
Okay, so Salman's just a "good friend", so what kind of a relationship do the two share? "He's a thorough professional, very understanding with newcomers and his advice is always for the betterment of the actor in question as well as the film. The best thing about him is that he has no starry attitude."
Salman, then, would be her favourite Khan, right? "Well, actually, it's Aamir, I love the perfectionist in him. He does whatever he does to the best of his ability, without thinking about awards or fans."
Salman Khan won't promote 'Hello'
Salman Khan , who is busy with the shoot of London Dreams , will not be able to attend the promotional events of his forthcoming film Hello .
‘Hello’ is slated for 10th October release and is directed by Atull Agnihotri , is a film based on Chetan Bhagat’s best seller ‘One night @ the call centre’.
Atull is quite excited for this film, but the unexpected turn of events which resulted to the absence of Salman Khan from the promotions of the film has created a bit of tension.
So now, the creators of ‘Hello’ have to plan all together different strategy to promote the film. Salman is doing Chetan Bhagat’s part in the film, and is also seen in the promotional song, which is every where on the channels.
Now, according to sources, the production house is counting on the writer Chetan Bhagat to promote the film. Chetan is a well-received author with a huge fan following. He will be visiting various cities and call centers in order to promote the film and will be the star attraction.
Chetan himself has penned the script for the film. A corporate man, who has studied from IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, he has written three books till now.
His first book ‘Five Point Someone’ was a major hit among the readers ,is also getting into flesh and blood for the screening by none other than Rajkumar Hirani The movie is named 3 Idiots starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor .
‘Hello’ also features Katrina Kaif in a cameo role playing God.
Watch out for hot couple Salman-Katrina
It was 3 years ago when Salman Khan resurrected Katrina Kaif's career after a disastrous Boom. Though Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar did feature her in a miniscule role and released before MPKK, it was her 'jodi' with Salman which fetched her far more eyeballs and brought her back in the reckoning.
Post this on-screen association, there were quite a few makers lined up to sign the two together but they didn't bite the bait. They chose to work with other actors even as they were getting closer in real life. Partner followed after a couple of years but the film saw Katrina in love with Govinda instead. Coming Friday would see the two sharing screen space again in Hello but yet again, it doesn't allow them to be romantically involved.
However, all of this would change with Yuvraaj where Salman and Katrina return as a couple. Though Anil Kapoor and Zayed Khan are also a part of this Subhash Ghai project, Yuvraaj is expected to be a Salman-Katrina show all the way, what with Katrina's market value increasing exponentially over the least 3 years.
Says an industry insider, "With the kind of great run that Katrina has been enjoying with 6 successful films in a row, no film maker would want to use her just as a prop; especially not someone like Subhash Ghai who has a keen eye for presenting his ladies on screen. Salman and Katrina are looking great together and teasers so far are just the beginning."
Talking about the role of Katrina in the film, a source attached to the film says, "Katrina is one of the three key protagonists in the film and plays a pivotal character. There is much more than just Salman-Katrina chemistry that we are looking at in Yuvraaj. Subhash Ghai has gone all out in making this as a mega project and extracted classy performances from each of his actors."
With music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Gulzar, Yuvraaj is all set for 21st November release.
Bollywood's big bond
One is known by the name 'Big B' and the other 'Baadshah of Bollywood' or 'King Khan'. They are amongst the most successful actors in Indian cinema with lots of hit films under their belts. They have acted together in a few films but were rarely seen together as if that would lead to a big fight. We are talking about Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan.
Nobody knows whether Amitabh and Shahrukh share a cold vibe or not but they did open the gate to gossip-mongers by not caring to strengthen their friendship. After being together in the same profession for a long time, the duo has finally declared loud and clear to the world that they are not foes but friends.
It was King Khan who broke the ice. He attended the premiere of Drona and showered praises on Abhishek Bachchan for his performance. His other half Gauri Khan also did her part. She watched Drona along with her husband and hugged Abhishek, wishing him success.
The Bollywood superstars seem to be serious about their friendship this time around. Besides acting together in Kal Kisne Dekha, King Khan and Big B are extending their support to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, who were on strike to increase their wages.
Well, nobody can break Big B's big bond with King Khan!
Rozza Catalano refuses to promote ‘Deshdrohi’
Things do not seem to be good for Saif Ali Khan’s former girlfriend Rozza Catalano as the producer of her forthcoming film ‘Deshdrohi’ has charged her of violating the agreement signed with him. In the film Rozza has done an item number but now she is asking extra money for the promotional activities of the film.
The producer Kamal claims that the actress does not have a working visa and he has also written to the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association, asking them to ban her from working in Bollywood films, if the actress does not fulfill her commitment as per the agreement signed with him.
He claims that Rozza had signed an agreement which requires her to give four days for the promotion of the film. Kamal said, “Though she attended the film’s music release, she has refused to participate in any other promotional event for it. She is now asking for extra money for attending functions and promotional events for the film. This is contrary to the agreement signed by her with us, wherein she is required to give four days for the music release and promotional events of the film. The agreement also says that she will not be paid anything extra for taking part in the promotional events.”
On the other hadn Rozza claims that she has not been paid by the producers of the film. In an interview to an English Daily, Rosa alleged that a cheque paid to her by Kamal bounced.
Gul Panag annoyed with the Censor Board
Sharman Joshi is playing a call centre executive in Atul Agnihotri’s forthcoming film ‘Hello’ which has been based on Chetan Bhagat’s book ‘One Night At The Call Centre’. In the movie, Sharman plays the role of Shyam Mehra, a call centre executive. He is on the point of losing his girlfriend because his career is going nowhere. Gul Panag is his love interest, Priyanka.
There’s a lot of buzz about the chemistry between Sharman and his co-star Gul Panag. As described in the novel there’s a steamy scene in the film too. When asked about the love making scene Sharman said, “Well the shooting experience was fabulous. Every one has really worked hard on this film. I have a love making scene with Gul Panag, it was sensuous but at the same time it was very funny.”
However, Censor Board has ordered the chopping of this scene from the film because it has actress Gul Panag mouthing the usage of ‘condom’. Here Gul asks Sharman whether he is carrying a condom before they have sex. Gul is very annoyes with this decision of the Censor Board and she is planning to write a letter to the Censor officials about this absurd decision on their part.
Neetu Chandra goes glam
Neetu Chandra is busy dubbing for her three forthcoming ventures- Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Kusarprasad Ka Bhoot and The films are Flat No. 13 B. Coincidently the dubbings are being recorded in the same studio almost simultaneously thus much of her time being spent in the same studio. Fans of Neetu Chandra have a lot to look forward to and so the coming weeks are quite exciting for Neetu herself.
Splitsville for Arshad Warsi and Maria Goretti
According to the rumors another Bollywood couple, Arshad Warsi and Maria Goretti are splitting after being happily married for over a decade. The couple has two kids- daughter Zene Zoe and son Zeke Zidaan.
It is rumored that hectic work schedule and the career demands on Arshad Warsi is keeping him away from his family and thus resulting in the tension between the couple.Maria gave up her career of a successful VJ and an actress while Arshad rise to fame with Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai hitting the box office.
Arshad was heard saying recently- “I think I’m fairly good as a father, my kids just love me, but as a husband, I think I tend to take Maria for granted.”
Kajol as the brand ambassador of Loomba Trust
Bollywood actress and Ajay Devgan’s wife Kajol Devgan has been appointed goodwill ambassador and patron of the UK based Loomba Trust, a charity devoted to educating widow’s children, particularly in India.
Cherie Blair, President of Loomba Trust and wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair presented Kajol with a plaque at Whitehall during a ceremony to celebrate UN International Day of Non-violence commencing on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and festival of Diwali on Thursday evening. The function was graced by India’s High Commissioner to the UK Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, former Mayor Ken Livingstone, Lord Navnit Dholakia - Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords among others.
Cherie Blair said the trust would extend its activities to Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa and Luanda. It has already helped educate 3,500 children of widows in India.
Kajol was thrilled at the honour and said, “I will do my very best to be worthy of this appointment.”
Raj Loomba, who founded the trust in the memory of his late mother expressed his confidence in the actress saying, “I hope Kajol will bring wealth of support and much needed wealth to our charity.”
