Ranbir ka dabba!

Mumbai, July 30 -- Oh, here comes Sher Lock Holmes, finally. And he's not come back empty-handed. He tells me that he's been working multiple shifts, like my friend Merena Senon, who runs around like a headless chicken all day in her little office. My trusted detective was on the sets of Barfee at Mehboob Studios, while he discovered something about Ranbir Kapoor. The actor is known for always insisting on working even when he's bruised.
But what about the RK scion now? Sher Lock says he's most comfy working in Mumbai, rather than any other city. Why? Because he doesn't have to bother anyone in the crew for the kind of food he wants, considering he's extremely particular about what he nibbles. He gets his stuff from home and munches all day out of his mini-eatery, set up under momma Neetu's supervision. I always knew Ranboo was a good boy!

Salman Khan worth Rs 50 crore now!

Salman Khan, 45, who took a fee cut for Ready during recession has hiked his price, post his super successful run at the box office. The actor who was charging Rs 40 crore for his films, will now take back home a whopping Rs 50 crore.
Two filmmakers have confirmed to film expert Subhash K Jha that Salman has not only hiked his price, but is also 'choosing' his directors.
"Salman is not only quoting a fee close to Rs 50 crore, he is also 'recommending' (read: appointing) directors for these films. Like, for the T Series project Salman has put forward the names of two directors and has asked producer Bhushan Kumar to choose from one of them. Furthermore, he insisted on Sonakshi Sinha for Kick and now he's recommending Zarine Khan to his prospective producers," a source told film expert Subhash K Jha.
Filmmaker Bhushan Kumar told Jha that Salman's price has been re-structured for his next. "When Salmanbhai did Ready the film industry was facing a huge financial crunch. But he agreed to cut down his price from Rs 40 crore to Rs 17 crore. This was the only way we could have made Ready at that time. Now the market has changed for the entire film industry. So, we are currently re-negotiating with him for our next film."
Well Sallu, you certainly deserve it!

Salman aims to outdo all Khans by dancing!

Mumbai, July 30 (IANS) With his newly acquired confidence as a box office champ, Salman Khan is now working on proving himself as the best dancer among all the Khans.
This was his brief to his current favourite choreographer Mudassar Khan, when they started shooting the track "Desi beat" for his upcoming "Bodyguard".
"Salman is hell-bent on proving he's the best dancer among the Khans. When 'Desi beat' was being planned, Salman very clearly told Mudassar that he wants to be the best dancer among all the Khans. Salman shot the song like crazy," a source says.
As if getting his favourite choreographer was not enough, Salman also got on board a song director to shoot the number.
The concept of a song director joining the choreographer for a star is still novel in Bollywood. Sanjay Leela Bhansali served as a song director in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "1942: A Love Story" even as Farah Khan was the choreographer.
And now Salman, we hear from reliable sources, wants to patent this collaborative style of shooting a song.
"Salman will work simultaneously with a choreographer of his choice and a dance director in all his major song and dance numbers," says the source.
When asked about the "Bodyguard" number, producer Atul Agnihotri confirmed: "We got Mudassar and also a song director, Sumit Dutt. The number rocks."
The collaboration that started with "Dabangg" where Salman gave Mudassar the chance to choreograph the song "Humka peeni hai", has now reached a stage where Salman insists on bringing his blue-eyed choreographer in all his films as a lucky mascot. Looks like, Salman has found his own version of what Saroj Khan used to be for Madhuri Dixit.
For the "Bodyguard number", the source adds: "Mudassar was told to take Salman out of his comfort zone as a dancer. Salman has never done this before. This is the first time Salman has followed a choreographer's instruction to the minutest detail."

Clean shave for Anil!

Mumbai, July 31 -- Anil Kapoor is ready for a makeover. For Roger Donaldson's upcoming Hollywood movie, Cities, he will shave off his trademark goatee. He plays a "serious cop" in Cities that co-stars Clive Owen (Closer, Sin City, Inside Man). The goatee was a part of his look in the TV series 24 as well as the Tom Cruise franchise, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. But now, he has asked director Priyadarshan to quickly wrap up his Hindi movie, Tezz, so he can get rid of it.
"I haven't locked the final look yet, but it's going to be very different from how I look now in Cities and Race 2. I am really excited," says Anil. The last schedule of Tezz gets over on August 15 and then Anil will fly off to Los Angeles to shoot some additional scenes for Mission Impossible 4. "I start Cities in November after wrapping up a little portion of Race 2 that flags off in October. We have a schedule in London before moving to Mumbai in January. Ramesh Taurani (producer) has told me that we should be finished with Race 2 by February," informs Anil.
The 51-year-old actor had earlier played a cop in films like Ram Lakhan (1989) and Race (2008), but insists that he will be portraying a "serious Indian cop" for the first time in Cities. "The look has to be right. I've also started meeting people, including policemen, to get into the character," he asserts.
However, Anil admits that he doesn't have any scenes with Clive. "There are stories set in three different cities - New York, London and Mumbai. They are inter-connected, but the characters don't meet. So Clive will shoot only in New York and not come down to Mumbai," he reasons.
He is also thrilled to be working with Donaldson, who has directed films like The Bounty (1984), Cocktail (1988) and The Recruit (2003). "I was with him when he came to Mumbai for a recce and later met him in LA," says Anil. "He is very satisfied with the locations in Mumbai."

Bhatts' 'simple' heroine!

Mumbai, July 31 -- She received much attention for her role as a simpleton Shefali in Aisha (2010). Now, Amrita Puri, daughter of HDFC Bank's managing director Aditya Puri, is set for a new celluloid stint. She will be seen as Bhatts' new heroine in their upcoming Blood Money alongside Kunal Khemu.
"I play a nursery school teacher in the film," says Amrita. "So, I visited a Montessori (an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori) to speak to the kids. It gave me a feel of the role."
Blood Money's first schedule kicked off yesterday and Amrita is clearly excited. "I love my character. In Aisha, I played a small-town girl from Bahadurgarh. Now I play a Mumbai girl from Chembur. She is a simple, middle-class girl and not flamboyant at all," she says.
Ask Amrita if she will be playing a sensual role like a majority of Bhatts' heroine and she says, "I don't think so... Mallika Sherawat and Jacqueline Fernandes bring certain qualities with them but the Bhatts must have been looking for something different when they selected me," she says.
Not many know this but Amrita has been equally active in theatre. "Acting in films and theatre is completely different. But I want to do both. As soon as I finish Black Money, I will perform The Interview (with Sahil Jaffrey and Anish Trivedi) and Famous Last Word (with Kalki Koechlin and Tom Alter)," she says.
Lastly, did she never want to follow father's footsteps? "My father always gave me a lot of freedom. I was never very interested in the financial world," she says, adding with a laugh. "If I had gotten into banking, people would have faced a lot of trouble because I am bad with numbers. But now, dad is extremely proud that I am bagging films without any backing."

Ash behind Somy-Sallu split?

New Delhi, Aug. 2 -- After all these years, actor Somy Ali, 35, has finally revealed the reason behind her split from Salman Khan. It's Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Ali, who broke up with Khan in the late '90s, said in a recent interview to entertainment portal lassiwithlavina.com that it was Ash who caused them to drift apart. When she was asked who came between her and Salman, Somy said, "Aishwarya Rai". When further asked whom she blames more, Sallu or Ash, she said, "Neither. They both did what they felt was the right thing to do at that time."
Describing her affair with Khan, Ali said that he she was all of 15 when she developed a crush on him. "Salman was my first boyfriend. I had a huge crush on him as a teenager. The crush led me to leave Florida and move to India and join films just so I could find him and get married. You have a licence to do idiotic things when you're 15."
And, she has no regrets. "I learned a great deal from Salman and his family ... growing up in front of Salman has made me who I am today. He and his family taught me that it does not matter what religion one follows, what culture one comes from ... what makes a person good is their actions. He was a good role model, outside of the boyfriend aspect of things."
Ali, who last met Khan on the sets of Ready in Bangkok in May, added, "They say if you can count four friends on your fingers, you're fortunate. Salman happens to be one of them. He has a heart of gold; I know that if I were ever in need he'd be the first person I'd call.

Bips wraps up first Hollywood film!

Mumbai, Aug. 2 -- For the past few weeks, Bipasha Basu's personal life has been grabbing headlines. Daily stories of her break-up with long-time beau John Abraham flood the news, but the actor insists, "I have nothing to say. Enough has already been spoken about it. Right now, I am enjoying life."
Keeping her distracted are multiple movie projects, including her first Hollywood flick, Roland Joffe's Singularity, which the actor just finished working on. "Yes, I have wrapped up work on Singularity," says Bipasha with a smile. "And now, the film is in Roland's hands. I think he is busy with the post-production. Honestly, I'm proud to have done the movie at a time when global filmmakers are finding India exciting."
The actor plays Tulaja Naik, a Maratha warrior, in the film that's set against the backdrop of the first Anglo-Maratha war in 18th century colonial India. The story revolves around the romance between Tulaja and British soldier James Stewart, played by Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor, 2001, Sin City, 2005).
"As an actor, it was a very challenging film," she says. "Working with Roland has been a novel experience." And although Singularity is over, "life continues to be hectic" for Bipasha, who says with a smile, "But I am not complaining. That's the way I love it."
Headed to Cannes Singularity, directed by Joffe - best known for The Killing Fields (1984) and City of Joy (1992) - has been majorly shot in the Orchha district of Madhya Pradesh, and Australia. Bipasha also informs that the film, also featuring Abhay Deol, will be showcased at the Cannes Film Festival next year.
Now, Bipasha is looking forward to Abbas-Mustan's multi-starrer Players, the Hindi remake of the Hollywood hit, The Italian Job (2003). "I am looking forward to it. It's a fantastically packaged film," she says, adding that she still has two songs to shoot.

Stork visits Lara-Hesh!

Mumbai, Aug. 2 -- It's official now! After Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Lara Dutta and Mahesh Bhupati have gone the family way. Within the first year of their marriage, the couple has confirmed that they're expecting their first baby early next year. They tied the knot and exchanged vows on February 16 this year in Goa.
Soon after the wedding, the media was abuzz with speculation around the couple's private life. It was even reported that their marriage was on the rocks. Other reports said that Lara was pregnant and had been avoiding movie assignments. The last film she shot for is Don 2, which releases at the end of the year.
The couple is understandably excited, nervous and anxious to welcome their bundle of joy. "We are both extremely happy and blessed with this wonderful development in our lives, and we look forward to having a new addition to our family," says daddy-to-be, tennis ace Mahesh, who also runs a movie production house Big Daddy Productions that produced Chalo Dilli (2010) in collaboration with Lara's company Bheegi Basanti Productions.
The former Miss Universe was expected to launch her line of shoes this summer and take up a movie assignment that she was in talks for. Lara was also to make her TV debut with a fashion-based show, and was reportedly planning to start off her second production this year. All the aforementioned plans have been put on hold. But we're sure no one is complaining.