Ashmit Patel gets Freida Pinto in a Hollywood deal

IndiaGlitz

It’s not that Hollywood is unaware of the happenings in our B-town. In fact the people there do keep a tab on our cinema and an eye on our screen talents. And here we can prove it how…

Our birdies said that Ashmit Patel has bagged an international flick. And his co-star will be none other than ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ famed Freida Pinto! Lucky guy na….

Titled ‘American Empire’, the film will be directed by Andy Armstrong, the associate director of ‘Planet Of The Apes’. While Kevin D Ward has penned the script, the film will be produced by Edge Filmworks.

According to reports the film’s story is based on underworld, crime and politics.

Incidentally, Ashmit – a sibling of actress Amisha Patel - already has two international projects, one of which will release shortly.

Little Master's powerplay with tweets

Nikhil Taneja

In the 22 years Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has played international cricket, he has been perceived as shy and reserved; a public personality who ably guarded his privacy. Although one of India’s most revered and followed public figures, Tendulkar’s not known to be a man of words, and has given interviews only when absolutely necessary.

But on May 4, when Tendulkar joined the Twitter bandwagon, within a single night, his tweets revealed an almost entirely unknown side of him. He was funny, cheeky, candid and friendly – he had let down his guard almost as easily as he had been fiercely private all these years.

While having dinner with Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Atul Kasbekar, he cheekily said about how they were ‘3 more idiots’. He put up a picture of himself holding crabs and joked about how his wife is Scorpio and not Cancerian. He even put up a picture of himself, in his nightclothes, just before he went to bed for the day.

It was a surprising and completely unexpected shift in, what was perceived as, Tendulkar’s persona. Elsewhere, Shah Rukh Khan has put up pictures of his children kissing him, while Sania Mirza has put up a picture of her husband, Shoib Mallik jogging.

Recently, Shane Warne, in full public view, tweeted to Shah Rukh Khan, after his team Kolkata Knight Riders was knocked out of the Indian Premier League, asking him to “hang in there, mate”, when he could have easily made a private call.

Being themselves

We spoke to Mumbai’s top clinical psychologists to understand what makes celebrities let down their guard on social networking websites like Twitter, when they constantly complain about invasion of privacy in interviews.

“It’s all about the willingness in the process,” explains Dr Kanan Khatau Chikhal. “In front of the media, celebrities are under pressure to speak in the correct way, lest it be portrayed wrongly. But on Twitter, they will tell you only as much as they want to.”

“Celebrities are usually guarded in real life because they know they are role models,” adds Dr Seema Hingoranny. “They want to be loved by everyone, so they are nervous about how the media might portray them. On the other hand, social networking sites let them clarify what they want to and speak their heart out.”

Dr Anjali Chhabria feels that it’s a great PR (public relations) exercise for celebrities. “Everyone’s aware about the attention these websites get in the media. It’s the easiest way for celebrities to build their images, without having to go through the media.”

Dual lives

The psychologists also feel that after a point of time, celebrities get tired of being portrayed as demi-gods by the media, and want to be more accessible to the fans. Says Dr Hingoranny, “They are leading dual lives. They are used to being guarded in front of the media and that’s why they don’t talk about their private lives. But given a chance, they’d like to reveal a more human side of theirs, that the public isn’t aware of.”

Agrees Dr Chikhal, “Of course, there are some people who use it for the publicity, but quite a few actually want to use it in a healthy way, to feel a part of the community. They want to belong, share, and want to be heard and seen in a ‘normal person’ fashion, than on a pedestal.”

Tendulkar’s tweets analysed

Dr Chikhal: I think some people, who are shy in person, or while communicating face-to-face, prefer the communicating through emails or text messages, because they can say everything they want to, without communicating personally. Maybe Sachin has found his preferable mode of expression.

Dr Hingoranny: When people are guarded all the time, after a time, they get fed up and want to let their guards down. Maybe, in Sachin’s case too, he was just bored or tired of having people in awe of him. Or perhaps, someone close to him persuaded him to reveal the other facets of his personality online.

Dr Chhabria: With success, comes confidence, and with confidence, people’s personalities change. Perhaps Sachin

felt that it is time for him to change the image the world has given him, and he wants to share more of himself. Or maybe an image consultant has helped him.

Most retweeted

39 BeingSalmanKhan Iss chappal ke malik ko chappal dena banta hai boss, do the same if u c chappals in mint condition

57 iamsrk when i was a kid...use to tie a towel on my neck..wear my sisters tights & my red swimming trunks on top. eye mask & wanted to fly...

69 MaheshNBhatt Capital punishment would be more effective as a preventive measure if it were administered prior to the crime. Woody Allen

76 sachin_rt Hanging with vinod chopra and @atulkasbekar...3 more idiots???

100+ PritishNandy The world's toughest tongue twister: The sixth sick Sikh's sixth sheep is sick.

100+ atulkasbekar Ladies n Gentlemen it is my proud privilege to introduce Finally to Twitter, SACHIN TENDULKAR, @sachin_rt, follow the King now, go go go !!!

Most followed

Shashi Tharoor 765,530

Shah Rukh Khan 337,756

Priyanka Chopra 325,100

Sachin Tendulkar 194,512

Karan Johar 186,007

Katrina speaks about Salman

Indo-Asian News Service

Katrina Kaif, who usually remains tight-lipped about her relationship with actor Salman Khan, says the star always guided her and genuinely believed she would join the big league in Bollywood one day.

"Salman had been always there, more than anything to guide because I didn't know anything about the industry. What would remain special in my mind is that from the very beginning Salman told me that I will achieve this success in the industry. And at that point it was too far off," said Katrina.

"That time I couldn't see myself one movie ahead, forget 15 movies ahead. I think that he believed it genuinely," the 25-year-old actor said.

She entered Bollywood in 2003 with the dud Boom. Her first big hit was 2005 romantic comedy Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya in which she teamed up with Salman. After that she gave a string of hits, including Namastey London, Partner, Welcome, Singh Is Kinng and critically acclaimed New York.

But Katrina feels nobody can plan success.

"It's (success) destiny, no one can plan it. There are many people who are connected with the industry because of their father, mother or other family members; still they are not able to achieve what is termed as success in the industry.

"You can come here, make two or three films, your co-stars could be your friends - all this you can plan but you can't plan which film would be successful. The miracle that happened with my life has been the success of my films. Because, had those films not been successful, no one would have done anything for me," said Katrina.

She is now eager to take more responsibilities and do more diverse roles like the one she is doing in Prakash Jha's Raajneeti, where she plays a politician.

"Till now I have done a genre of films. People have accepted me, loved me and have given me so much support. I never imagined getting so much. But I feel that there are other types of films to do. See other contemporary actors, they have done much more diverse roles.

"People can say that the success ratio of my films has been very, very good, but I still feel people should see me on other kinds of films too...

"May be something like a remake of Sita Aur Gita...In Raajneeti, I have more responsibility. But you will have to remember that there I am with six very important guys, all have very important roles," said Katrina.

The actress maintains she always wanted to do something unusual in life.

"I always used to make a world in my head and live in that. I always wanted to be something unusual. Some of the dreams I remember, they may sound stupid - I wanted to be a firefighter, I wanted to be a stunt woman, I wanted to go to NASA. Acting was something to fancy," said Katrina.

Lara Dutta upset with HOUSEFULL maker Sajid Khan!

Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

HOUSEFULL is a hit and on the verge of becoming a superhit if it continues to do good business in the second week as well. Everyone associated with the film has benefitted, including Lara Dutta who was getting good reviews after BILLU, DO KNOT DISTURB and BLUE but was still was in search of a huge money spinner to consolidate her position at the box office. Now with HOUSEFULL clicking with audience, she has seen the best of both worlds with good reviews for her comic act being the icing on the cake.

"I enjoyed working on the film and it was great to be associated with all these people. It was a wonderful opportunity and not just did I have so many great scenes but also ended up working with number of animals", laughs Lara who had a couple of hilarious scenes with a parrot and a tiger.

However, she wasn't quite laughing till the time she signed HOUSEFULL with Sajid Khan. Reason being that she missed the opportunity of working with the film maker in HEYY BABYY.

CHECK OUT: HOUSEFULL grosses Rs. 95 crores

"Oh yes, I was upset with him when he didn't take me for HEYY BABYY", says Lara with mock anger, "I love his sense of humour and really wanted to be a part of his cinema. I told him categorically that I should have been there in HEYY BABYY. This is why when HOUSEFULL was being planned, I reminded him for our conversation."

Lara was pronto signed and expectedly, she was over the moon.

"I was the most thrilled living being at that time", remembers Lara, "Sajid had so much faith in me. The biggest compliment that he gave me was when he compared me with Madhuri (Dixit) and Sridevi when it came to comedy. I am glad he saw such potential in me."

Hrithik takes to smoking for Guzaarish, will quit with Kites

Hrithik Roshan who is known for his supremely fit body has taken to smoking big time. But they say there is no smoke without fire. So how did the health conscious Hrithik take to the unhealthy trait? Well it’s all for his next film Guzaarish .

“I have started smoking for my character of a paralyzed man that I play in my next film Guzaarish ”, says Hrithik. Sanjay Leela Bhansali who is the director of Guzaarish insists on having his actors get inside their characters to perfection. He made Hrithik look less muscular and also made him sport some weight around his midriff. Further he wanted Hrithik to smoke for his character in Guzaarish .

However cigarettes won’t be Hrithik’s companion for long. “I will stop smoking on May 21”, says Hrithik firmly asserting that it was plainly for professional reasons. May 21 is when his big film Kites will hit the theatres.

After Guzaarish his next film Running with the Bulls directed by Zoya Akhtar, too, demands he put on five kilos. But this time he has to accumulate the weight in terms of muscle mass. So Hrithik is determined to look fit and his sheer willpower will see him through punishing workouts and diet. The actor is presently going through hardcore gym training for three hours every day in his new gym on the terrace of his Juhu residence.

Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor: Nominated for ‘3 Idiots’ for IIFA Awards!

The nominations for the Micromax IIFA Awards have been announced. Amongst many others, the film‘3 Idiots’ has 14nominations, for various categories.

Aamir Khan, who created waves with his amazing performance in the flick has been nominated for the Best Male Actor, and Kareena Kapoor as the Best Female Actor, for ‘3 Idiots’.

The other categories in which the film has won nominations are –

Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor: Nominated for ‘3 Idiots’ for IIFA Awards!

The nominations for the Micromax IIFA Awards have been announced. Amongst many others, the film‘3 Idiots’ has 14 nominations, for various categories.

Aamir Khan, who created waves with his amazing performance in the flick has been nominated for the Best Male Actor, and Kareena Kapoor as the Best Female Actor, for ‘3 Idiots’.

The other categories in which the film has won nominations are –

Best Film, 3 Idiots
Best Director Raj Kumar Hirani
Best Supporting Actor Sharman Joshi
Best Comic Role Omi Vaidya
Best Negative Role Boman Irani
Best Music Director Shantanu Moitra
Best Story Abhijat Joshi, Raj Kumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Best Lyrics Swadanand Kirke
Best Singer Male Shaan for Behti Hawa Sa Tha woh
Best Singer Female Shreya Ghoshal for Zoobi Doobi

The IIFA 11th Videocon weekend celebrations are going to be held from the 3rd -5th of June, in Colombo Sri Lanka. Many extravagant performances are scheduled to be held during the weekend, and many bollywood personalities are scheduled to be there to be a part of the massive celebrations.

The IIFA 11th Videocon weekend celebrations are going to be held from the 3rd -5th of June, in Colombo Sri Lanka. Many extravagant performances are scheduled to be held during the weekend, and many bollywood personalities are scheduled to be there to be a part of the massive celebrations.

Familiarity of Rahmania

Amitava Sanyal, Hindustan Times

Allah Rakha Rahman has been the Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar of Indian film music ever since Mani Ratnam’s 1992 film, Roja. Many meteors have blazed across this pitiless sky since then, but only Rahman has shimmered on like a star. So much so that in recent times he has been sounding a bit too much like, well, himself. Despite his talent at introducing refreshing new voices, or using known voices in refreshingly new ways, some of his recent songs induce that familiar feeling: the gut knows what it sounds like but the lips can’t sing it.

Consider ‘Behene de’ from the new Mani Ratnam film, Raavan. It’s a rain song, a Ratnam standardum. And the opening bars of it brought on for me a fidgety déjà vu. But the earlier tune kept eluding me. I called up a singer who has recorded Rahman’s compositions and I played him the song. A few bars into it he started humming ‘Satrangi re’ — and the coin dropped. Sure enough, the new song, though not quite the same, had the all-too-familiar vibes of the old number from another Ratnam film, 1998’s Dil Se.

Now, predictability may be a virtue on the cricket pitch, but is it good for entertainment? In the unforgiving world of the latter, ‘good’ may spell as ‘boring’.

This way or that, the six songs of Raavan have the hologram of Rahmania all over. They all come with rich, multi-track arrangements, they cleverly intersperse raw voices with polished ones, and they are recorded impeccably. They come across on the car audio and the computer earphone as stereophonically as on the big-base sound system.

The tribal chanting of ‘Beera’, the first track and one which is titled after the film’s protagonist Beera Munda, a.k.a. ‘Raavan’, begins like a jingle for a jungle juice. Along the way, Mustafa Kutoane’s unintelligible incantations leave you with an oddly African feel.

In the martial ‘Thok de killi’, Deepak P.A.’s warm guitar leavens a cake that’s sliced by Sukhwinder Singh’s knife-like voice. In ‘Ranjha Ranjha’, the abrasive rrra-s of Rekha Bharadwaj work as an attractive rustic foil against the smoothness of Javed Ali in the foreground and Anuradha Sriram at the back.

We come out of the jungle with ‘Khili re’, a ballad that happens to be the only song rendered by a single voice. And Reena Bhardwaj stretches the balladry with typical Rahmanian sweetness. It’s also the only song in which the poignancy Gulzar’s lyrics floats above the sound.

By the time you get to Ila Arun’s ‘Kata kata’, there’s a distinct feel that the Indian tribal is lip-synching sounds pickled in Indian, African and West Asian traditions. As with Tendulkar, we expect the world of ‘Jai ho’ Rahman. And more often than not, like Tendulkar, he delivers.

Live for the Acoustic

If there’s one sound that Ankur Tewari has pursued across what he calls ‘Hindi-Urdu rock-n-roll ballads’ it’s the acoustic. The sharpness that comes of it makes his debut album, Jannat, a refreshing morsel amid the butter-chicken richness of arrangements that’s de rigueur today.

The 10 original tracks are stitched together by Ankur’s guitar. The neon riffs by the album’s Lahore-based co-producer, Xulfi, and Constantino Francorsi, its Mumbai-based co-producer, etch spaghetti doodles behind the simplistic lyrics.

If there’s one weakness it’s the kitchen department. Fahd Shah’s drums are boring when they’re not unimaginative.

The ‘Doped’ version of the first song, ‘Chand chahiye’, is the album’s final tribute to the acoustic sound. Yes, it twangs.