Lara Dutta on FNL cover

Come February and the only name that strikes your mind is that of Valentine, the Love-God! This is that time of the year when red becomes the universal colour, which depicts and symbolizes love.

Well, the current issue of 'FNL' (Fashion N Life), a leading fashion mag, has their February issue in green, the reason being that it has none other then the eternal lady of all reasons and seasons Lara Datta, the 'Diva Of Romance' herself, posing in a dreamy background.

This issue has the Lara girl bare her heart out, touching upon various aspects like her family, modelling, her sense of style, competition, regrets, importance of being a woman, her take on art and commercial films, Bollywood and of course ...Love ( with a capital 'L').

A sincere request to all : PLEASE do keep the keys of your lockers ready, as you will definitely need to keep this copy under security, since it stands a huge chance of being stolen, considering the fact that the rumor-mill is going abuzz about ...Lara has broken up and is single, hence, ready to mingle!

Bollywood Hungama

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Preity Zinta does 'bhangra' on the streets

It's time for the Dil Se girl to celebrate. The reason being the launch of her IPL team Mohali, for the Twenty-20's inaugural tournament. She was accompanied by her beau Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman and Karan Paul. Preity and gang have started off with a SMS campaign for naming the still-unnamed Mohali team. The pretty Preity said that it's the love for the game of cricket that has got all of them together.

And with Tom Moody being roped in as its coach and Yuvraj Singh leading the gang (as the team's captain), Preity is pretty much confident that the Mohali team will win the inaugural Twenty-20 match.

Bollywood Hungama

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"Yes, I'm doing Raju Hirani's Idiots" - Aamir Khan

"Yes I am doing Raju Hirani's film being produced by Vinod Chopra tentatively titled Idiots," writes Aamir Khan in the latest entry on his blog aamirkhan.com thus confirming the speculation about the fate of Hirani's film. Aamir had acknowledged before the release of Taare Zameen Par that he is considering Hirani and Vinod Chopra's offer provided he likes the final script. His latest post confirms reclusive superstar's plans post Ghajini Remake this year.

Aamir begins his latest post by spilling the shooting plans, "Ghajini resumes, shooting today on the roads of Bombay." Reportedly, this action thriller has earned the unique distinction of being sold for a whopping Rs 90 crore. Confirming the same, Sandeep Bhargava, Head of The Indian Film Company said, "Ghajini has been the highest grossing Tamil hit. I believe that the remake of Ghajini will be one of the biggest films of this year. It stars Aamir Khan, so it's a special film. We have acquired it at a value that includes marketing and print expenses. We are working out a distribution strategy for the movie."

Talking about the famed resolutions to his fans, Aamir further writes, "I have managed to stick to no smoking, my workouts have begun again, diet is also getting back slowly though sometimes I break it, and sleeping is still not totally in place though that has seen an improvement too." Khan has been following a strict exercise regimen of three and a half hours and above for six days a week as he wants to get into super shape for the latter half of Ghajini as he shall be bare bodied for most parts. In fact he told his physical trainer Satyajit that he would make such a fantastic body that people will flock the theatres just to see his fine toned physique.

In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama last week Satyajit said, "Whenever you'll see him in the film, you'll say, wow that's Aamir Khan. For last one year he is working really hard He weighed 84 kgs but now he has lost around 16 kgs. I can't say much but he is looking superb." The perfectionist Khan has built a gym combining two garages within his society and it has cost him an eye-popping Rs 55 lakhs. He did pose for a magazine last month while exercising but he was wearing a full sleeves shirt for he doesn't wish to give away his toned look yet. Hmmmm….talk about being secretive!

It seems he has left the grand success of TZP behind and is looking forward to the road ahead. Yet there's some work left on his directorial debut. "As for DVD release of TZP… work on that is progressing but a little slow. Be assured that I am working very hard to come out with the best quality and some really special extras," Aamir writes. Well, knowing the man who stands true to most of what he says TZP DVD will be something to look forward to. As of now, how about try-n-get-the-info on where Aamir is shooting for Ghajini and letting us know pronto!

Faridoon Shahryar, Bollywood Hungama

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'OSO' a 'box-office hit' in Berlin Film Fest

The premiere of Hindi blockbuster "Om Shanti Om" was one of the most popular events of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival, which concludes here tonight with the awarding of the golden and silver bears for the best films in the competition section.

Berlinale sources told reporters that in terms of ticket sales, "Om Shanti Om" featuring superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the leading role was the 'box-office hit' of the 11-day festival.

No other films in the festival's 13 main sections had generated so much public interest as the premiere of the Farah Khan-directed film, they said.

Tickets for the four screenings it had in the Berlinale Special Programme were sold out within minutes after their sales were opened on the internet and many film fans spent overnight at the ticket counters to be the first to snatch the most sought-after tickets of the festival.

Some tickets were later offered for sales on the internet for prices exceeding ten to 12 times the original price.

Shah Rukh drew larger crowds than Hollywood celebrities like pop diva Madonna, director Martin Scorsese, film stars Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz or the Rolling Stones band when he visited Berlin to attend the German premiere, participants and festival organisers said.

Shah Rukh's Red Chillies Entertainment produced the movie for Indian film financing and distribution firm Eros Entertainment.

Sahara Samay

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"It is my pleasure to act with the superstar Rajnikanth." - Aishwarya

Aishwarya Rai has hit on the rumours which suggested that she has pulled out of Shankar's Robot due to her pregnancy. The Bollywood beauty has not only confirmed her plans to to play lead role opposite superstar Rajinikanth but also rubbished the baby rumours.

In an interview to a private television channel, the Bollywood beauty confirmed that she is being paied with Rajini and very much there in the project.

"I don't know why you people are so eager to spread such dubious gossip. The script too is very good so I'm going to act in the role of Rajini's leading lady in Robot. It is my pleasure to act with the superstar," she told.

"After hearing the gossip about my pregnancy, I got numerous phone calls from almost all over the world. Abhishek and I have planned to look at children after 3 years. Till that I'm going to push forward my career," she added.

According to some reports, Ash has been offered a hefty Rs 6 crore to act in the film. Robot will be made in three languages at an estimated cost of Rs. 125 crore.

Santabanta

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Ranbir is the cover boy of Cosmopolitan

Girls are in for a treat this February as B-town's latest heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor is the cover boy of fashion magazine Cosmopolitan. The dude with the drop-dead gorgeous looks can surely sweep a thousand girls of their feet with his charm.

The scion of the illustrious Kapoor family gives his fans a rare treat in this exclusive interview where he talks about his first crush, the most romantic thing his girl did for him and even his views on casual flings and one night stands. This surely makes an interesting read, doesn't it girls?

Bollywood Hungama

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Akshay and Twinkle in Goa

Akshay Kumar has bought an old Portuguese bungalow on the Anjuna beach in Goa. The deal is said to have cost over a whopping Rs 5 crore.

Last year, while staying in Anjuna, Tina saw the property; and brought it to Akshay’s notice. She was keen that they acquire it and took a keen interest in the deal — including looking into the papers and other details.

Ding dong well

Twinkle fell in love with the colonial house as soon as she set her eyes on it and Khiladi Kumar decided to buy the beach bungalow for the biwi.

Says a source close to Akshay, “He is in the process of finalising a deal with the owner of the bungalow. It’s an old Portuguese bungalow built more than 75 years ago with its own well, a large garden, and a compound wall. The bungalow may be old but it’s in a very good condition.”

Akshay and Twinkle love Goa and visit as often as they can get away from their busy schedules.

Designs galore

Tina, who is an interior designer has many ideas about how she wants to do up the place. Initially, they looked at the property as an investment but now they think of it as home, and want it to turn the place into a private retreat.

Adds the source, “Tina will be going there from time to time and refurbishing and designing the interiors and decorations according to Akshay’s and her taste.”

Upala KBR, Mid-Day

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Deepika’s beau trouble?

Its confirmed, at least for this week, Deepika Padukone’s boyfriend is Ranbir Kapoor. Rumours linking her and her various men change faster than box office collections on a Monday morning.

Last week, we heard that Deepika is back to her old boyfriend Nihar Pandya! However, we say Deepika and Ranbir are very much together and are enjoying each other’s company. The romance that flourished in hot, sunny Australia on the sets of Siddharth Anand’s next for Yash Raj is only getting more intimate here, in Amchi Mumbai!

Ranbir and Deepika have also recently shot for a Pepsi commercial with Shah Rukh Khan. People present on the set inform us that Ranbir and Deepika were very much comfortable together. In fact they enjoyed the shoot and loved spending quality time with each other. That’s not all, the couple were also spotted chatting and exchanging sweet nothings at a suburban coffee shop in Mumbai! And it was a really long coffee break as it spilled over to four hours.

It can be recalled that Deepika has chosen to keep mum about her affairs whenever asked. Whether it’s Nihar, Ranbir or Yuvraj Singh, this OSO girl has been linked up many times but more than explaining her side she has preferred to be silent!

But now we realize that her dimpled smile is speaking much more than her ...

Reshma Kelkar, Indiatimes Movies

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Aishwarya confirms acting in ‘Robot’

There was news making the rounds yesterday that we might not get to see the Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai acting opposite our superstar in the sci-fi flick ‘Robot’. The reason that was sighted that she wanted to have babies before she hits 35.

But Aishwarya herself has quashed all rumors and confirmed that she will be acting as Rajini’s heroine in Shankar-directed ‘Robot’. She has confirmed this in her latest interview to a private news channel.

Talks are going on that Aish will star in on more Manirathnam film soon. This film will be a bilingual in Hindi and tamil. The best part is that Aish will get to act opposite her Husband Abhishek Bachchan in this film too. The earlier film we saw the coming together of this real-life pair was in Manirathnam film ‘Guru’.

This whooping 125-crore big-budget film will soon start rolling, and we have reports that Aish has already received a whooping sum as advance for her role in this film. Aish has said that she has liked the script of ‘Robot’ in which she gets to essay a very different and novel role.

Now folks this confirmation from the lady herself has quashed all rumors suggesting that the Rajini-Aishwarya pair is jinxed!

IndiaGlitz

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'Devdas' director finds his 'Saawariya'!!

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is well known for his intense, poignant & stark subject films. People are hardly aware about his personal life, as the ace director always maintained silence on the personal front, but if the sources are to be believed, the intelligent director SLB & famous choreographer Viabhavi Merchant are ready to mingle, it quite surprised us.

The two worked together for several years for the films like HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM, DEVDAS and SAAWARIYA. But it was only during the making of SAAWARIYA the two vibrant talents got close to each other. From the last few months the couple has been seen together publicly. During SAAWARIYA premiere also Vaibhavi walked along with Bhansali's mother Leela & sister Bela. Very recently Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs landed at Bhansali's residence on the warm invite by his mother Leela. But to our surprise, also present to wish the kids were Vaibhavi Merchant & Music composer Ismail Darbar. Vaibhavi also once in 'Nach Baliye 3' hinted indirectly by saying that even she has a 'baliye' in her life, but didn't really reveal the name. Only now our grey cells have over worked to hint if the cat is out of the bag yet!!

By observing the flow of events it appears the two singles are ready to mingle, but are not ready to disclose anything as of now. We are not in a hurry either!

Well we are quite surprised to know about the couple (to be!), are you surprised too? What do you have to say...

Bollywood Trade News Network

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Jodhaa Akbar's 'kiss'a

We caught a preview of Ashutosh Gowariker’s epic tale of ‘lesser-known lovers’ Jodhaa Akbar yesterday at Adlabs
Studios, Film City.

In the span of three hours what unravelled, among other things, was a paean to the unmistakable chemistry between the lead pair, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

If you’re one of those people who believe that spouses weren’t intimate 500 years ago, get set for a re-education of sorts.Gowariker’s Jodhaa Akbar features a blink-and-miss romantic interlude between the Mughal emperor and his Rajput wife.

It begins with the thawing of the cold vibes between Akbar and his consort (to the tunes of Jashn-e-bahaara). Akbar gets touchy-feely and there are a few light kisses and a lingering peck on the cheek for his blushing biwi. Jodhaa (before this) has been fiercely independent and their marriage hasn’t been consummated. In the scene, she finally succumbs to her husband’s overtures.

Gowariker has aesthetically shot the lovemaking scene keeping in mind the period the story is set in. We’re guessing a few people won’t be too happy after the reviews (from critics and readers) come out and people start talking about the scene. Including a man named Abhishek Bachchan.

WHAT STANDS OUT IN JODHAA AKBAR
A bare-chested Hrithik practising his skill with the sword
His duel with an elephant
A scene where Akbar tells Jodhaa that he can neither read nor write
The swordfight between Jodhaa and Akbar after he goes to Amer (Jaipur) to manao her.
The Sufi number, Khwaja Mere Khwaja
The hand-to-hand combat between Niketan Dheer (Sharifuddin) and Hrithik (Jalaluddin Akbar)
The lovemaking scene between Jodhaa and Akbar
When he throws a close aide, Adham Khan headlong from the balcony (twice!) for killing Raza Murad’s character, Shamsuddin Atka Khan
The elaborate dance sequence after Akbar annuls pilgrimage tax (Azeem-O-Shaan-Shahenshah)

Bryan Durham, Mid-Day

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Katrina Kaif bags 2-film deal with Studio 18

Katrina Kaif is currently riding high. After all, she was one of the most successful actresses of last year with her films Namastey London., Welcome and Partner becoming blockbusters.

The stunning looking actress has now reportedly bagged a 2-film deal with Studio 18 for an astronomical amount of Rs.6 crores.

While neither Katrina nor Sandeep Bhargava (CEO-Studio 18) denied this, they were not really willing to reveal much about the deal.

Katrina who has already worked in Studio 18's films like Welcome, Namastey London and the forthcoming Singh Is Kinng seemed excited at the prospect of continuing the association.

Well, with a lot of big releases like Abbas Mustan's Race and even Subhash Ghai's Yuvraaj already in her kitty, this 'Kool Kat' is surely making hay while the sun shines brightly on her.

Bollywood Hungama

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