We as family want to go beyond moviemaking: Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai says she as well as the Bachchan household wants to do much more than moviemaking, and the opening of a rural school for girls in Uttar Pradesh named after her is the first step in that direction.

"I'm so glad I have married into a family that feels the same. They're very sensitive about life itself and I'm very glad that we as a family feel the need to do a lot more beyond our craft," Aishwarya, who is the daughter-in-law of Amitabh Bachchan, told IANS in a telephonic interview.

"This is our initial step in this direction and with everybody's support and blessings, we should be able to do a lot more in life ahead."

Aishwarya does not mind the constant public glare when something as innocuous as visiting a temple with her in-laws draws the paparazzi by the hordes.

"I think, as Pa (superstar Amitabh) has very rightly put it in several interviews before me, the fact is that today there is just a lot more media attention. We have always gone to temples or places of worship individually, even before I married into this family.

"It's just a way of life, but I guess with the widespread reach of the media today and with them being everywhere and with the number of television channels and websites and newspapers and magazines, it's going to happen," she said.

Recently, an Indian television channel, India TV, claimed that Aishwarya and top Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie could be related as research has shown that all blue-eyed people have common ancestry from centuries ago.

"This is crazy," the surprised actress broke into peals of laughter. Like most of the times, she was completely rooted to the ground, unfazed by "the strange biological parallel."

Commenting on her "foray" into Hollywood, Aishwarya said: "You know I've always said that it is not a foray - I'm not going anywhere.

"I'm just very glad of the fact that I've been fortunate enough to be able to work in cinema in the larger sense of the term, irrespective of the language or the place in the world it has been made in.

"So, be it Tamil movies; be it a Bengali film; Hindi movies; and a couple of English movies; time is a huge deciding factor in my schedule. The last English film I acted in was 'The Pink Panther 2', which will be released probably by the end of the year or early next year. Let's see what the future holds for me (in Hollywood)!"

Aishwarya will be on board for a Tamil film directed by Shankar opposite Tamil superstar Rajnikant. Titled "Robot", the film is a Rs.1 billion-project and it will be her second movie with Shankar after "Jeans" in 1988.

Incidentally, the 57-year-old southern icon Rajnikant has a daughter named Aishwarya.

Speaking about her forthcoming release "Jodhaa Akbar", which releases worldwide Feb 15, the actress said: "The decision was an instant 'Yes!' Given the character and the script and the subject, it is an actor's dream to be part of such a project."

Asked how it was working with Hrithik Roshan on two movies - "Dhoom 2" and "Jodhaa Akbar" - back-to-back, she said: "I was very lucky to get to work with Hrithik in two movies. They were so diverse in genre, energy and personality.

"At one end is 'Dhoom 2', which was so contemporary - joyous, fast and bold and today and fun! It was just wild energy. At the other end, we immediately delved into the subject with 'Jodhaa Akbar', which is so detailed, so researched and yet so pure, so spontaneous and innocent."

Aishwarya and Hrithik shared good screen chemistry in "Dhoom". And in "Jodhaa Akbar", the vibes were just as good.

"Hrithik and I became friends on the sets of 'Dhoom' because we were all part of a team working in the movie. Hrithik and (my husband) Abhishek grew up together. They were childhood friends and I instantly became a part of the team.

"The energy that we share, the comfort level that we share; I think that is what translates into chemistry on screen."

Talking about her swashbuckling, sword-fighting scene, Aishwarya said she had not undergone any formal training: "The Hollywood film 'The Last Legion' was my first experience of sword-fighting and I took to it instantly. But even here, there was no time for any kind of formal training. We did it right there on the sets."

The former Miss World will also star in a Hindi film by Sriram Raghavan, featuring John Abraham.

"He is putting the final touches to the script. When he is ready with the script, we'll decide on the schedule and when it will go on the floor."

http://www.bollywoodworld.com/

We as family want to go beyond moviemaking: Aishwarya Rai

Small or big screen, Shah Rukh Khan is the king. He acts, dances, plays host - in short he is a true entertainer. After being on a winning spree with two blockbusters "Chak De! India" and "Om Shanti Om", he turns to television this year with two game shows.

The first one is tentatively titled "Bade Hue to Kya Hua", which is formatted on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader", a US-based game show featuring adult contestants facing questions picked directly from the textbooks of first to fifth graders.

It will be aired on STAR Plus. "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" is very popular abroad and is running in 50 countries.

Produced by Siddharth Basu's Synergy Adlabs, this is Shah Rukh's second game show for the company after the hugely successful "Kaun Banega Crorepati 3" (KBC) for the same channel.

"Shah Rukh will be hosting the Indian version of 'Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader', the biggest reality show of the past year in the US, which will be produced by Synergy Adlabs," Basu, head of Synergy Adlabs, earlier told IANS.

Reports suggest that Shah Rukh will also host the fourth season of KBC.

"We don't know when KBC is going to happen. It might come after 'Bade Hue to Kya Hua' or the end of the year. According to the contract signed between Shah Rukh and STAR, he will finish the series he has signed for," said a source close to STAR Plus.

For his first stint on KBC, Shah Rukh apparently got Rs.10 million per episode, but his remuneration for the new show is still under wraps.

Not only in films and television, he is an even bigger king of the advertising world. The superstar has paid an advance tax of Rs.270 million ($6.8 million) on his estimated income during the current financial year of 2007-08, but a major share of it has gone into paying for his income from endorsing a slew of products and other sources.

Sources in the advertising agency for which the superstar has worked reveal that his income from endorsements fetches him Rs.1.5 billion ($38 million) a year, the highest for any Indian advertising "model".

Apart from that Shah Rukh is the costliest celebrity guest. When actors like Malaika Arora Khan, Dia Mirza and Isha Koppikar charge nearly Rs.1 million to perform at a marriage, the Badshah of Bollywood charges Rs.10 million to just grace the function and add glamour.

http://www.bollywoodworld.com/

Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor to appear in ‘Tevar’

The magical pair of Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor will in all probability be seen in a new film ‘Tevar’ for Yash Raj Films’ to be directed by Shaad Ali. Akshay and Kareena have already done quite a few movies together including ‘Aitraaz’, ‘Bewafaa’ and ‘Ajnabee’. Shaad Ali has already done the hit ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ and the flop ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’ for Yash Raj Films.

This will be Akshay’s second film with Yash Raj, after the upcoming film, ‘Tashan’. The only other time Akki had worked with Yash Raj was in a guest appearance in ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’.

At present, Kareena is busy with quite a few projects like, ‘Tashan’, ‘Golmaal Returns’, and ‘Kismat Talkies’.’

Source :www.bollywood-stars.net

Aftab Shivdasani and Hansikaa Motwani - New love-birds?

They would make the cutest pair in the tinsel town. If the sources are to be believed former child actors (of course grown-ups now) Aftab Shivdasani and Hansika Motwani are seeing each other.

The pair has been spotted on numerous occasions, in Mauritius, enjoying each other’s company and generally living it up. The two actors are in Mauritius as per their shooting commitments.

It so happened that one fine day, the cast and crew of the ‘Money Hai Toh Honey Hai’ began asking actress Hansikaa Motwani what actor Aftab Shivdasani was doing in her room. Shocked by the question, she tried her level best to explain that Aftab had never entered her room and that they had got it all wrong. After thirty minutes of justifications and explanations, Hansikaa was almost on the verge of tears when Govinda told her that it was just a joke they were playing on her.

There is no smoke without fire, dear Hansikaa!

http://www.bollywood-stars.net/

Carol Gracias’ wardrobe malfunction shot by Kangana Ranaut

This could be the boldest scene done by any actress in recent times. Kangana Ranaut is playing a supermodel in Madhur Bhandarkar’s upcoming film ‘Fashion’. The movie is Bhandarkar’s exposé of the fashion industry and the scene in question is inspired from a real life incident that took place two years ago.

At a fashion show at Lakme Fashion Week in 2006, the top of model Carol Gracias’halter neck dress came off while she was walking on the ramp, and her bare bust was exposed to the cameras and the audiences. Now, Bhandarkar has incorporated a similar scene in ‘Fashion’. The scene shows Kangana Ranaut walking on a ramp when her top slips down.

Kangana willingly offered to shoot the scene herself ruling out the possibility for a body double. While shooting the scene on Wednesday, Madhur kept minimum possible people on the sets. Moreover, Carol herself dropped on the sets to check out the scene. She did not interfere with anything and left as soon as the scene was shot.

http://www.bollywood-stars.net/

Shahrukh Khan gearing up for his Kolkatta team

Bollywood and Cricket, two of the countries biggest passions have now officially come together. Some of bollywood’s biggest stars have bid mega bucks and won at an auction of city franchises of the Indian Premier League, the BCCI’s (Indian cricket board) mega-hyped Twenty-Twenty competition. Shahrukh Khan along with good friend and actress Juhi Chawala and her husband Jai Mehta won the Kolkatta team with a bid of $75.09 million.

Preity Zinta and beau Ness Wadia won the Mohali team with a bid of $76 million. There were several other groups who bid and won different teams.Shahrukh Khan was very happy to win the Kolkatta team and said “I have already decided on the entertainment part but we have not decided on the core and content of the team. We want to put together a winning combination, for which I would definitely seek advice of the experts.”

Shahrukh has now already started making plans for his team. SRK has decided to give his Kolkata team a new look with designer uniforms designed by her favorite designer Anahita Shroff. He has also appointed Vishal-Shekhar to compose a song which has a lot of punch and a winner attitude.

Vishal confirms the news saying “Yes, we met Mr. Khan recently. We have been given about a month’s time to get a tune ready for his IPL team. We’ve been told that the tune should be one that represents a winner.”

Source : http://www.bollywood-stars.net/

‘Hats and wigs’ birthday bash for Preity Zinta and Amrita Arora

Two beautiful Bollywood ladies share their birthdays on the same day- January 31. While Amrita Rao threw a theme party of ‘Wigs and Hats’ on Jnauary 30th night, she had Preity Zinta as her surprise guest. The two Aquarian girls even cut a cake together.

Says Preity, “Amrita is a really really sweet girl and she has been inviting me every year for us to celebrate our birthday together. This year I said I had to go. Besides it was a theme party…wigs and hats. And I love hats. I’m a very hat person. So I went in one of my favourite hats. Thank God I didn’t wear the big blonde wig as I was planning to because the whole industry was there. How would I’ve looked?”

Preity turns 33 this year and says that constant reference to her age by media irritates her. With her cricket deal finalized just a few days back, Preity was in a series of meetings on the eve of her birthday. However, on her birthday she relaxed at home watching a DVD, resting and sleeping.


Source : http://www.bollywood-stars.net/