Raavana and Rajneeti will release between two weeks of each other

Mani Ratnam ’s Raavana, which is an adaptation of the Ramayana and Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti that is based on the Mahabharata, will release between two weeks of each other.

Initially, both the films were expected to hit the theatres in February 2010. But, due to the multiplex owners strike and a complex melee of other things the two epic films have been pushed to May 2010.

Trade circles are excited as the contemporary versions of the most followed Indian mythological tales will be pitted against one another. Raavana is very important for Aishwarya , who is playing Sita. So is Rajneeti for Katrina. An actor from the unit said, "Rajneeti is a very taut confrontation drama which will showcase Katrina in new light."

The two films have had their fair share of controversies. Nana Patekar walked out of Rajneeti three days before the film’s shooting came to an end, whereas, Bipasha Basu had to exit Raavana hours before the shoot.

Floods ravaged the sets of Raavana; and Manoj Bajpai’s accident put a small spoke in Rajneeti’s progress. And yet when it comes to the release, both films are expected to release around the same time.

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Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai will have portions shot in Portuguese

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Guzaarish’ which stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai will have portions shot in Portuguese. And hence, Hrithik and Ash have already hired Portuguese language experts who will help them with the accent and dialect for their respective roles.

Why Portuguese? As per sources, the film is set in the Goan period when people used to speak the language. In fact, erected sets of the film shows “Portuguese architecture and style”, reveal sources.

Apparently Bhansali insisted on getting someone who understood the fashion history of Goa under the Portuguese, who rule the state for 450 years and zeroed in on Kolkata-based Sabyasachi Mukherjee who’s currently working on many A- list projects like the Abhishek-Aishwarya Raavan and Amitabh-starrer Paa.

Bhansali has also asked Hrithik to put on weight for this movie -- and he already has gained some kilos. He’ll sport long hair and also a beard like Goan people preferred."

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Aishwarya Rai posed the Longines Prima Luna watches AD

 

Aishwarya Rai has been associated with and is the brand ambassador of Longines International for almost a decade now. She was down with her health problems lately but now is back with a bang. To start with, she recently posed for the new advertisement of Longines Prima Luna watches which will be aired soon. What attracts attention is her black backless gown which complements her beauty.

The ad has the Bachchan Bahu saying, ‘Elegance is an attitude’ and given the kind of attitude she exudes, we quite agree with her. Right?

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Yuvraj Singh and Aishwariya Rai named the most dangerous Indian celebrity

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh and Bollywood beauty Aishwariya Rai have overtaken Katrina Kaif as the most dangerous Indian celebrity to search in cyberspace, according to Internet security company McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE). For the second time in a row, McAfee researched India’s glamorous celebrities from the world of cinema, cricket and politics to reveal the riskiest celebrities on the Web.

Fans searching for ’’Yuvraj Singh downloads’’ or ’’Yuvaraj Singh wallpapers,’’ ’’ Yuvraj Singh photos,’’ ’’Aishwariya Rai wallpapers’’, ’’Aishwariya Rai screen savers and ’’Aishwariya Rai videos’’ have a one in five chance of landing at a Web site that’s tested positive for online threats, such as spyware, adware, spam, phishing, viruses and other malware. Searching for the latest celebrity news and downloads can cause serious damage to one’s personal computer.

Cricket Icons give tough competition to Bollywood Stars

Cricketers M S Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh rank third and sixth in the list giving some serious competition to our B’Town celebrities to grab the most dangerous web celeb title. It only proves the point that the successful and controversial stars are hot favourites amongst criminals of the Internet.

Kollywood fast picking up pace in the world of most Dangerous to Celebs

Young Kollywood siren (and popular tabloid subjects) Namitha and Shriya Saran edged out stars like Katrina Kaif. Namitha maintained her position consistently among the top five riskiest celebrities to search on the web.

McAfee compiled its second annual list using McAfee� SiteAdvisor� technology for celebrity names that produce the largest number of risky sites and overall risk percentage, when searched on the Web. The top 10 celebrities include:

Position Celebrity

Yuvraj Singh - His super sixes and his very controversial relationship status makes Yuvi an easy target for spammers and hackers.

Aishwariya Rai - Her marriage has not affected her popularity at all. Inputting ’’Aishwariya Rai screensavers’’ or ’’Aishwariya Rai wallpapers’’ into a search engine yielded a dangerous Web site linking to a distributor of adware and spyware.

M S Dhoni - The cricket heartthrob should be searched with caution. ’’Dhoni wallpapers’’ and ’’Dhoni videos’’ led to Web sites containing spyware which could make changes to a PC’s browser settings.

Namitha - The sexy siren from south seems to attract many fans including the hackers. But fans rarely know that their favourite could land them on Web sites containing browser exploits, as identified by McAfee SiteAdvisor technology.

Shriya Saran - The beautiful actress is as dangerous to search online as she is famous. Searching for ’’Shriya Saran’’ or Shriya Saran videos’’ can mislead unsuspecting surfers to sites with potentially damaging downloads.

Harbhajan Singh - Our very own spinner, Bhajji is a popular target for cybercriminals as well. A search for ’’Harbhajan Singh screensavers’’ can direct users to red-ranked sites that breached browser security and other unwanted programs in McAfee’s tests.

Sania Mirza - India’s No. 1 tennis star, who hit headlines recently with her engagement news, must have really broken a number of hearts. Fans searching for ’’Sania Mirza wallpapers/images’’ could be led to Web sites link to other harmful sites containing spyware and browser exploits.

Asin - When searching the latest B’Town damsel Asin, users could be lead to risky download Web sites, proving cybercriminals are in the business of capitalizing on the world’s most famous faces.

Bipasha Basu - The Bengali Beauty is a popular search term when it comes to searching for videos. A host of red and yellow rated sites show up containing numerous malware-laden downloads when searched for ’’Bipasha Basu videos’’.

Shahid Kapoor - Appearing in the second spot last year, the heartthrob fell towards the tenth position in this year’s list. However, the ’’Kaminey’’ star’s photos are the most searched for on the Web and lead to sites promoting free files with hidden malware or browser exploits

’’Cricket and Bollywood are two subjects about which every Indian is passionate about. It is no surprise that cybercriminals capitalize on celebrities from the world of sports and cinema to lure innocent fans to encourage the download of malicious software in disguise,’’ said Kartik Shahani, Regional Director - India, McAfee, Inc. ’’Its very common for malware authors to take advantage of current hot topics luring consumers to malicious websites they created. Users need to be cautious and should keep their antivirus/ security software updated with the latest versions.’’

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looks after Me!-Abhishek Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan may be shooting for many films.

No matter whose set she is on, or which city in the world she is travelling to,reports say that the gorgeous Ash makes sure that each day she organises husband Abhishek Bachchan’s day with precision.

Not only does she assure Abhishek gets his diet food, she also checks if his assignments are all in order. Ash may be a powerful woman in her own right, but that doesn’t stop her from making sure her house is in perfect order. No wonder, Abhi keeps saying on how lucky he is to have found his soul-mate.

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Good news for all you Shah Rukh and Aishwarya fans

They were last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas in 2002, and the famous rift during Shah Rukh’s Chalte Chalte seven years back turned their relations sour. And, the subsequent cold war between SRK and Amitabh Bachchan just made the scene shoddier.

However, there’s good news for all you Shah Rukh and Aishwarya fans! The duo has buried the past and has decided to move on. Reportedly, Ash would be seen in SRK’s next home production, which will get on floors in 2010.

We all are eager to see both together again.

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Aishwarya Rai has many hidden talents

Aishwarya Rai has many hidden talents. One is her ability to grasp languages quickly.

This, the unit of Shankar’s Robot discovered while shooting with Aishwarya. She was required to hold her own against the glib-talking super-talking Rajni Sir.

"And since Tamil isn’t really familiar territory for Aishwarya everyone including Rajni Sir and director Shankar was ready for several re-takes as she got used to the dialogue."

To everyone’s surprise Aishwarya got a grip of the language in no time at all.

"And she was soon rattling off the dialogues and getting hang of the emotions with equal skill in both the Hindi and Tamil takes.So much so that Rajni Sir who has waited for decades to work with Aishwarya was taken aback."

When asked about the above incident Aishwarya laughs, "Regional languages have never been a problem. I did a Bengali film Chokher Bali and I was able to get a hang of the complex intonations, though later they needed a particular sing-song tone and my voice had to be dubbed."

But the buzz in Robot is that they are planning to retain her Tamil lines in the final print.

Says the actress from Ooty, "I’m not at familiar with Tamil. My mother tongue Tulu is very different from Tamil. But you must remember my first film Iruvar was in Tamil and I had to say lengthy lines in that film. From my beginnings with Mani Ratnam in Tamil to this my second Tamil film of my career….it’s been quite a journey."

At the moment she’s shooting in the freezing cold in Oooty for Mani Ratnam with Abhishek. "We shifted from the jungles of Kerala to Ooty by car so I couldn’t accompany Abhishek. I’ve finish this schedule and go back to Shankar and Robot. Really gruelling."

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Aishwarya has been the brand ambassador of Longines

Longines brand ambassador Aishwarya Rai imparted glamour and glitter to the Royal Ascot Race Event at Ascot, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The actress has been quite busy these days but the lady was humble enough to spend her precious time admiring the creations displayed at the ramp in the Royal Ascot Fashion Show and to watch some racing in the afternoon.

The gorgeous star was all praises for the creations and said, “Royal Ascot is absolutely unique, an elegant, quintessentially British occasion. I am very happy to have been invited here by Longines.”

Aishwarya has been the brand ambassador of Longines for more than last 10 years and she also attended the Gala Dinner in the evening at the Farnham castle. It was during this gala dinner that the Bachchan Bahu revealed to Longines’ guests and the press three new ladies’ models from the Longines Master Collection.

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Hrithik Roshan will be seen in wheelchair mostly with Aishwarya Rai

The bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan is one such actor in Bollywood  who has tried his hand in variety of roles and has also been successful in his effort. In Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Guzaarish’, he is all set to play a paraplegic patient.

Hrithik as a patient will be seen in wheelchair mostly with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan nursing him. A source reveals, “Hrithik plays Ethan, a radio show host. Aishwarya plays a married nurse who is also Hrithik’s caregiver. The film also deals with the controversial subject of mercy killing/euthanasia. Ash’s character is interesting because she plays a married woman who gets attracted to Hrithik as the second half progresses. The film has dark tones throughout.”

Hrithik is quite excited about his role as it is altogether different from what he has performed earlier. To bring perfection to his character, he is researching the character and meeting Bhansali to understand his role in a better way. The film will completely change his image and audience will get to see a new Hrithik Roshan.

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Fardeen and Aishwarya exchanged notes like two wounded war veterans

The Padma Shri pair Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan rushed back from different parts of the world to resume shooting for Vipul Shah’s Action Replay in Karjat on the outskirts of Mumbai at Nitin Desai’s studio.

But while Akshay proceeded straight from the airport on landing from Singapore Aishwarya on landing from Cannes took a day off on Monday to spend with her parents before leaving for Karjat.

“It was a long spell. Shooting in Karjat for prolonged periods is not new to Aishwarya. For Jodhaa-Akbar she was stationed in Karjat for so long that it became her second home. But now circumstances have changed.

After her father’s illness, Aishwarya doesn’t like to be away from Mumbai for prolonged periods. Even when she was shooting in the jungles of Kerala for Mani Ratnam Aishwarya made sure she visited Mumbai to be with her father.

Though she never lets it show in her work being away from home is very difficult for her now and would like to shoot as much as possible in Mumbai. Ironically almost all her films are being shot outside the city. ”

Her father’s health scare has bonded Aishwarya with others who are similarly traumatized by terminal illness in the industry.

Says a source, “Aishwarya kept track of Feroz Khan’s health through Fardeen and when he passed away she was deeply affected. At the prayer meeting Fardeen and Aishwarya exchanged notes like two wounded war veterans.”

Father’s health is now Aishwarya’s primary cocern. On landing from Cannes on Monday Aishwarya decided to break her journey to spend a day with her parents.

“It was something I had to do. I did it more for myself than for them, ” she said before taking off to Karjat.

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Bollywood stepped out to elect the future leaders of their nation

Exhibiting support and concern, our very own Bollywood  stepped out to elect the future leaders of their nation will be. Not even threats of swine flu could keep these patriots away! And most of them had loads to say about what they thought.

Aamir Khan who is constantly at the front position of politics, giving his outlook and is always well versed in the issues was certainly spotted voting. He said “I have travelled 48 hours to cast my vote, so people can certainly go out from their homes to cast their vote. If you love your country, this is the day to show it. I’m happy to see so many senior citizens casting their vote here. I appeal to the youngsters to come out and vote…Being an Indian it is our duty to come…every citizen should come out and vote and this is why I am here…We should elect good people… who don’t divide the country. We should elect clean and honest people in politics.”

John Abraham also expressed his own views “After November 26th, you saw the power of democracy. People were very angry against the government. The chief minister (of Maharashtra state) had to resign…That’s the power of democracy.” His new film ‘New York’ portrays the city after the September 11th assault reverberates his personal views in India.

Shahrukh Khan too shared his views- “People expect politicians to solve problems immediately. But it’s not that easy. It takes time. That’s why we should vote and give a chance to better people.” It seemed like Shahrukh Khan hit it right on the nose with the desire to vote for the right people who will make a change.

We here applaud the concern and support displayed by our actors and its time for us to share our responsibilities of a good citizen. Jai Ho!

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Exclusive:The most controversial Bollywood famous kisses

 

Days ago, Slumdog Millionaire pair Dev Patel and Freida Pinto were spotted kissing at a restaurant in Israel. It set off the hype machine as expected. So we thought it would be a good time to revisit the kissa of some (in)famous kisses.

Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty 

A lecture on safe sex for truck drivers turned into a media circus because Gere -- who is an international ambassador on spreading awareness about HIV AIDS -- planted an enthusiastic kiss on Shilpa’s cheek. Little did Gere know that his cheeky act would land both Shilpa and him in hot water with Indian fundamentalists, who burned Shilpa’s effigies and slapped obscenity charges against Gere. It was only a year after the controversial kiss that the Supreme Court decided to drop all charges against Gere, telling the star that he was more than welcome to visit the country again.

 

Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan

These two had such chemistry in Dhoom 2 that the fireworks that resulted out of that almost burned them.Hrithik and Ash shared their first onscreen kiss in this stylish film but the timing seemed to be wrong. Ash’s impending wedding to Abhishek made the Bachchans see red. The kiss was later edited out of the film. But not before a lawyer from Muzaffarpur named Sudhir Kumar Ojha slapped obscenity charges against Hrithik and Ash. However, no action was taken against the stars.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo and Bipasha Basu 

Bipasha went to Lisbon to unveil the new Seven Wonders of the World, and bumped into the Manchester United star. The two hit it off and decided to hang out at a nightclub. According to sources, they shared a raunchy kiss as well. To make things worse for the couple, they were apparently snapped while at it. The media had a field day after that, prompting Bips to clarify to a leading newspaper that the ’picture was taken at an opportune moment and has been taken out of context.’’Again, it looks like a case of irresponsible assumptions,’ she said.

 

Rakhi Sawant and Mika

Knowing Rakhi, this could have been just another publicity stunt. The infamous kiss between Rakhi and the Punjabi singer took place at Mika’s birthday party. As soon as Mika finished cutting the birthday cake, he treated himself to a kiss with Rakhi in full view of everyone, including the media. Later, an indignant Rakhi complained to whoever would listen about Mika’s act.

 

Shahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor

No, we’re not talking about their cute Jab We Met kiss. In 2004, alleged pictures of the then lovebirds kissing in a pub made it to newspapers. Both Shahid and Kareena denied the pictures, with Kareena claiming that the pictures were morphed. The couple decided to take legal action against the newspaper but the controversy soon faded away.

 

Riya Sen and Ashmit Patel

Riya knows how to grab attention. Whether it is wearing a bikini in Shaadi No 1 or sharing on-screen kisses with co-stars Ashmit Patel in Silsiilay and Sharman Joshi in Style, she sure knows how to push the envelope. But the actress recoiled in horror when a 90-second video clip -- allegedly showing her then boyfriend Ashmit Patel and her in compromising positions -- made its way around town. The couple split up right after.

 

Shabana Azmi and Nelson Mandela 

When Nelson Mandela visited India in 1993, he was caught in an unexpected controversy. Shabana Azmi met the former President of South Africa at a social event and kissed him on his cheek, inviting the wrath of the Muslim community.

 

Padmini Kolhapure and Prince Charles 

Here’s one Bollywood actress, who got to kiss royalty. The year was 1979, and the royalty was none other than Prince Charles. Padmini, just a teenager then, managed to sidestep security and plant a kiss on the Prince’s cheek. Needless to say, the kiss created quite a scandal.

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Aishwarya Rai to star with her ex lover Vivek Oberoi again

History repeats itself. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is going to star with her ex lover Vivek Oberoi again. The film in question is titled, ‘Tansen’ to be directed by Satish Kaushik and to be produced by Rajshri Productions. It will also have Abhishek Bachchan and Anil Kapoor in the pivotal role.

‘Tansen’ is said to be one of the costliest film to be ever made in India. The film is based on the real life incident of Mughal court singer. The main role of ‘Tansen’ will be played by Abhishek Bachchan . The film will be shot in Bangkok first and then in Australia and New Zealand.

As the cast and the crew have been decided, the shooting of the film will be commenced from next month.

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Aishwarya Rai set the screen on fire again

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was last seen in Hollywood film Pink Panther 2 which came to India but Ash wasn’t the lead actress in it. So how long will fans of her Bollywood films have to wait to see the beauty set the screen on fire again? 

Ash had two releases in 2008: Jodhaa Akbar and Sarkar Raj. Both the films did well at the box office and Ash’s performance was appreciated in both. 

Jodhaa Akbar released in February while Sarkar Raj released in June 2008. Ash, who is currently in Delhi where she received India’s most prestigious awards premiere will return to Mumbai after some days to resume filming for Vipul Shah’s Action Replay.

But before that she was shooting with her hubby for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan which is set to release at the end of 2009 and is most likely going to be Ash’s next Hindi release after Sarkar Raj.

The film also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Vikram, Govinda and Manisha Koirala. The film is a modern day re-telling of the Ramayana. Ash will play Sita, a contemporary accomplished Carnatic musician while Vikram is Rama and Abhishek is Raavan.

Ash is also shooting for the Tamil version of the film, Ashokavanam, which will release at the same time as Raavan. Both the films have been shot in the interiors of South India.

After Raavan and Ashokavanam, Ash’s next release is Shankar’s sci-fi special-effects laden thriller Endhiran with Rajnikanth. 

The film has been shot in the exotic locales of Brazil and Goa in India. Ash will be seen in colorful costumes in this film. The plot of the film revolves around Ash and Rajnikanth.

The twist in the story is that Rajnikanth invents a robot called Endhiran who also falls in love with Ash. The film will release on April 2010 and after that Vipul Shah’s Action Replay with Akshay Kumar is also on the pipeline. The release date of that film is not yet out.