Ayesha Takia is still the blushing bride

New Delhi She has been married for a month, but Ayesha Takia is still the blushing bride. Seated in the green room of photographer Vicky Idnani’s studio, touching up her make-up for a photo shoot, the 23-year-old actor laughs, “Seriously, being married makes me realise we should have done this the very first day we met. I recommend it to everyone.”


Takia and restaurateur Farhan Azmi dated for five years before they finally tied the knot. While many in Bollywood dated, broke up and found new love, Azmi and Takia went about town, professing their love for each other. “We got into the relationship knowing well that we would get married,” she says.


There have been rumours that the daughter-in-law of a political family — Farhan’s father Abu Azmi is a Samajwadi Party MP — would not return to the glamour world, but Takia is now shooting for Revathy S Sharma’s untitled film. She is still virginal in certain matters, though. The actor has maintained that, marriage or not, she won’t kiss onscreen nor will she wear a bikini. But in times like these when bikinis make the fortunes of top actors, why the fuss? “I’ve been brought up to believe it is my work that matters. And if the directors feel I am asking for too much, they are free to approach other actors.”


One of her career’s greatest ironies is that while her performances have received a slew of awards, none of her films has been a hit. “Of course, I would like my films to do well, but I am pretty used to them doing average business. It would be an insult if they ran down my performance,” she says.

Would things change with 'Paathshala' where she acts opposite Shahid Kapoor, and ‘Wanted: Dead and Alive’ with Salman Khan? “I am really excited about the latter because it is a typical masala film, something I have never done before,” she grins.

Sharma’s woman-oriented film will have Takia go de-glam again, which seems to be the latest trend in the industry. “For me, it isn’t about following a trend. If I was part of the numbers game, I would have done very different films,” she says.

Shilpa and Preity fight it out!

Preity Zinta loves her team and what she can do, no one else can! Well, we are not saying this. The one-liner comes from Preity Zinta.

But what made the peppy girl and co-owner of Kings XI say this? That's because Shilpa Shetty reportedly took a dig at Preity by saying she will never run to the ground and hug her team.

Well, Shilpa we say, right now you should worry more about the team's mood than your own mood. Encourage them and give them a jaadu ki jhappi. After all that is what Preity has done in the past! She has made sure her team is in a pepped-up mood before every match. But then you don't agree with Preity at all, isn't it?

This is what Preity told a leading film magazine, "What I can do, no one else can. The way I do things is different and have always been different from everybody else. My team is like my family."

It's all about India's biggest cricketing extravaganza and the IPL babes are indulging in off-the-field slug match.

Indeed, this lady has been there and done that, be it the last IPL or the current season.

So, is Preity indicating that Shilpa doesn't take her team as a family?

Well, Halla Bol may be the Royal Anthem of Rajasthan Royals and the lady may have done her bit by doing her latkas and jhatkas but Preity has been quick to point out the difference between her and Ms. Shetty. It's all about the warmth of a hug you see.

"I was there from inception, from the first bid, the first auction. I've grown with them," says Preity.

So is Preity hinting that Shilpa has joined the IPL in Season 2 and was not there with the Royals from Day 1?

So will the Lioness have the last roar or will the Royal queen have the last laugh? We are watching intently!

Preity not glad with IPL team or its fans

Preity’s IPL team Kings XI Punjab did not start on the note that she would have wanted it to. And this, she says, despite the fact that her players have the best looking T-shirts in the entire league! The superstar is also not satisfied with the number of supporters for her team, even when she knows her team has a huge fan following in Punjab and has supporters spread across the world. She, instead, calls for a bigger fan base.

“Of course, all Punjabis will be supporting us. All cricket lovers will be supporting the IPL and us. And all those women who supported us last year, we want more of you to come and support us this year,” she says.

Talking about how this year’s IPL tournament faced difficulties and improbabilities in the beginning, she said it’s best to find opportunities in difficulties.

“I think you should find an opportunity in every adversity. For the IPL association and all the teams in the league, this one is a big opportunity to fly down to South Africa and capture the cricket lovers there,” she says.

“IPL was not going to happen at all as per media reports and now it has flagged off with great fanfare. So whatever happens, happens for the best,” the actress says. We say, why would things be bad for the beautiful actress, after all she has beau Ness Wadia standing beside her.

What we also learnt is Preity has ensured she doesn’t have to confront difficult questions from the media about her personal life.

According to sources, Preity is giving stern looks to anyone who tries to ask her to talk about her personal life, especially questions pertaining to Ness.

We guess her only concern right now is to make her team perform well at the IPL.

Mallika Sherawat has a Hollywood milkshake named after her

Washington, Apr 20 : Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat joined the league of Hollywood celebs including Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, Victoris Beckham, David Beckham and Paris Hilton, after a Hollywood milkshake was named after her.


Mallika, who visited Millions of Milkshakes in West Hollywood, has been honored with her very own milkshake called the ‘Mallika shake’, reports Contactmusic.

The Mallika shake includes blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and chocolate sauce.

To make the shake more appealing, it has been topped with whipped cream.

Meanwhile, the actress is in Tinseltown to promote her new horror film ‘Hisss’.

Pinto loses 'most beautiful woman' title to Angelina Jolie

New York: Indian actress Freida Pinto was fancied ahead of favourites like Carla Bruni, Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow in a poll by Vanity Fair which crowned Angelina Jolie as the most beautiful woman.

The magazine had a list of 19 women from across the globe out of which 33-year-old Jolie swept the poll with 58 per cent votes to become the world's most beautiful woman.

The competition wasn't even close, as supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who ranked second, got just 9 per cent of the total votes. Oscar-winning star Halle Berry ranked third with 4 per cent.

' Slumdog Millionaire' actress Pinto, who was the only Indian to feature in the list, garnered 2 per cent of the total votes along with actress Cate Blanchette and popstar Beyonce.

Pinto, however, was ahead of France's first lady Carla Bruni, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Elle Macpherson, Kerry Washington and Kate Moss, who got only 1 per cent of the total votes.

The 24-year-old Indian beauty was a surprise entry in the list which ignored Hollywood superstars like Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman.

Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson, model Bar Rafaeli and Queen Rania of Jordan made it even at 3 per cent.

Preity Zinta slams media!

Bollywood actress Preity Zinta has slammed media, saying she would take action against them, if they don’t stop publishing rumors against her.

Preity is up in arms over her “break up” stories with boyfriend Ness, printed in a Mumbai Newspaper.

Preitylashed media for spreading rumors, writing in her blog at itimes “It’s ridiculous how media sits and writes anything they feel like without even the decency and the journalistic norm of contacting all parties - well in advance - for their side of the story.”

Not only this, the actress has alleged that the journalist who wrote the story contacted to get her views only once the story was published in the newspaper. Preity says, she would take strong action against any false rumours or stories.

The actress clarifies in her blog post “ I don’t like discussing this so publicly, but the point here is, I want to clarify what is right and wrong. People cannot write anything wrong about someone and get away with it.”

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan tops the Power List as The Most Powerful Female actor in India

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a woman of substance and there is surely no doubt about it. Recently a survey conducted by a popular research agency, Hansa Research revealed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the most powerful female actor racing ahead of the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and even Madhuri Dixit.

This was the first ever extensive research that was conducted of such magnitude to measure Celebrity Power in India; concentrating on different attributes like Popularity, media presence, power of persuasion and image attributes. This all India research also revealed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is amongst the most persuasive and likeable celebrity in India. She has also garnered over 98.8% of recognition as well as recall value which is at par with cinematic legends like Amitabh Bachchan and cricketing star Sachin Tendulkar; incidentally she is the only female who is part of the top 10 recognized celebrities from all walks of life.

The survey also divulged that Aishwarya is clearly one of the most popular faces among classes as well as the masses. In an otherwise male dominated society Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has clearly emerged as the woman on top. -Sampurn Media

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Shahana’s emotionally draining experience in Jashnn

Shahana Goswami won the hearts of critics and audiences alike with her endearing act in Rock On. She followed her award winning performance with good acts in Rubaru and Firaaq and now she will be seen next in one of her most challenging roles of that of an alcoholic and neurotic lady in Mahesh Bhatt’s Jashnn.
Revealing about her challenging act in Jashnn, Shahana states, “I play Nisha who tries to support her brother Akash (played by Adhyayan Suman), both financially and emotionally. Her brother dreams of becoming a big rock star and my character and Anjana Sukhani’s (she plays his girlfriend) help him to fulfill his dreams. But Nisha is dependant by all means on one man. She is in love with that man despite him being married. Though she desperately wants to get out of this explosive relationship she can’t do that easily. She is an alcoholic who often cries and loudly shouts to vent out her frustrations. My character suffers a lot of hardships.”
She further adds, “Jashnn is a high strung emotional drama. All the relationships in the film run very deep and are portrayed very real.”
“Though shooting for it has been one emotionally draining experience, it has all been worth it.” she concludes. -Sampurn Media

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Meghna Naidu, Anjana Sukhani, Sakshi Tanwar at Suvidha Awards

VJ Sophie, Simra Kaur, Vijay Mallya along with other top models at Mcdowell Signature Derby

Mallika to endorse 'Playboy'

Hot and sexy Atlanta from Assam to Bollywood.

‘Wipe off your make-up,’ Mani tells Aishwarya

One of the most beautiful ladies of tinsel town has to do away with rouges, lipsticks and eyeliners. Reason? Director Mani Ratnam wants Ash to look raw and jaded for the second half of the film.

As per the plot of the film, Ash plays Vikram ’s wife. But she is abducted by Abhishek Bachchan and taken to a forest. In this phase of the story, Ratnam doesn’t want Ash to look glam.

So he’s reportedly instructed the unit to let Ash have a no make-up, clean and raw look when she faces the camera.

But if reports from the shooting unit are to be believed, there have been times when Ash has sneaked out to apply minimal make-up before the shoot. However, Mani’s scrutinizing eye spots the make-up.

The director would then politely tell Ash to go and wipe off her face.

Poor Ash! She troubles herself so much with make-up when there are many who would happily watch her even without greasepaint on.

Priyanka Chopra with Nielson Box Office award

It’s being raining awards for you,What’s the significance of the latest addition to your tally - The Nielsen Box-Office Award?
Thank you! I am glad and there’s more to come hopefully. The Nielsen Box-Office Award is my first international award after Miss World and it’s for my film work. In such a short span, I get an award categorised as Outstanding Achievement in the field of Indian cinema, it means a lot to me because it includes the film fraternities of all the Eastern countries. I am grateful that I was picked out .
Didn’t you make a long acceptance speech there?
It was so difficult because I had to thank so many people for helping me get this award. It was dedicated to all the producers and directors who showed faith in me. I thanked the Indian film fraternity.
Priyanka, let’s go back to the very beginning. Can you recall your earliest award?
I was four years old, I performed a Kathak piece and I won. This was in Lucknow. I remember going on the stage and not knowing what to do or say (guffaws).
Have you always been competitive?
Yes I am very competitive. I compete with everyone and with myself. I like to improve with every film and that’s very important for me. Each film has to be better than the last one. I think I am most competitive with myself. Be it a film or a frame, I like to give the best of my ability.
How tough is the competition for you today?
Whether it is today, yesterday or earlier - the competition was always tough. If it weren’t tough, you would become complacent. So even if the competition isn’t tough, you have to think it is tough.
Which is your next most coveted award - the National Award?
Probably! In India, that’s the most coveted award and it’s one award I haven’t received. Hopefully in the future sometime I might.
Is there also a sneaking itch to grab the Oscars too?
There’s always an itch like that in an actor. Every trophy means the most to me and I can’t say if my gratitude and excitement will be less or more with an Oscar, Screen or National Award. Each one would mean that much to me but a global honour means competing with the world - and that would be exciting.
You have always been a Screen favourite, from the Most Promising Newcomer (Andaaz), Best Role in a Negative Role (Aitraaz) and now the Best Actor (Female) for Fashion.
My first debut award, my first-ever award and my first performance have all been for Screen. Screen also gave me the first award for Fashion, which validated my performance that was so scary to do and unconventional too. The season’s first award for such a role from Screen only made me feel great and made me comfortable for the days ahead.
Would Kaminay be your next release? What are you taking home from the film, apart from Marathi?
I have done something different with Kaminay - I play a Maharashtrian girl in it and I have also learnt Marathi for it. Hopefully it will be as accepted as other films. More than taking away something, I give away a lot to my films. A part of my soul goes away with each film and by the time I retire I hope to be soulless (Laughs).
But seriously, with Kaminay I have taken away a lot from Vishal Bhardwaj, my director- a great learning experience from him about being an actor and defining the character. He is one of the brilliant directors in the country and also the best human being. I have a great working relationship with him.
A lot is being spoken about your on- and-off-screen chemistry with your co-star, Shahid Kapoor. Comment.
It’s been great working with Shahid. He’s one of the most talented actors in today’s generation. It was fabulous working with him.
Do you believe in astrology? Ashutosh Gowariker is a passionate maker. What was that one lesson you learnt during the making of What’s Your Rashee?
I am not that superstitious really, but after working in What’s Your Rashee? I have become more aware about horoscope and astrology. What working with Ashu-sir has taught me is how one can completely give oneself up to a director, when Ashu-sir is there I don’t have to worry about anything - my character, the way I look or the film have wholeheartedly submitted myself to him - I trust and believe in him that much.
I have another month to shoot for Rashee?.
What’s the update on Don 2?
I am not sure about it right now because that’s something that’s a little far away right now. But whenever it happens, it will be something very exciting from whatever Mr Khan has discussed with me. It will be a fabulous comeback.
What about YRF’s Jugal Hansraj- directed Pyaar Impossible co-starring Uday Chopra?
I am very excited about it. It is a very sweet story and a fabulous romcom that I shall be shooting for soon after Rashee. We will shoot in Singapore, Bangkok and India. Screen

Mallika to endorse 'Playboy'

Ranbir is Bipasha's 'Lucky Boy'

Kangana sizzles for fashion magazine cover

Indian Kittens

Curious Case of Sreedevi

The multi Oscar winning Hollywood film, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, has caught the fancy of many people in India too.


One is not sure whether a filmmaker in India will attempt a film like …Benjamin Button in which the hero (Brad Pitt) is born like an old man (wrinkled skin, old-age diseases etc.) and ages in the reverse direction i.e. he becomes younger everyday. But of late we have been seeing Sreedevi at many events including the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week and were left enamored by this ageless beauty. Although Sreedevi wasn’t born old like Brad Pitt’s character in Benjamin Button but just like him in the film, she looks younger and younger everyday. We are left wondering just why doesn’t she stage a come back?”

Perhaps the answer to this can only be answered by the actress herself. Or is she waiting for a producer to remake The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button in Hindi and with a female character in the central role?

For long we have been hearing talks of Mr.India 2 to be made by her producer hubby Boney Kapoor bringing back the original Mr.India (1987) jodi of Sreedevi and Anil Kapoor but then again nothing beyond that. So many filmmakers have offered her roles of late but she is declining them all! We just hope she makes a comeback soon, her fans deserve it. -

Is the Salman – Katrina affair finally over?

Gossip mills are running rapidly again in industry circles claiming that Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif have finally headed towards a split. Just when the news is out the couple is seen together at events again there have also been reports that Salman Khan’s over possessive nature has widened the gap between the two. The couple has never openly spoken about their relationship but yet stood strongly besides each other in the hour of need.

Everyone in the industry knows that Salman helped Katrina at a time when she was new to the industry. Her debut venture Boom in 2003 was a box office disaster and Salman was his peak of success with films like Baaghban and Mujhse Shaadi Karoge had just been released. That is when Salman Khan was introduced to this new comer who had nobody in the industry and was all set to try her luck with good looks and anglicized accent. Apart from a few commercials Katrina Kaif had not signed any film. That is when Salman Khan came to her resuce as her knight in shining armour.

His family accepted her graciously and she became a part of the entire Khandaan. They went on do films together like Maine Pyaar Kyon Kiya in 2005 which failed to appeal the audiences. Their next David Dhawan’s Partner was a hit but they were not paired opposite each other. Their latest offering Subhash Ghai went to become another box office failure. Though they have been accepted as an offscreen couple they still haven’t managed to create the same magic on screen.

Katrina in the mean time went on to do films with other heroes and churned out one hit after the other. Slowly and steadily she climbed the ladder of success finally conquering the pedestal of the number one position. Be it films; commercials or endorsements the Katrina has made her place secure everywhere. Yet she humbly states, “I feel lucky and privileged and have been bless that God has answered all my prayers. I am trying to give my best and am working hard. The whole journey has been wonderful. What more can I say.”

Today their positions are reversed. Salman has had a series of flops to his credit at the box office amongst them the recent ones being God Tussi Great Ho, Yuvraaj. Quiz Katrina about it and she once again supports her hero, “For me Salman is an icon. His stardom can never be affected. He will always be iconic whether his films are successful or not successful.”

Successful or not only time will tell whether Salman and Katrina will ever appeal to the audiences as an onscreen couple. -

Asin’s double dhamaka

Southern babe Asin made quite a good impact, thanks to Aamir Khan’s “Ghajini’.

Now she has the Vipul Shah biggie “London Dreams’ coming up.
But the Southern beauty’s fans wouldn’t have to wait for that film’s release.

They can catch a glimpse of her in the Hindi version of the Tamil hit “Dasavatharam’ where she plays a double role.

Unlike “Ghajini’, Asin has more screen time as plays a double role – one of a woman from the 12th century and another from the 21st and is opposite the versatile Kamal Hassan.

The movie took more than three years to complete due to hurdles and was made on a budget of Rs. 60 crores, a staggering amount for any Tamil movie till date.

The Tamil “Dasavathram’ (Ten Avatars) was released last year in the month of June and was a hit down south. Haasan plays ten different roles in the film and is a research scientist and an ex-CIA officer who are after a biological weapon lost in USA that can cause massive destruction.

The age difference notwithstanding, Kamal Hassan and Asin have really looked good together in the film, the dubbed version of which releases soon.

Actually Vidya Balan’s loss had turned out to be Asin’s gain. She was considered for the role, but finally Asin got hold of it. Mallika Sherawat plays the second lead in the film and the film also has a much-hyped song composed by Himesh Reshammiya.

Asin of course is visible more in the film and if she continues this way, she could very well overshadow many other actresses in B-Town, not just Mallika and Vidya. -Sampurn Media

The Summer gets more Hotter with Akshay & Kareena

By Madhup Yadav

Producer Sajid Nadiadwala is all set to make this summer even hotter with his upcoming movie ‘Kambakkht Ishq’. The film has already created the buzz even before the promos are out. The audiences will finally get a peek into the much awaited Akshay Kumar – Kareena Kapoor starrer ‘Kambakkht Ishq’. The audiences had a long wait before they can get a sneak peak of the movie.

The film promises to be one of the biggest entertainers to hit the box office and screens this year. With the exciting chemistry between Hollywood stunt man (Akshay) and a firebrand model (Kareena). Both the protagonists are strong headed people, and both have their own terms of life. Akshay lives by the mantra that ‘Women are only good for one thing’ and Kareena can stare down the most arrogant male with her caustic wit and sardonic tongue. Another star attraction is undoubtedly the number of Hollywood stars included in the movie. Well known Hollywood actress Carmen Electra will shake legs along with Akshay and Kareena in an item song.

Debutant director Sabbir Khan has gone all out for ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ as an exciting marriage between the East and the West. This movie features a lot of action in a romantic comedy. This year undoubtedly ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ is the most awaited movie as compared to last year’s most awaited movie Ghajini. Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards are also playing interesting roles in the film as well.

Kareena wears dress worth Rs.800,000 in ‘Kambakkht Ishq’

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor will sport a dress worth Rs.800,000 for a song in “Kambakkht Ishq”. Producer Sajid Nadiadwala had specially ordered it for the actress from Paris.

“When the song was completed and the whole crew had a look, it looked very beautiful and eye catching. But most importantly everyone’s eyes were stuck at seeing Kareena’s dress. Kareena was looking gorgeous. The dress cost Rs.800,000,” said a source close to the producer.

The filmmaker has also gifted the dress to Kareena as she looked really pretty wearing it.

“Sajid Nadiadwala is a wonderful person at heart. He always makes sure that his cast and crew is happy.

Kareena was happy after receiving such an extra-ordinary gift from Sajid bhai. She was short of words to express her feeling after she received the gift.” added the source.

Kareena plays a supermodel in the movie, which has Akshay Kumar in the male lead. It also stars Hollywood biggies Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards.

Kareena tops the power list

Madhup Yadav, Chandigarh, Apr 1 : There was never a doubt that Kareena was the most talented and most powerful actress in the industry. Now it’s certainly proved that she is the most powerful actress in the industry with her induction in the film fare power list for 2009.

Kareena is the only women in the male dominated list; this itself proves her strong character to be the best.

The day wont be far when she would be the top of the power list. This domination of Kareena itself sets the brand Bebo apart and the highest paid actress deserves every appreciation which comes her way.

The actress has successfully carved an identity in the male dominated industry. The highest paid actress today commands a price that only top production banners and corporate can afford. The 10th rank is surely her rival turn green with envy.

Kareena is also high on her movie which would be hitting the screen this year.

She says that, “I feel very obliged to be present amongst the greats of the film industry and it’s her shear hard work which has bought me till here.”

'Jism 2' with new faces and hot bodies!

It has been five years since the hottest celeb couple of Bollywood John Abraham Bipasha Basu sizzled the celluloid with their act in Jism . And now the producers are planning a sequel to ‘Jism’ with three new faces and great bodies.

Like ‘Jism’, the sequel will also deal with infidelity and will be a murder mystery. Though Mahesh Bhatt had written the script of ‘Jism’, part two sees Shagufta Rafique as script writer who has earlier penned stories for Woh Lamhe , Awarapan and flop Dhokha .

Rafique has already started working on the flick and claims in an interview with a news agency: “we'll take a completely new and absolutely raw cast for 'Jism 2'. We'll launch three new faces and three great bodies in three newcomers in the film.”

‘Jism’ was based on Hollywood flick ‘Body Heat’ and was a launch pad for John Abraham, and tagged Bipasha and John as the sexiest couple of B-town. The success of ‘Jism’ came as a surprise for the producers Pooja Bhatt and Sujit Kumar. As for now, the picture is not clear about the new faces of the ‘Jism’ sequel.

Now, the producers have plans to start a ‘Jism’ franchise which will feature series of erotic and passionate films, but with different stories. In fact, according to producers they have 10 scripts ready for the franchise.

‘Jism’, based on love and lust, started a tradition for Vishesh Films. And thus the production house continued making good pot boilers with élan. And movies like Murder Paap and Zeher followed soon after, doing well at the box office.

Rafique is going stronger in Bollywood with three new films in her kitty. She has written Raaz - The Mystery Continues and is also the script writer for ‘Sin City’ and Jashan .

Deepika Padukone overtakes Katrina Kaif in popularity rating

According to Yahoo, Deepika Padukone is now the most searched for Bollywood actress, overtaking the previous lead Katrina Kaif, in one crude measure of popuarity. Shilpa Shetty, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Bipasha Basu also featured prominently in the list. Deepika will be popping up in an item number in Billu Barber soon and is currently working on Love Aaj Kal with Saif Ali Khan and Rahul Khanna.

Although Chandni Chowk to China was not as great a success as had been hoped, Deepika's fringed look in the movie appears to have caught on with the younger generation with stylists suggesting that bangs are back. "Sporting a fringe will be the coolest thing of this year as the style is back in vogue," says stylist Mallika Bhat, "It hides your age and makes you look younger. Fringe goes well for people who have a broad forehead - when fringes fall on their forehead, it gives a definite shape to their face cut."

As a style icon, who does Deepika herself look up to? "I look up to Sushmita Sen when it comes to style," she confesses, "I like to wear clothes that make me feel comfortable. I am not a very brand conscious person. The one thing that is most important for me is comfort. I have to be comfortable in whatever I am wearing."