Rana amused with rumours of film with Kangna

Kangna Ranaut will have to wait for the Hyderabadi hunk Rana Daggubati to be paired opposite her. Contrary to recent rumour around the two being signed opposite each other in a rom-com titled Kris And Suri, the fact is that none of this is true. This means that after a missed opportunity of being seen together in Dum Maro Dum and in-progress Department, Kangna and Rana would have to wait for another day before something really substantial indeed comes their way.

Says a source, “Rana has been totally taken aback with this announcement. He was not even in loop when the news break happened around this new movie. Being new to the Bollywood business, he has no clue how such rumours originate. He certainly wants to work in more Hindi films and also break the jinx of lost pairing with Kangna. However, Kris And Suri doesn’t feature in his current plans.”

One wonders how director Rajshree Ojha (who made her debut last year with Sonam Kapoor’s Ayesha) and producer Pritish Nandy would be reacting now, considering the fact that they had elaborate plans around the making of Kris And Suri.

However, Rana is sure that he isn’t doing this film at all. In between giving shots for Department, the shooting of which is currently on in Mumbai, he says, “I have no clue where did this one come from but the reality is that I haven’t signed Kris And Suri. In fact after Department and a Telugu movie that I am doing simultaneously, I would be most likely doing a Tamil film next. A Bollywood project would be only after that.”

Given the fact that announcements take an overzealous approach when it comes to Hindi films, how is Rana coping up with the ways and tricks of this new industry?

“Well, I am taking it all with a bag full of salt”, Rana gives out a hearty laugh here, “Amongst all the good things, this is something that I choose not to learn in Mumbai. In one year flat I have seen rumours fly thick. How does that happen? Well, I am not interested in knowing. Tomorrow if something really serious happens, I know I can rely on Twitter to make good clarifications.”

Well Rana, you are learning quickly for sure!

Karan Johar joins Deepika and Purab in upcoming Nescafe ad

He came, he saw… but, he just couldn’t conquer! We are referring to the ironic situation of the VJ-turned actor Purab Kohli; despite having the gorgeous Deepika Padukone as his neighbour, he just couldn’t get his feelings across to her. No…. even before you can get into the layer of things, let us tell you that, the aforementioned was the ‘plot’ of the ongoing Nescafe series.

Well, as they say, the plot gets thicker. And the thickness now lies in the fact, that, now besides Deepika, Purab will now be joined by none other than the master filmmaker Karan Johar, according to Bollywood Hungama’s confirmed sources. The same source also added that the trio has even shot for the ad that shows Karan walking into Deepika’s house, even as Purab is trying hard to impress her. Despite knowing the fact that ‘he’ is Karan Johar, Purab pretends not to know him and hence starts asking him about his profession like ‘Are you a badminton player?” etc…

With KJo joining the gang, sipping coffee (or is it ‘Koffee’ now?), will just get even more stimulating. What say, folks!

Javed Akhtar ousted by the film industry?

The way Hollywood works is that an actor works as a partner in a film project incurring losses and earning a percentage of the share of profits. It’s sensible, it’s fair and it’s a whole hearted indulgence in the creative process. Similar trend is now finding place in Bollywood, therefore when a certain Javed Akhtar stands up and lobbies in Parliament for the rights of writers and singers, eyebrows are raised.

No wonder then The Film Federation of India has “advised members of the film federation to not employ the services” of the iconic writer. The decision that was taken by its newly elected president, T.P. Agrawal, is based on the fact that it’s really the producer who takes the maximum risk in the movie business. Therefore if a certain writer wishes to be eligible to be a part of the royalties then they must also be party to the risk involved.

Mukesh Bhatt in the capacity of a Vice President of The Film & Television Producers Guild Of India has issued no official statement on this but did express the fact that the decision was one taken emotionally and not rationally. He blamed the way in which the government has handled the whole copyright issue which has created the divide in the film industry.

Neil out of The Italian Job remake? Not really

Neil Nitin Mukesh is spitting venom. Even as he was looking forward to a day of festivity and celebrations yesterday, he woke up to a rude surprise when he read about his ouster from Abbas Mustan’s remake of The Italian Job. A tabloid report suggested that not just had he been thrown out of the film post the ‘failure’ of Lafangey Parindey; he was also blissfully unaware of the ‘fact’ himself.

“Well, looks like some people out there know more about me and my films than myself”, says Neil while trying hard to control his irritation over the matter, “Just because you are not speaking, some people out there build an imaginary tale all by themselves.”

So what’s the real status?

“Arrey issme real ya unreal status ki kya baat hai? It’s sad that I am giving clarification on this when the fact is that I am already preparing for my role. The film is pretty much on and I am also not going anywhere. In fact Abbas-Mustan, who are currently out for location scouting, had given me such a detailed role description before leaving. They should be back in a week’s time and post that there would be a further one month of preparation. We begin shooting early November.”

The Italian Job has been in news for about a year and most of the pain points have been around the casting. The men in white, Abbas-Mustan, were pretty much riding high after the super success of Race. However, bringing The Italian Job has been a challenge due to its requirement of a high profile cast as well as the big budget involved.

“I am sure all the preparation is going to be worth it”, Neil, who plays the character originally enacted by Edward Norton, eases up here, “The film so much belongs to the Abbas-Mustan zone. They are the masters of thrillers and The Italian Job is one kick-ass action-thriller that we all know. I can’t wait to get started.”

Meanwhile, one can’t help but tease him on to comment on the ‘failure’ of Lafangey Parindey, as the report had suggested. After all, the fact remains that not just has the moderately budgeted Lafangey Parindey managed to sail through smoothly theatrically, it has also made profits for everyone involved, what with other revenues (satellite, music, home video, overseas) also being milked to an optimum.

“My only suggestion to those who comment on box office is, don’t get involved when you don’t understand the economics of filmmaking. Yash Raj Films are happy and this is where the buck stops”, is all that Neil is willing to comment here, considering the fact that folks associated with Yash Raj Films are known for keeping mum when it comes to business matters.

Akshay’s ‘turban look’ controversy in ‘Patiala House’ dismissed

The makers of Patiala House are just not amused. Even as the team is busy wrapping up this biggie that features Akshay Kumar in the lead and has been shot primarily in the UK, there are tit-bits floating around the lead actor’s look, something that threatened to turn into an (unnecessary) controversy.

Says a senior crew member, “It was a harmless still from the film which was uploaded by us on Twitter. It showed Akshay Kumar in (seemingly) a celebration mode as he donned a traditional North Indian outfit with a ‘pagdi’ on top. Nothing wrong with that as men in North India do wear a pink turban when there are certain festivities or celebrations at home.”

However, what caught the eye of a few was only half the fact. Since Akshay is said to be playing a Sikh in the film, his clean shaven look in the film was being challenged. Though no one knows the exact storyline of the film, there were insinuations galore around cinematic liberty being taken in Patiala House with Akshay and director Nikhil Advani not quite respecting the religious sentiments here.

No wonder, the director is disturbed with the film’s still leading to a controversy when the fact is that he along with his creative team had walked an extra distance to ensure that every minute detail was being looked at before bringing Patiala House on floors.

“Why can’t people just check facts before coming to a conclusion”, questions Nikhil who has already spent close to a year and a half working on the film, “Without knowing the context of the film, the scene, the characterisation and the story’s background, it is totally unfair if someone makes a declaration that we didn’t do our job well or we did something intentionally despite knowing the facts.”

In such a situation, why doesn’t Nikhil just spill the beans and let the world become aware about the reason behind Akshay’s look in the film.

“Firstly I will tell you this is not Akshay’s look per se in the film”, retorts Nikhil, “He is not wearing a turban throughout and the still that you see is from the scene where Akshay’s sister is getting married. Ask any Punjabi and he will tell you that it is a traditional thing for a man to wear a ‘pagdi’ when a close relative is getting married. Though I don’t want to divulge into any further details as of now, what I can confirm is that we have taken utmost care to respect the traditional, religious and social sentiments in mind. There is no false step that has been taken.”

With confirmation coming from the man of the house, this should well be an open and shut case for the residents of Patiala House now!

Is Karan directing portions of SRK’s home-production?

Is Karan Johar directing portions of RA.ONE? Ever since Shah Rukh Khan tweeted that Karan visited him on the sets of his film in U.K., the rumour mills have been working overtime. There were reports in a section of the media that Karan was directing portions of the film and had also consented to direct the songs. There was talk that SRK and Anubhav Sinha had agreed to take Karan on board as the second unit director of the film.

So what’s the truth? The truth is that Karan was present on the sets of the film, but in the capacity of a friend, as a good luck charm. Also, all talk of Karan being the second unit director is absolutely false, for the project is SRK and Anubhav Sinha’s baby entirely. They have worked very hard on it and it would be unfair to SRK and Sinha both if news like this is taken seriously. In fact, Karan was in his hotel room almost every single day, which wouldn’t be the case if he was co-directing the film.

Also, the talk about Karan ‘directing’ the songs of the film is equally baseless. Sure, Karan is a multi-faceted personality, but not a choreographer. At least not yet!

Hrithik – Priyanka teamed for ‘Agneepath’ remake?

While on Karan Johar, the other news doing the rounds is that has he finalized the cast of AGNEEPATH remake. Again, a section of the media seems to have finalized the cast of the film – Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra – but the fact is, no actors have been confirmed yet. Nor has anyone signed on the dotted line yet.

Also, the news that Karan Johar has started work on his next film, after MY NAME IS KHAN, is unfounded, since Karan is still clueless about what he wants to make next.

Biden nudges Iraqi leaders to end deadlock

BAGHDAD: Vice President Joe Biden urged Iraqi leaders on Sunday to press ahead and form a government after four months of post-election deadlock but said neither Washington nor anyone else should dictate to them.

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Biden nudges Iraqi leaders to end deadlock

Bus fire in central China kills 24

BEIJING: A fire on a shuttle bus carrying steel factory workers in central China killed 24 people and injured 19, state media reported Monday.

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Bus fire in central China kills 24

Ferry capsizes in Bangladesh, 50 missing

DHAKA: A ferry was struck by a sand barge and capsized in the River Shitalakkhya near the Bangladeshi capital and about 50 passengers were missing, witnesses and police said on Monday.

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Ferry capsizes in Bangladesh, 50 missing

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