Aishwarya sends legal notice to Madhur and UTV

Madhur Bhandarkar’s film Heroine has been in news for weeks, owing to the change of the leading lady of the film with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being replaced by Kareena Kapoor. Last heard, Ash had returned the signing amount of the film to the producers.

Now, the latest news is that Aishwarya has apparently sent a legal notice to the producers of Heroine warning them against leaking her photo-shoot to promote Heroine. According to the notice that has been sent, the producers won’t be able to use Aishwarya’s name or images while promoting the film.

It is said that apparently Aishwarya who had shot for an 8 day schedule was pretty miffed with some of the images of her photo-shoot done for the film appearing on the web. She is concerned that the pictures she shot for Heroine might get leaked out as a promotional mechanism for the film.

The letter that was sent through Aishwarya’s lawyers, specifically addressed to the makers, mentioning that the actress will claim damages if any of those pictures or shots come out in the media.

"All concentration on DTBHJ; Heroine is on hold" – Madhur Bhandarkar

With just a couple of months to go for the release of his first ever light hearted comic entertainer Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji, Madhur Bhandarkar has been slogging over the last few weeks to wrap up work on his Ajay Devgn & Emraan Hashmi starrer. To enjoy a quick breather before he gets back into his 24X7 routine again, he is currently on a mini-break abroad for a couple of days.

Meanwhile there seems to be some sudden development of sorts with Aishwarya Rai’s name cropping up for his next outing Heroine (to be jointly produced by Bhandarkar Entertainment and UTV Motion Pictures). Since there appears to be some dilly-dallying on the part of Kareena Kapoor (who was approached for Heroine and stays on to be Bhandarkar’s first choice), the director appears to have come up with a call of ‘enough is enough’. For the uninitiated, since the film is said to be controversial in nature with quite a few real life incidents being dramatised for a cinematic experience, Kareena was said to be hesitant with some portions (including a few steamy scenes) of the film.

“Now even you are getting into a speculating mode”, says Madhur with mock annoyance, “Don’t go by the reports that seem to be coming in every now and then. There is no truth to me approaching Aishwarya Rai or any other actress for the film. In fact Heroine is currently on hold. All my concentration is on Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji for which I have shot non-stop for 60 days. It is a film which requires my total attention and there is no movement on Heroine as of now.”

Madhur is obviously reacting to a media report that recently flashed a headline which indicated that Bhandarkar had sent feelers through his office to Aishwarya Rai to play the central protagonist in his exposing tale about the world of glamour, Bollywood and entertainment – Heroine.

Denies Sanjay Mehta, Business Head at Bhandarkar Entertainment, “Madhur hasn’t approached Aishwarya Rai or any other actress. For that matter, in recent past he hasn’t even brought up the film for a formal discussion with Kareena. He would be doing all the talking around Heroine and another project of his only next year after Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji is released.”

Meanwhile, the first look of his romcom is up for release. Once Bhandarkar is back from his vacation this weekend, he is expected to go all out to present his lead stars Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi who were seen in an altogether different light earlier this year in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai.

“While that happens, wait for an official announcement to come in around Heroine and my next film”, assures Bhandarkar, “Don’t trust any assumptions or speculations till you get any news straight from me or my office.”

Well, we will try to do that Madhur. Par kya karein, dil toh bachcha hai ji!

Deepika Padukone lifts 75-kg Imran Khan

MUMBAI: In most Hindi films, we’ve seen the hero lift his heroine in some or the other scene. But a heroine carrying her hero on her back… now that’s a bit difficult to imagine. Well, Deepika Padukone has done exactly that vis-à-vis Imran Khan in her forthcoming film, Break Ke Baad. Although it wasn’t easy, she managed it after some training and rehearsals.

The scene in question features as one of the montages during the song Adhoore hain…. Director Danish Aslam’s idea was to also show the kind of lead Deepika’s Aaliyah Khan plays the lead in the relationship with Abhay Gulati (Imran Khan). “Considering Aaliyah leads this relationship, there are many instances of role reversals to depict that,” reveals a source, adding that the montages in the track, which come at the time in the movie when she wants some time off alone.

He continues, “Danish felt that showing Aaliyah carrying Abhay was the perfect way to convey the drastic changes their relationship was undergoing. That’s why this particular scene is of great significance.”

Break ke BaadTurns out that was easier said than done, as Imran weighs 75 kgs as against Deepika’s negligible 55 kg weight. But she underwent considerable training for about a fortnight prior to the shooting of the scene. Apart from that, we’re told that for about three-four hours, Deepika also rehearsed carrying Imran on her back but not without adequate precaution.

“To ensure that she didn’t suffer any back trouble while performing the scene, she wore a thick, wide belt as a preventive measure,” says our source, glad that it went off smoothly, without the heroine suffering any injuries or pain.

Deepika recalls the sequence as really “fun to shoot.” She says, “Everyone on the sets was worried. But being an athlete, I was confident that I’d be able to carry Imran on my back without any problem.”

On the contrary, director Aslam calls it a complicated scene. “It’s not easy to carry 75 kgs on your back. We didn’t want Deepika to get hurt, so we exercised caution. It took us two days to complete shooting this sequence, but the end result is brilliant,” he says.

Bhandarkar signs Ajay, Emraan, Omi for Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji

Trust Madhur Bhandarkar to throw a surprise when one could least see it coming. With a run of critically acclaimed films that also saw commercial success coming their way, Bhandarkar was all set to jump into another hard hitting drama Heroine where Kareena Kapoor would be the leading lady. However, he recently announced the making of another film in the interim – Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji. Nothing wrong with that because it was meant to utilise the empty space he had between now and November when Heroine will go on floors.

However, what has really surprised is the fact that it is no ‘stop-gap’ arrangement where a small film with smaller stars is being made. Instead, it is a star studded affair where none other than – hold your breath – Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi and Omi Vaidya (Chatur of 3 Idiots fame) have been signed.

While many filmmakers worth their salt would have had to wait for Ajay and Emraan for at least a year before they could have consented to the project (considering their own alternative industry and resultantly a super packed schedule), Bhandarkar has managed to rope them in at such a quick notice.

A romantic comedy, Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji [the title being based on the popular Gulzar written song from this year's release Ishqiya] would be a joint production of Bhandarkar Entertainment and Kumar Mangat. Incidentally, Kumar Mangat and Ajay Devgn share a great business and personal rapport for decades and have made number of films together, most recently Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge.

Bhandarkar, known for his intense dramas, is letting his hair down for Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji and would be working with an unusual cast of Ajay, Emraan and Omi for the first time in his more-than-a-decade long career.

“That’s right. It doesn’t get more unique than having actors as diverse as Ajay, Emraan and Omi together for a romcom”, smiles Bhandarkar for whom it would be a challenge of a different kind to helm a film of this nature, “In any case, I always cast for a film as per who suits the character best. Regarding making a romom then well, I always wanted to make a subject of this kind. I am glad that before delving into Heroine, I would be completing Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji.”

Looking at the fact that Ajay and Emraan would be seen in a hard hitting action drama set in 70s – Once Upon A Time In Mumbai – soon, it would be quite a contrast to see them doing something entirely different for Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji. Known for his knack of getting good performances by relative newcomers like Neil Nitin Mukesh (Jail) and Kunal Khemu (Traffic Signal) in the past, it won’t be a surprise of Ajay, Emraan and Omi do end up coming up with something that would be entirely new for the fan base of them as well as Bhandarkar.

While the men in the film have been finalised, the leading ladies are yet to be zeroed in.

“We should be able to make an announcement around the girls in next few days. The shooting of Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji begins in July and wraps up by September. It is a film that would be completed in 55-60 days schedule. After that, I move into Heroine for which the writing process is on”, concludes Bhandarkar.

Ranbir, Deepika Not on Speaking Terms

Ranbir, Deepika not on speaking terms , Bollywood’s hot couple Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone is in the news for all the wrong reasons once again. The sources say that they are not on talking terms after fighting for a couple of days. They didn’t even attend Karan Johar’s show. They were spotted at designer Shabina Khan’s bash but everyone present could sense the rift between them. It is said that the problem started, as Deepika thinks Ranbir isn’t committed towards her. Confirming the news a daily quoted a source as saying, “Everyone knows that Neetu, Ranbir’s mother, never really approved of Deepika after which she decided to draw back”.

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Ranbir, Deepika Not on Speaking Terms was first posted on October 21, 2009 at 1:40 pm.

Katrina Kaif in Hera Pheri 3

Katrina Kaif in Hera Pheri 3, Producer Firoz Nadiadwala is relieved. The third part to the Hera Pheri series is finally set to be made. The third part will have Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal coming together yet again. This time, the heroine of the film will be Katrina Kaif and it will be directed by Anees Bazmee, unlike the previous two films that were directed by Priyadarshan and Neeraj Vohra respectively. The film will be called Hera Pheri 4 instead of 3. The reason for doing so will be given in the promos of the film when it is ready. Akshay Kumar was earlier having date issues but he managed to fit in Hera Pheri into his schedule anyhow. Meanwhile, he is going to be seen with Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal.

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Katrina Kaif in Hera Pheri 3 was first posted on October 21, 2009 at 1:57 pm.