Now Railway Board takes objection to a scene from Mausam

The controversies for Pankaj Kapur’s maiden directorial venture Mausam don’t seem to stop. While initially the Indian Air Force (IAF) had certain issues with a scene from the film, now the Railway Board seems to have a problem with a certain sequence of the film.

The sequence to which the Railway Board has taken objection involves Shahid Kapoor pulling off a dangerous stunt driving a car across a railway crossing line. The Railway Board has issued a notice to the makers asking them to put a disclaimer at the beginning of the film as well as during the scene stating that such a stunt could be risky and fatal.

However, the makers say that the prints have already been dispatched and hence it would be difficult to make any changes at such short notice.

Mausam was earlier supposed to release on September 16 but was pushed by a week to September 23.

Shahid Kapoor denied permission to stay at Gwalior airbase

The over-hyped news reports about the F-16 that Shahid flew as part of his role as an air force pilot was just much ado about nothing meant to camouflage the real story about Shahid’s air force training for his role in Pankaj Kapoor’s Mausam.
The shooting started from Wednesday at the Gwalior airbase. Every attempt was made to keep the venue and the dynamics of Shahid’s air force activities a secret.
Says a source, “Permission to shoot at the Gwalior airbase has been secured after clearance from the highest levels in the Capital on condition that there would be no disturbance or disruption in the airbase routine of any sort whatsoever.”
To ensure that the Mausam crew’s presence in Gwalior was not revealed to the people of Gwalior, the entire crew has been instructed to stay at the airbase.
This is where the problem crept in. Plans to house Shahid within the airbase had to be aborted after being defined as a “security hazard”.
Says a source, “On a trial visit to the Gwalior base, it was discovered that the cadets at the airbase could not focus on their duties with Shahid in their midst. He has therefore been instructed to seek accommodation in a hotel while the rest of the crew will stay at the airbase.”
Producer Sheetal Talwar refuses to divulge any details on the whereabouts of the airbase shooting. “All I can tell you is, we are now shooting all the scenes of Shahid’s as an air force pilot in the next one week.”
These sequences form a vital part of the narrative. Director Pankaj Kapoor has worked out all the details of the airbase shooting to avoid even the smallest delay or glitch. But concealing Shahid’s presence in Gwalior is expected to be a problem.

SRK and Salman avoid bumping into each other at Star Screen Awards

Ever since their fallout, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan have always avoided bumping into each other at social functions. Earlier this week, the two superstars missed clashing with each other at the Mumbai International airport by just a few minutes when both arrived from Dubai after celebrating New Year’s Eve with their respective families.

Last night also the media and fans were expecting to see SRK and Sallu together at the Star Screen Awards which took place in Mumbai. However, that was not to be. While SRK was the host for the evening along with Shahid Kapoor, Salman made an appearance for just a few minutes. Despite winning the Best Actor Award for Dabangg, Salman didn’t go up on stage to collect the award and it was his brother Arbaaz who collected the award.

The buzz is that Salman didn’t want any kind of unnecessary media-created controversy between SRK and him and hence he came to the venue, recorded his part for the T.V. telecast post the awards function, and left soon after.

Looks like these two superstars are in no mood to sort out their differences.

Pankaj Kapoor’s friend accuses him of plagiarism for Mausam

There’s a lot of respect in Bollywood for Mr. Pankaj Kapoor who has always been known for his exemplary performance and his portrayal of the lead role in the famous TV series ‘Karamchand’. Therefore when he announced his film Mausam there was much buzz about it and especially since he roped in his own son Shahid Kapoor in it.

Not much has been divulged about the film’s content except the fact that Shahid plays an Airforce pilot and Sonam Kapoor is the female lead, therefore chances of any controversy arising was not expected.

But expect the unexpected in Bollywood and certainly few feathers have been ruffled just before its release and the victim claiming foul play is none other than Pankaj Kapoor’s old friend and former colleague Nawman Malik, who had also acted alongside Pankaj in the award winning TV serial ‘Neem Ke Ped’.

According to the complaint that Malik has filed with the Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programme Producers, Kapoor apparently, started filming Mausam after Malik had already narrated the script to him. Some few years back Malik sat with Kapoor in his Versova office and narrated the story of Mausam to him over a four hour session. He even showed an interest in casting Shahid in it. But Kapoor said that he would have to speak to Shahid himself who was shooting in Mauritius. The meeting with Shahid never really took place and a few years later Pankaj announced his own project Mausam.

Though Mausam is said to be the working title Malik fears that it maybe the final title and even the story might be the same. Shahid and Pankaj on their end plan to meet the producers before taking any step.

Aditi Sharma plays second female lead in Mausam

Till now, the whole world was going gaga about the fresh on-screen pairing of Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor in Mausam. Ever since the film has been announced, it has been creating a buzz in the media.

Now, from what we hear is that Sonam is not the only one who will be getting to romance ‘Shah-Hit’ Kapoor. News is that, besides Sonam, there is second actress Aditi Sharma, who will also be seen romancing Shahid in the film. Aditi, for starters, is the same PYT, who was last seen in Subhash Ghai’s Black And White. News has it that Aditi plays Shahid’s love interest in the first half of the film, while in the second half, Sonam takes over.

What remains to be seen is that, with two lovely ladies vying for Shahid’s attention, who will be luckier: Shahid, the ladies or the audience! Any answers?

Lara Dutta and Mahesh Bhupathi to marry early next year

Download image as wallpaper

Karan Johar might just win the award of “revelation king” what with so many secrets and speculations are brought to rest, and beans that were spilled on his show. Be it Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor’s break-up story or Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor’s affair, even Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka’s mutually animosity, it all came oozing out on ‘Koffee With Karan’.

And now with Lara Dutta and Mahesh Bhupathi making an appearance at the show as a couple, some interesting news is up for grabs as well. Lara and Mahesh have made a statement on the show that two will tie the knot in February; as for the date their families are busy fixing it.

There were lots of discussions about the marriage plans as the two looked clearly in love. As for the gossip part of it, lots of discussions took place on the past affairs, relationships and the link ups, a la Karan style.

Another Bollywood wedding waits in the coming New Year, and many a heart will break with Lara tying the knot.

Kareena Kapoor chooses Shahid over Hrithik and John

MUMBAI: Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor were once the mushy couple of the Bollywood tinsel town and were regular painters of the gossip columns. They even made headlines when their lip lock became a rage and did the nationwide tour via cellular mms.

However, after Saif flaunted his ‘Tashan’ and Kareena her lime-green bikini, a fresh love bloomed and Shahid got unceremoniously dumped. But you can’t prevent Kareena from being the candid gal that she is.

In ‘Koffee with Karan’, Kareena has hailed Shahid as the sexiest man. When Karan quizzed her asking her to name the sexiest actor from a list that included the names of the Greek God Hrithik, the cute Imran Khan, the macho Arjun Rampal and the dashing hunky John Abraham, Kareena confidently picked up Shahid’s name much to the surprise of beau Saif. Even Karan was stumped for once and Shahid must have had his heart in his mouth for one split second.

Kareena also took a jibe at Priyanka Chopra taunting her for her accent and calling her the number two actress after herself. Saif and Kareena lashed out their tongues and delighted Karan with more comments; something that is bound to stir the nation’s imagination. Earlier, the episode featuring Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone had also grabbed quite a few eyeballs.

Shahid Kapoor in Kunal Kohli’s next

“I’m really looking forward to working with Shahid,” says Kunal Kohli. The director tweeted on Sunday morning: “Shahid Kapoor and me working together in my next film. Will hopefully sign the heroine in the next few days. Will keep you posted.” The yet untitled film will be starting in April once Shahid wraps up the shooting for Mausam. Kohli will be producing-directing the film.

Kunal’s film with Shahid is a love story and will have music by Pritam while Prasoon Joshi is writing lyrics. Has he finalized the actress? “I haven’t decided the actress. I wouldn’t want to speculate as I don’t believe in it. I will tell you once it’s finalized. We’ve just finalized Shahid. He was going away to Punjab to shoot Mausam and I was releasing Break Ke Baad. In the middle of it we finalized and signed.”

Kohli had earlier announced a film with Saif Ali Khan. He had also written about it on Twitter (now deleted) as to how things didn’t work out between him and Saif. So, is Shahid doing the same film as what was earlier being done by Saif? “It’s a completely different script,” says Kohli. Why didn’t Saif’s film go through in the first place? “Saif was signed by Ashtavinayak to do a film. He requested me to come in and see if I could do a film with him. I wasn’t ready with that script. I was also simultaneously working on this script for a while. I felt this is the script I want to make first, so I am making this film. That film I will do later when I am fully happy with the script.”

Having worked with seasoned actors like Aamir and Saif, Shahid is a much inexperienced actor in comparison, even though he’s wonderfully talented. “Shahid has done Kaminey, Jab We Met, Vivah, he has done some brilliant films. I am sure Mausam will be another brilliant film. He is a very very interesting talent,” says Kunal.

Kohli’s latest Production Break Ke Baad released last Friday. Talking about the response to the film, Kohli says,” Break Ke Baad is getting a good response from the youth specially. It’s too early. Let’s see how it goes.”

Deepika Padukone signed opposite Shahid Kapoor for Heer And Ranjha

The news can now be told. After having cast the teenage heartthrob Shahid Kapoor as the ‘Ranjha’ in his next film titled Heer And Ranjha, director Sabbir Khan has pulled off a casting coup by roping in Deepika Padukone as ‘Heer’.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Sabbir explained, “Once I finished scripting, I felt that the Heer’s part needed somebody who is young and dynamic, as it’s totally an author backed role. At the same time, that person should have vulnerability as well as emotional depth. With so much in mind, I just couldn’t see anybody beyond Deepika for the role, as I feel that she is one of the finest female actors amongst the Gen-Next’s brigade.”

Sabbir also added, “Casting this pair together was due to the fact that, this was one pair which was everybody’s unanimous decision. To have as Deepika as Heer and Shahid as Ranjha, the film is nothing short of being fantastic. Everybody is excited to see the pair together!”

Since it’s a romantic story being retold, music will play prominence in the film. Talking about the music of Heer And Ranjha, Sabbir reveals, “Music is indeed a very integral part of this film. And I am so very happy to have Pritam on board for it. There are 6 songs in the film. The core of the music will be romance… music that will depict that it’s a love story, at the same time it’ll be contemporary. The music of this film will surely have lots of soul with a lot of modernity.”

The shooting of Heer And Ranjha will begin in April 2011.

Ranbir-Rishi to come together on stage for the first time?

Ranbir Kapoor’s first world concert which kick-starts in the first week of June (and not in July, as reported elsewhere) and goes on till the third week of July covering 16 cities in Europe, the US and Canada, would have Rishi Kapoor co-producing the world event along with the Moranis.
This is the first time that Rishi Kapoor is actively involved with producing live concerts. Rationalizes Rishi, “And why not? This is the first time that my son will be stepping on to a live stage. I want to make sure everything goes right. So yes I’m producing and presenting the live concerts. With my experience in live concerts, I know I can be useful. I don’t want anything to go wrong for my son.”
It is being reliably learnt that Rishi will for the first time share a public platform with his son. Yes, Ranbir will be seen dancing with his super-dancer father for the first time.
Rishi tries to dodge out of giving a categorical answer to that one. “There’s talk on this. We’re thinking of a retro section. We’re exploring the possibility of me and Ranbir coming together. But right now I can’t tell you more on this.”
Rishi is also evasive on the rumours that Deepika Padukone has not yet been signed for the shows, apparently, because there would be friction between Deepika and Katrina when they’re together for so many weeks.
Says Rishi, “All I can tell you is that we have Katrina, Priyanka and Shahid Kapoor on board. Deepika is likely to be on board. She hasn’t been signed on yet. Audiences abroad were bored of watching our stars perform the same songs over and over again. My boy has waited patiently for three years until he thought he was ready to face a live audience. He has turned down all offers to perform at awards function. And that’s his show’s USP. When actors perform at awards function these are beamed to dozens of countries across the world. Therefore there is no novelty left in watching a star dance on stage. My son has never been seen live.”
Besides the entourage mentioned above, a singer from Pakistan is also being finalized. While the first lap of Ranbir’s world tour will take him to Europe, America and Canada, the second world tour expected in 2011 will take Ranbir to the Gulf and South Africa.

Next Page »