Aamir Khan watches Kidnap

The official trials of the keenly awaited Kidnap for distinguished industry folk have started in Mumbai. Most of them are being held at Yash Raj Studios including one held on Thursday evening.

However, one megastar who saw Kidnap before anybody else was Aamir Khan. Aamir came down especially to watch the film at director Sanjay Gadhvi's Lokhandwala home some time back.

Confirms Gadhvi, ''Yes, Aamir saw Kidnap. I invited him to watch it because he knows what is good cinema. He is a well-wisher. He saw the final cut with rough music and without sound effects or dubbing and absolutely loved it.''

It follows that Aamir's other motivation to watch Kidnap was his pet nephew Imran Khan whom he launched in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. After the screening, Aamir texted Imran about his performance to praise him in his second feature.

Remarks Imran, ''Yes, mamu has seen Kidnap. He messaged to say that he liked the film and that I had done a great job. It was a major compliment for me because after Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, he just said, not bad!''

Kidnap is in cinemas worldwide on Wednesday 1st October. It is an Indian Films - Studio 18 release.

Hema Malini in train from Pandharpur to Mumbai

Hema Malini may be a superstar in her own right. But when it comes to downplaying her superstardom, she's the first in line in our hierarchy-driven film industry. On Thursday evening, Hema Malini hopped in to a night train from Pandharpur to Mumbai.

When told about it Hema chuckles in her inimitable self-effacing way. "My God, news travels faster than our trains. I should've guessed. Some photographers saw me on the train this morning. Yes, I did travel by train from Pandharpur. I was accompanied by my cousin Prabha. I had gone there for a function, also visited some temples. The journey back required me to fly from Pandharpur to Pune then to Mumbai. Or we could've come back by car."

Hema preferred the direct night train. "The flight and the car options were too tedious and time-consuming. I had loads of appointments in Mumbai on Friday morning and I couldn't afford the delay. So I told the organizers to put me and my sister on the train from Pandharpur."

The journey would've been fun were it not for prying eyes. "The last time I traveled in a train was in March when I went from Delhi to Gwalior on Jyoti Scindia's invitation. I really enjoyed that. The train journey from Pandharpur was all right to begin with. My cousin and I were given an air-conditioned coupe. But the problem was the other passengers. I was comfortable traveling by the middleclass transportation. It's the other people who seemed uncomfortable."

To top her woes, the organizers in Pandharpur forgot to hand over her tickets to Hemaji before she boarded for Mumbai. "When my cousin and I reached Mumbai we realized we didn't have our tickets with us. We got to know this only when the ticket collector came to our coupe. But that was all right. He immediately contacted Pandharpur, got our ticket numbers, etc. This is where the advantage of who I am came into play," she ends with a chuckle.

And there ends the story of the Dream Queen's journey on a train. Rumours that railway minister Laloo Yadav, a self-proclaimed Hema fan, is about to rename the Pandharpur-Mumbai train as The Hema Malini Express, are unfounded.

Sudhir Mishra announces his next film Sikandar

After Khoya Khoya Chand, the maverick scriptwriter cum director Sudhir Mishra is all set to produce his next film titled Sikandar. The film will be directed by Piyush Jha. Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, he said, ''Yes, I'm producing Sikandar, in which Sanjay Suri, R. Madhavan, and Parzaan Dastur have been signed for principal roles. The film has terrorism in Kashmir as its backdrop and it will go on floors amidst January-February 2009. The music of the film is composed by Sandesh Shandilya and Justin-Uday.''

Beyond this, Sudhir, who is presently working on Tera Kya Hoga Johnny, refused to divulge any further details about Sikandar

Sanjay, Akshay, Zayed, Lara, & Katrina to shoot Bollywood's first underwater song

At the moment Zayed Khan is the happiest and the unhappiest actor from Bollywood. He's on top of the world because he'll soon be shooting the first underwater song- sequence ever in Hindi cinema.

Excited as hell Zayed who has been stationed in Bangkok and Phuket for the past month says, "It's never been done before. On the concept level itself, it sounds too outrageous... The entire cast singing in the deep-sea. That's unique-man!" Hate to burst Zayed's bubble. But decades ago in Anmol Moti claiming to be India's first underwater film Jeetendra and Babita sang 'underwater', which was actually a swimming pool. So yes, Blue is the first Bollywood film that will have the entire cast of Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Lara, Katrina and Zayed doing a song sequence in the deep sea. A baffling concept for sure.

Laughs Zayed, "Yes. But you've to see how we're going to do it. The director got the concept from an ad. We all jumped at it. It's not often that you get to do something so unique." But with the excitement comes the damper. Inclement weather in Bangkok is playing havoc with the Blue schedules. Says the anxious and depressed Zayed, "We knew it was going to rain in Bangkok and Phuket. But not like this! Apparently, this area has never had so much rain. Everyday we're losing precious time. Today again, we're stuck indoors while it pours outside. The producers are losing Rs. 25 lakhs per day. And moreover we can't extend the shooting because we-Sanju Sir, Akshay and I-can't give combined dates for a long time," said Zayed on Saturday.

A good excuse for the unit to bond? "Not really. I'd rather be back home with my wife Malli (Malaika) and son Zidaan. I miss them specially my son. I want to watch him grow, not be away for long periods from home, and miss this phase in my son's life." Zidaan can't travel with Papa all the time. "He came with my wife to the Bahamas when we were shooting there. But he can't keep traveling all over. He has to develop an immunity system. I do miss my son. But my wife emails me his pictures everyday."

Dilip Kumar hospitalized in New Delhi
Bollywood's thespian and legendary actor, Dilip Kumar was admitted last night at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, the spokesperson of the hospital said, "Dilip saab was admitted in a private room and not in the ICU, as reported by a certain section of the media. He had high fever at the time of his admission. But he is perfectly OK now." Sources also add that the actor had gone there for the treatment of a urinary infection.

Here's wishing the Original Superstar of Bollywood a speedy recovery! Get well soon, Dilip saab!

Wishing Dev Anand a Happy Birthday
Ladies and gentleman, today is the birthday of Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand. If that name doesn't ring a bell, then, please refer to your dictionary for the synonym for 'evergreen'. Chances are bright that it will say 'Dev Anand'!

The legendary actor, who made his debut way back in the golden days of Bollywood, still, continues to rule our hearts and minds by dishing one film after the other. Dev Anand, to his credit has some of the most memorable films that Bollywood has ever seen. Guide, Sau Crore, Awwal Number, Swami Dada, Lootmaar, Heera Panna, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Prem Pujari etc… are testimonials to this.

After 1920, Rajneesh Duggal & Adah Sharma to be seen together in Phir

fter the success of 1920, newcomers Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma have become the talk of the town. What's more, the duo has even bagged a 3-film deal with the makers of 1920 - ASA Productions & Enterprises Ltd.

While 1920 was the first film of this 3-film deal, the next film is Phir directed by well-known writer turned director, Girish Dhamija (who made Yakeen earlier). Bollywood Hungama spoke to producer-director Vikram Bhatt who confirmed this news saying, "Yes after 1920, Rajneesh and Adah will be seen together in Phir. The film is a suspense-thriller drama and also stars well known T.V. actress Roshni Chopra. It is directed by Girish Dhamija and goes on floors next month."

Vikram himself meanwhile will start work on his next film, Shapit which marks the debut of Aditya Narayan as the lead actor.

Looks like, the success of 1920 has suddenly invigorated everyone at ASA Productions & Enterprises Ltd.
Sanjay Gupta to produce a film on Kolkata's infamous red-light area:
Sanjay Gupta is known for his off-beat, dark and different films. Now the filmmaker, who has made films like Kaante, Zinda, Plan, Musafir and Dus Kahaniyaan in the past, is all set to explore yet another relatively untouched topic in his next film.

Gupta's next is a film called Sonagachi which is based on Kolkata's infamous red-light area Sonagachi. Bollywood Hungama spoke to the maverick producer-director who confirmed the news. "Yes, I am producing a film on Kolkata's red light area called Sonagachi. The film will be directed by Sudipto Chattopadhyay (who has also directed the yet to be released Pankh). The film will be made under the White Feather Arthouse Films banner and will go on floors sometime next month. It's too early to talk about the cast and the story of the film."

Well, from the looks of it this one seems to be yet another dark, hard-hitting film from Sanjay Gupta.

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