Big Pictures forays into Hollywoodz
BIG Pictures, in association with MGM and Hyde Park Entertainment, has released an Ashok Amritraj production - a James Dodson film THE OTHER END OF THE LINE on October 31, with 91 prints in theaters across North America. With this film, BIG Pictures makes the first of its kind tie up, for the marketing/distribution of an American film, in North America.


Award for Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose was conferred with Eminent Citizen Journalist Award, held on October 16 at New Delhi. Bose was honored with the award for openly voicing against issues such as terrorism and his active involvement and support for various other social causes.

The entries for the various categories were shortlisted by a group of eminent jury members, including Kiran Bedi, Prasoon Joshi, Madhu Trehan, Arvind Kejriwal, Nandita Das, Neelam Krishnamoorthy and Rakeysh Mehra.

John, Abhishek shoot an additional song for Dostana
It's customary for two stars to be pitched against one another in real life whenever they are paired on screen. The last time we heard murmurs of discontent was when Bipasha and Deepika apparently couldn't stand one another while shooting Bachna Ae Haseeno.

But John and Abhishek get along like a house on fire. To their regret, they had to shoot a music video for Dostana separately.

Producer Karan Johar who just landed in Mumbai after two weeks of location hunting in Los Angeles says the song 'Maa Da Ladla' was shot during his absence. "I left it entirely to my director Tarun Mansukhani and to the choreographer Feroz (who's been Farah Khan's assistant for ten years). So you'll have to ask Tarun what happened."

Tarun Mansukhani has his own explanation for why Abhishek and John shot the song separately. "I deliberately didn't shoot the song with John and Abhishek together. I wanted at least this one song 'Maa Da Ladla' to look different from the rest of the film where they're constantly together, fooling around, chumming it up. They shot individually, so the masti of the rest of the movie was missing on the sets." Tarun trails off sadly, and then perks up. "The last shooting before this was for 'Desi Girl' where all of us were together. It was so much fun."

The 'Maa Da Ladla' song was shot on 15, 16 and 17 October at Filmistan studios and onlookers watched Abhishek and John arrive on separate days. "This is a music video which we'll use for promotion and probably for the end titles," explains Tarun.

Says Abhishek, "It was wonderful to shoot with John Abraham again after Dhoom. It was fun on the sets because we were all friends."

Adds John, "Abhishek is not co-star or colleague. He's a friend. I dote on him. I love him to death. We never compete. We complement each other in Dostana. We share a great chemistry. Abhishek and I are a couple in the film."

Farhan Akhtar to host a television show called 'Oye… It's Friday'
If you happen to switch on the TV anytime of the day or night, chances are bright that, you will be treated with is some sort of a 'reality' show, wherein all that the judges do is fighting and quarrelling ...so much for the TRPs! Well, in such a television scenario, NDTV Imagine has come up with a show called 'Oye... It's Friday', which truly promises to be one of its kind.

The show will consist of one hour of sheer cutting edge humour, dazzling performances; news making guests etc... And to host the show, the channel has roped in none other than the 'Rocking' Director cum actor Farhan Akhtar, who, about his association with the show, said, "This show is something I want to watch... it has no rules and no boundaries... and its only aim is to entertain. I've done a lot of different things in my life and career and the reason I want to be a part of 'Oye... Its Friday' is because it is so excitingly unconventional.

There will be other celebrities hosts too who will switch and swap over the course of the series! If the pre-show hysteria is anything to go by, then, it only becomes needles to say that Fridays will just not be the same again! What say Farhan!

Vipul Shah, Ajay Devgan sign a treaty with the British Government
The British Capital, London, has been a favorite of many Bollywood filmmakers. In recent past, films like Cheeni Kum, Namastey London and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom have been shot majorly in and around London.

With a view to improve the working relations between the U.K. and Indian entertainment industry, the U.K Film Minister Barbara Follett signed a bilateral co-production treaty with the Hindi film industry aka Bollywood.

Filmmaker Vipul Shah and actor Ajay Devgan who are filming their latest project London Dreams in the British capital were present to launch the treaty. The treaty gives Indian producers benefits such as easy access to tax breaks, fresh funding sources and practical support.

Vipul Shah, for whom London has always been a favourite shooting destination, seemed pleased with this treaty as it would only further ease shooting in the British capital. The deal will also help the British movie industry withstand the economic downturn and hence indeed seems like a win-win situation for the film and entertainment industry of both nations.

Madhur Bhandarkar drops gay kissing scene from Fashion
Madhur Bhandarkar is known for making hard-hitting and realistic cinema; hence facing controversies around his film's release is something which is not new to this talented filmmaker. His latest film Fashion starring Priyanka Chopra, Kangna Ranaut and Mugdha Godse in lead roles opened across cinema halls yesterday (Oct 29) and this time too, Madhur had to deal with a fair share of controversies.

Firstly, there were rumors that Kangna's character in the film has been inspired by noted Delhi based model Geetanjali Nagpal. Then the censor board irked Madhur by giving him an 'A' certificate as they felt the film had certain objectionable scenes for kids.

However, the director could have got himself into more trouble had he included a gay kissing scene in the film. The scene had actors Samir Soni and Anil Kumar share a kiss in a car but Madhur decided to drop the scene at the last minute as he didn't want any further complications. However, for all of you who indeed want to have a dekko of the same, the director is planning to include it in the DVD of the film. Must say, Madhur has already started promoting the DVD of Fashion in a smart way.

Kaveri Jha signed for Priyadarshan's Bum Bum Bole
After Taare Zameen Par, child artiste Darsheel Safary will be next seen in Priyadarshan directed Bum Bum Bole, which is an adaptation of the hit Iranian film 'Children of Heaven'.

According to our sources, the latest addition to the starcast is Kaveri Jha, who was last seen in Hijack opposite Shiney Ahuja. Besides Darsheel and Kaveri, the film also stars Atul Kulkarni and Rituparna Sengupta. While Atul plays Darsheel's father and Rituparna plays his mother; Kaveri has been signed to play the role of Atul's sister. News has it that the film runs on two parallels, one that deals with Darsheel and his faith in God, while the second is about the relationship between Kaveri and Atul.
Darsheel's dad in TZP to play Ashmit Patel's father in a Hollywood project
Vipin Sharma, who was recently seen as Darsheel Safary's dad in Taare Zameen Par, has been signed for a Hollywood project titled Florida Road. In the film, he would be playing the role of Raaj Shekhar, an Indian who has moved from India to Durban. Ashmit Patel would enact the role of his son Shaan.

Confirms Vipin who also played Emraan Hashmi's dad in his second successive hit Jannat early this year, "In Florida Road, I play the role of an Indian who has settled in Durban and is a successful Laywer. Ashmit plays my son who is 20's-something with a heart of gold and has a desire to write the next great Hollywood screenplay."

Florida Road is an independent movie being produced by Brad Glass, from Hollywood, California, that centers in the culturally diverse city of Durban, South Africa. The movie is a heartfelt story about love, culture, family values and following your dreams.

"My character in the film has difficulty understanding his relationships with his son. When an untimely health issue hits me, secrets are exposed and Shaan is forced to come to terms with life itself. This is when I also understand the turmoil Shaan is in and his dreams", elaborates Vipin who sees himself as a part of yet another complex role.

Florida Road is written by Fred Fontana, a Hollywood veteran, who has been a producer on US hits like Soldier (Kurt Russell) and Vegas Vacation (Chevy Chase). His other feature credits include The Specialist with Sylvester Stallone and The Next Karate Kid with Hilary Swank.

"I am looking forward to the shooting of Florida Road which is expected to take place in February/March timeframe. We all would be traveling to Durban for the film's shoot", reveals Vipin.

Meanwhile, he has also been signed by Rahul Dholakia for Lamha where he plays a very important role of an army officer who is closest to Sanjay (Dutt). Both these characters work on a plan to fight the unrest in the valley. Shooting in Kashmir would begin soon for the film.
Sohail and Vatsal to play brothers in Vicky Chopra's Season's Greetings
Vatsal Sheth who seemed to have come out of the state of eclipse after his distorted debacle in Tarzan-The Wonder Car, has found an unlikely one-man support-system in Sohail Khan.

The two worked together and hit it off like a house on fire while playing traveling- companions in Samir Karnik's Heroes. Since then, Vatsal has been getting a hand-up from his adopted 'Bhaiyya'.

After Heroes, Sohail has been recommending Vatsal for other films. He got him a plum role in Subhash Ghai's production Paying Guest. And now Sohail and Vatsal play brothers in Vicky Chopra's Seasons Greetings.

Says Vatsal, "It's good to have someone look out for you. After Tarzan-The Wonder Car, I didn't want to do any and every film. I waited. In Heroes, Sohail bhai and I play friends traveling together. He put me so much at ease that I forgot I was years younger than him. We actually became buddies as we traveled together through the film. With Heroes, I feel I've come of age. And now he plays my bro in Seasons Greetings."

And that bonding persists. Says Vatsal, "In an industry where actors are known to steal scenes and roles from under your nose, Sohail bhai has been going out of his way to be good to me. It's true he got me Subhash Ghai's Paying Guest. The role was offered to Sohail bhai. When he couldn't do it he recommended me."

Vatsal is still remembering for his long stint as the teenage pinup boy in the serial Just Mohabbat. "Back then when they had done a popularity survey, Shah Rukh and Hrithik were in the first two places. My character Jai in Just Mohabbat was named third," says Vatsal.

Any regrets about his career? "Just one. My film Hostel which was gritty raw film about ragging in student campuses featuring students, who had actually been through the ragging, got shelved. I'd have liked that film to come out. I had worked really hard on getting the character right. But it's okay. I've lots to look forward to. I'm patient. I proved it by waiting for three years after my movie debut in Tarzan-The Wonder Car for the right offers."

Sohail who's shooting for David Dhawan's Do Knot Disturb in Abu Dhabi adds, "Vatsal is a lovely boy. I'm really fond of him."

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