SOURCE: SHERLYN CHOPRA’S TWITTER HANDLE

Former Miss World and actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is at the 66th Cannes Film Festival. Ash, who is a regular at the Cannes, wore a black with golden embroidery Sabyasachi lehenga-sari for the evening gala of Bombay Talkies celebrating a 100 years of Indian cinema. She also has matching golden hair accessory. Ash was then seen in her white and mermaid like black skirt while giving interviews at the Festival. Aishwarya is the guest of honour at a special evening celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema tonight.

SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS & WORLD OF ASH (Facebook page)

Buzz is that B-Town’s most eligible bachelor could be tying the knot soon

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; May 21, 2013)

Looks like it could well be the time for Salman Khan to finally settle down. While Salman Khan is in Goa to shoot his upcoming home production, apparently he is spending a lot of us-time with alleged ladylove Iulia Vantur. Sources close to the star say that Sallu is even considering marrying the Romanian TV anchor.

Insiders from Goa say that while Iulia and Sallu are together in Goa, as reported in ‘Salman Khan’s new girl’ (HitList, May 7), the actor is serious about their future.

Our source says, “Bhai is extremely serious about his new girlfriend and she has been in his life for around two years but no one had got any wind of it. He is now being open about his relationship with her and people who are close to him are aware of her existence in his life. In fact, everyone is suggesting to Salman to get married to her, however, he is being mum about his plans.” Insiders also say that it would be no surprise if Salman finally announces Iulia’s presence in his life to everyone. The actor apparently met her during one of his trips abroad.

MUMBAI MIRROR (May 21, 2013)

Our lensman Raju Shelar spotted Salman Khan shooting for an advertisement at Kamalistan Studio on Monday. Wearing khaki trousers and a white shirt, the actor was riding a bike under the blazing midday sun and a motley bunch of angry character actors wielding assorted weapons — hand pumps, frying pans, pedestal fans, megaphones, trumpets—were hot on his heels. But Salman played it cool and escaped without a scratch. It seems it is impossible to contain Salman, no matter how hard you try.

He will be part of this classic film along with his dad Rishi Kapoor

DNA (May 21, 2013)

Rishi Kapoor and his son Ranbir are getting ready to step into Rishi’s grandfather Prithiviraj and father Raj Kapoor’s roles in Awara. And with the remake, the Kapoors’ home banner RK Films would be revived. Rishi lets out the big secret plan with Ranbir, “Besharam was the testing ground for the two of us together onscreen. We would now like to do something deeper. A remake of my father’s Awara is on our minds. And in all likelihood we will be doing it for our banner RK Films.” Rishi won’t direct the neo-Awara. “No thanks. Direction is a thankless job. I don’t want to get into that space at all. I am very comfortable and happy as an actor. I am having a ball.”

Rishi is currently going through the most fruitful phase of his entire 44-year career as an actor. He quips, “It’s intentional. I wanted to prove myself as an actor. Log bol rahen hain ke Ranbir Kapoor achcha actor hai. Yeh bhool gaye ki Rishi Kapoor bhi actor hai. They say Ranbir is Raj Kapoor’s grandson. They’ve forgotten the a generation that came in-between. Hello, knock knock… I am not going away anywhere yet. I didn’t want Ranbir to be called a chip off the old block. I wanted that I should be known as a chip off the new block. Today loads of work is coming my way. I’m at liberty to pick and choose.”

Besides acting, Rishi also enjoys being on ‘face-time’ with his grand-daughter. “If I raise my voice calling her name she gets scared. If she sees me playing these baddies, she’d stop talking to me. Jokes aside, I didn’t play a villain in recent films because I wanted to be bad onsceen. I did them because they were interesting.” Rishi has seven releases in 2013. He couldn’t be in a better personal space either. “I’ve started doing yoga. That gives me peace of mind. I am unhappy that I can’t kick my habit of consuming alcohol. That’s one thing I’d like to change. I’d also like to cut down my weight. But my producers get worried about the continuity in their films. ‘Please finish my film and then lose weight,’ they say. Uss chakkar mein nahin ho raha hai.”

BOMBAY TIMES (May 21, 2013)

Yusuf, who has been guarding Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan on his promotional city tours for years, currently has a new assignment. His job is to guard B-Town’s sweetheart Ranbir Kapoor. And, Yusuf felt a sense of deja vu when he accompanied Ranbir to Indore and Kanpur three days ago to promote Yeh Jaawani Hai Deewani. A unit source says, “There were around 8,000 people at the Kanpur mall where Ranbir visited and about 1,000 at the Indore hotel booked for his stay. The organisers and Yusuf had a tough time getting the actor into the elevator. The security guard had only experienced something like this when Shah Rukh visited places. And though he was prepared for the mayhem because of his past experience of guarding SRK, there was a brief moment when he was taken aback seeing the impact RK Jr had on the cities. Not even the sweltering heat and the dust caused by the posse of vehicles that wheeled in because of the film unit’s presence could deter the people from crowding there to catch a glimpse of the Kapoor scion. And, Yusuf stood like a rock around the star.”

We ask Sonam Kapoor who seems to be extraordinarily focussed on her new slate of films that could finally earn her the elusive actor stripes

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 21, 2013)

Sonam Kapoor is growing up. And the signs are all there – she is learning from her mistakes and is admitting to them. The actress, who had started off with Saawariya, has had better luck with her brand endorsements and fashion appearances than at the box office. Though she does not mind the fashionista tag which is taking her places (read Cannes, Paris), the 27-year-old claims she is serious about getting it right with her new slate of films, starting with Raanjhanaa.

“Even before Thank You, and Players hit the theatres, I realised my life was not going the way I wanted,” she says, looking mint-fresh in a blue and white denim-jacket combo. We forget it’s barely been hours after she returned from Cannes to shoot for her next with Ayushmann Khurrana. “I was working on big projects, but I wasn’t comfortable. I realised I had not earned my right to be there. I needed to be a better actor. Was I being hard on myself? Maybe, but that’s the truth,” she says with surprising candour. Apparently, that is when Sonam decided to swap big-ticket projects for scripts and directors. “There was no point no point trying to be something that I was not. I needed to switch off. I needed a break,” she says.

After Players bit the dust, Sonam decided hang her boots, temporarily. Till both Anil Kapoor and Aditya Chopra talked her out of her unhappy state. The latter even offered her a challenging role in his untitled next, a rom com set in Delhi.

A spot of introspection, a few bitter pills past, Sonam has a couple of interesting projects lined up, that could actually give her the credibility she craves.

She calls the switch from Aisha and Players to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Raanjhanaa as her ‘progression,” but clarifies: “My role in Bhaag Milkha is not the meatiest one, but it gave me an opportunity to work with Rakeysh Mehra after Delhi-6. I flourish under love and respect. I can’t handle screaming and shouting. And Mehra’s set up is perfect for me.”

Heaping praises on her co-star Farhan Akhtar, Sonam says the film “added to her confidence.” She is also in awe of her other co-actor, Dhanush in Raanjhanaa. “He was being modest when he said in his interview to Mirror that I was very patient with him. He is such a fine actor… He is just giving me too much credit!” she gushes.

In Nupur Asthana’s film with Ayushmann, Sonam claims it is her middle-class core that prompted the director to cast her in the film. “Even today, I have a curfew hour. My parents are very loving but I am still answerable to them.

My dad still takes me to Chembur to remind me that we should never forget from we started our journey,” she says with a touch of her newfound wisdom.

‘BEING SINGLE IS BETTER’
Does being single – Sonam broke up with Punit Malhotra – help her to focus better on her work. She laughs, “Who says I wasn’t always single? I think not being in a relationship is good for me, it’s easier working this way. I just want to be on sets now, nowhere else.”

The real reason behind Anurag Kashyap’s Ranbir Kapoor-starrer switching production houses

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 21, 2013)

Two weeks ago, Viacom18 Motion Pictures walked out of Anurag Kashyap’s dream project, Bombay Velvet. This, after consistently backing his vision for over four years. Surprised at this sudden development, Mirror endeavoured to find out why. Turns out negotiations between Anurag’s Phantom Productions and Viacom fell through mainly over the twin issues of production costs and profit sharing.

A source close to the film revealed: “Viacom had been nurturing the project for the past four years ever since Aamir, at one point in time, was approached for the movie. Viacom had consistently backed Anurag’s film despite it being a big project. Anurag had plans to recreate Mumbai of the 40’s by erecting a huge set. However, during the closing stage of the discussion, the two sides ended up not being on the same page. The cost of production and the terms of profit sharing were the main concerns.”

It is now learnt Viacom has been replaced by Fox Star Studios, which is said to have bought the movie for roughly around Rs 90 crore. Apparently, this is the biggest deal in Anurag’s film career.

Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios,India, said: “We are delighted to partner Anurag in his next directorial venture, Bombay Velvet. One of the best storytellers we have today, Anurag will bring alive Bombay in its original glory. For us at Fox Star, Bombay Velvet is yet another example of high concept cinema that we want to be known for.” Meanwhile, a source close to Fox said, “Rs 90 crore is way off target.”

Asked how Fox entered the deal, the source said: “The offer made to Viacom, if not more, was close to this price. But Anurag had faith in Fox as they have a stronger distribution network. Also, after CEO Vikram Malhotra put in his papers in March, Anurag and his team started discussing the project with the new management. That’s when the friction started, eventually causing the deal to fizzle out. That’s also when they started negotiating with Fox. The Phantom-Fox deal was finalised very recently.”

Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, who’ve been paired for the first time, will start shooting for Bombay Velvet in a few months’ time.

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 21, 2013)

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known as a filmmaker who likes to keep his cards close to his chest. Except, when he actually wants the world to know his ‘secrets.’ As was happening during the shoot of Ram Leela, when the impenetrable fortress that is his set, became strangely porous. And word of Ranveer’s romantic exploits began trickling out with frightening frequency. But things are going to be very different with his next production, Mary Kom, directed by Omung Kumar.

After a prosthetic expert in Los Angeles let the world know how Priyanka Chopra would be made to resemble the champion boxer, the set for the film is being blanketed under extra-tight security. Mirror has learnt that the producer has had his entire crew sign an NDA clause after the incident, other than the mandatory ban on mobile phones. Both Omung Kumar and PeeCee, who has just started training for the film, can rest easy. All their secrets are now safe with Bhansali… until of course he wants to share some with the rest of us.

After the late filmmaker shot Jab Tak… in the valley, more and more filmmakers are following suit

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 21, 2013)

After a yawning gap, late Yash Chopra ventured once again into the picturesque Kashmir Valley for the filming of his swan song, Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Ever since, several filmmakers are waking up to the possibilities of this beauteous destination.

While the valley has been Imtiaz Ali’s chosen locale for his next, Highway, starring Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt, Siddharth Anand is headed there later this year to shoot Bang Bang with Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif. The latest filmmaker drawn to Kashmir is Abhishek Kapoor aka Gattu, who will shoot his next, inspired by Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations in the valley. Said Abhishek: “The film is set in Kashmir. Naturally, the script lends itself to be shot there.” A source close to the project said Sushant Singh Rajput has been finalised for the lead while the hunt is on for the leading lady. Produced by Abhishek’s cousin Ekta Kapoor, the team will soon do a recee to identify suitable locations in and around the valley.