"No One Killed Jessica", "Mirch", "Turning 30" and "7 Khoon Maaf" - all women-centric films in the last few months show the female leads in strong and powerful roles. Filmmakers and actors hope this trend continues in future.

On the silver screen women are usually seen as a helpless mother, submissive wife, devoted girlfriend, overcaring sister, daughter or a vamp, but directors like Vishal Bharadwaj and Alankrita Shrivastava are trying to break the mould and present women in a more realistic, vibrant and unconventional way.

One-film-old Rajkumar Gupta's "No One Killed Jessica" was an attempt to bring alive the struggle of Sabrina Lall's fight with the Indian judiciary for years to get justice for her murdered sister.

Starring Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji, the movie created a buzz as it was inspired by the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lall and the director was never apprehensive that his film won't do well without a strong male character.

"The protagonists in my movie were two leading ladies who were very powerful in whatever they did. It's not easy to make a film on such a theme, but times are changing and people are accepting it with open arms," Gupta told.

Director Vinay Shukla, best known for his 1999, multiple National Award-winning project "Godmother", is confident there will be more successful women-centric films in the years to come.



"At the moment, the number of women-centric movies is less, but it will grow with time because actresses nowadays have got huge potential to run a movie on their shoulders much like their male counterparts," said Shukla, whose latest film "Mirch" dealt with four stories of women's emancipation.

Other movies that gave importance to women character is Bharadwaj's "7 Khoon Maaf", inspired by Ruskin Bond's short story "Susanna's Seven Husbands", which saw Priyanka Chopra bumping off her seven husbands, while debutant Alankrita Shrivastava's "Turning 30" was a take on the dilemma of women at the milestone age.

Talking about her experience of working as the leading lady in "Turning 30", actress Gul Panag said: "'Turning 30' was all about a woman's perspective and being a woman, I loved shooting every part of the movie as it was an honest attempt. We gave it our best and I am proud of the movie."

Earlier too, films like "Dor" (2006), "Silsilay" (2005), "Tehzeeb" (2003), "Pinjar" (2003), "Chameli" (2003), "Satta" (2003), "Filhaal" (2002), "Zubeidaa" (2001) "Lajja" (2001), "Chandni Bar" (2001) and "Fiza" (2000) brought the woman into the spotlight - all these films got critical acclaim, but they didn't turn out to be a commercial hit.

Shukla pointed out: "It's not that the trend of women playing the main character has come into practice now. It has been happening for quite long. From Meena Kumari in 'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam', Nargis in 'Mother India', Nutan in 'Bandini' to Hema Malini in 'Seeta aur Geeta' and Meenakshi Seshadri in 'Damini', these ladies always managed to make an impression on the audience."

"The number of such movies has in fact decreased in today's time but the reason could be that women-centric movies are distinctive and appeals only to a specific audience," he added.

Veteran actress and censor board chief Sharmila Tagore said: "I feel more women-centric films will come with time. But we shouldn't complain because it's the same the world over - it is indeed, the male characters that are in prominence even in Hollywood. So we shouldn't fuss."

The 64-year-old, who has been in the industry for over five decades, feels "No One Killed Jessica" is the only woman-centric movie to have worked at the box office.

"Only one women-centric film has sort of worked - 'No One Killed Jessica'; so one shouldn't get too excited about the phenomenon. 'No One Killed Jessica' was a hugely publicised film because of the actual happening, which had affected so many people. The news about Jessica (Lall) was in the front page of dailies for very long, people were so involved, so the film had a lot of publicity value in a commercial way. So, it was one success," Sharmila explained.

Meanwhile acclaimed actress Rani Mukerji says she is looking forward to more projects where women are projected as strong and powerful.

"Whatever films I have been a part of so far, most of them have been women-centric films. I wish to do more such films where women are shown stronger because it is a fact that women are stronger," she said.

Imran Khan will sport two hairdos for his next film Short Term Shaadi with Kareena

Imran Khan will adopt two new looks in a movie for the first time in Karan Johar's Dharma Production flick Short Term Shaadi.

Imran sports a formal look in the first half of the film while the look in the second half is funky

A source said, "Imran plays a rigid, conservative and fussy architect in the film who falls in love with Kareena Kapoor, a liaison which changes him completely.

Kareena plays a hairstylist who teaches him about life and love. The film has been shot in Las Vegas and India and will be directed by Shakun Batra."

The looks

The source revealed, "In the first half, Imran has slightly longer, gelled back hair. It's a formal classic hairstyle with longer sideburns and side parting something Imran has not done before.

In the second half, Imran goes for a funkier and cooler look similar to I Hate Luv Storys."

Kareena the stylist

According to sources, Kareena had to learn some hairstyling for her role in the film so that the on-screen sequences did not look fake and Imran would always sportingly agree to whatever she wanted to experiment on him.

"She learned some hairstyling from her stylist (Pompy), " informs Imran.

While, in the film, Kareena styles Imran's hair, in real life and for all his films, it's his good friend Ayesha who has done the look.

"Ayesha has been styling my hair ever since my first film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. She has worked on both my looks in Short Term Shaadi too."

Imran was excited about the looks he is donning for the film.

He said, "The film takes place in a compressed time frame of a little more than a week and deals with how my character changes within that short span of time."

"In the first half, my character is prim, proper and very fussy about the way his life should be.

I wear starched, neatly ironed outfits and formal three-piece suits with polished shoes. My hair is always neatly combed.

Kareena enters my life and gives me a cool makeover and a different, spicier hairstyle. She comes into my dull and drab life like a breath of fresh air and makes me see things differently, " he elaborated.

To prepare himself for his latest role of a tabela owner, Saif Ali Khan is learning to milk buffaloes 

While actors Sunny Deol and Akshay Kumar have milked cows for a lark, Saif Ali Khan has learnt how to milk a buffalo to get into the skin of the character of a tabela (dairy farm) owner.

Khan is playing a tabela owner in Prakash Jha's Aarakshan, a film based on the violence that followed the implementation of the Mandal commission recommendations to reserve a large percentage of jobs for the backward class.

Khan is currently acclimatising himself to life on a dairy farm. Says Jha, "I am amazed at how focused Saif is on getting the details right. He is extremely responsive and attentive. Despite this role being a new experience for him, he has merged into the milieu well."

For the past month, a tabela has been erected on a set in Bhopal, and a total of 70 buffaloes have been arranged for the shoot. Jha says, "We created a tabela and got buffaloes from a dairy agency. We wanted the ambience in Aarakshan to look convincing."

We created a tabela and got buffaloes from a dairy agency. We wanted the ambience in Aarakshan to look convincing

Shakti Kapoor's son will play a role similar to his dad's in the remake of Satte Pe Satta

The phrase 'stepping into dad's shoes' can't get more real than this. Shakti Kapoor's son Siddhant Kapoor is gearing up to get into his dad's boots in Soham Shah's Satte Pe Satte remake. It's a casting coup of sorts.

Contrary to reports that Siddhant will make his Bollywood debut with a Yash Raj Film, the 28-year-old lad is foraying into films with the Satte Pe Satta remake co-produced by Ashtavinayak and Sanjay Dutt productions.

A reliable industry source reveals, "Siddhant Kapoor is doing the same role his dad essayed in the original film.

But, as the film is being adapted to suit today's time, Siddhant's role will also be made contemporary although the essence will remain the same."

Shakti Kapoor played one of the six brothers of Amitabh Bachchan, who was rowdy in nature. "The producers were looking for a suitable guy for Shakti's role and someone happen to mention Siddhant name.

When Soham saw some of Siddhant pictures on a social networking site, it reminded him of Shakti Kapoor from Satte Pe Satta.

The auditions only confirmed Soham and the producer's belief that he suited the role to the tee, " he said.

Did you know?

>Sanjay Dutt will play the role of Amitabh Bachchan in the remake of Satte Pe Satta.

>The original film was an adaptation of the 1954 Hollywood musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Actor Madhavan is keen to make a sequel to the surprise hit. Will the director agree?

With Tanu Weds Manu faring well at the box office, Madhavan is keen to act in a sequel to the film. However, director Aanand Rai has no such plans.

While Madhavan, the film's male lead, is initiating concrete moves to carry forward the story of the fiery Tanu and the sober Manu, director Rai has refused to make a sequel. Madhavan has reportedly even worked out the plot of the sequel, which he wants to set in London.

Talking to Sunday Mid day Madhavan said, "According to me, the sequel should look at Tanu and Manu's personality from a completely different perspective to that of the original film. While, Tanu Weds Manu charmed audiences, the sequel, in my head, will shock them."

However, Rai does not want to direct a sequel. The director says, "No matter what others say, I am not doing a sequel. I know the temptation to carry forward a successful film is immense. But very honestly, I've carried Tanu and Manu's story as far as I wanted to. I have nothing more to say about their lives."

When asked about Madhavan's keenness, Rai said, "I have lots of other ideas I want to direct with Madhavan and Kangna Ranaut. But like I said, I'm done with Tanu and Manu's story."

By Subhash K Jha

The prolific writer-director Anees Bazmi has never been busier, so much so that he has been flying back-and-forth between Bangkok and Mumbai shooting Ready with Salman Khan in Bangkok and supervising the post-production of Thank You in Mumbai.

In fact Anees had to leave the shooting of a song with Salman and Asin in the hands of choreographer Raju Khan in Bangkok to be in Mumbai.

The last thing Anees needs is for party-poopers to rain on his parade. Upset with stories about certain irregularities on his sets Anees speaks out.

“I read that my script for Thank You is actually the script that I wrote for the sequel to No Entry. Ab aap bataayiye, am I so foolish that I'd just mix 'n' match scripts with projects like women colour-coordinate their clothes?

And if I had actually given over the script of No Entry Mein Entry (No Entry 2) to another producer would Boney Kapoor (the No Entry producer) have been happy with me?”

Not waiting for an answer Anees continues, “For the record, the script of No Entry Mein Entry is in progress.The idea for Thank You came to me when I was shooting a song with Akshay Kumar and Katrina in Egypt. We decided then and there to make Thank You.”

The film was to originally star Katrina with Akshay before Sonam Kapoor stepped in.

Continues Anees, “Some people are spreading these baseless stories about my projects. They won't spare a bachcha like Aarya Babbar either. Some people wrote he abandoned my location in Bangkok for Ready to join Shirish Kunder and Farah Khan in Chandigarh for Shirish's Joker because they are like his family.

For the record, even our unit is like one big family. Aarya did not desert our shooting. He left when there was a break, and with my permission. Please spare the boy. He's trying to establish himself.”

Says Anees angrily, “I've two big back-to-back releases first Thank You and then Ready.I suppose that's too much for my well-wishers to digest.I request them to let me do my work in peace.The rest I leave to God and the audience.”

By Subhash K Jha

Small is undoubtedly Big in Bollywood these days. UTV and Reliance, two of the biggest corporate houses operating in Bollywood, reeling under the failure of their big-budgeted juggernauts in 2010-11 are now focusing on cost-effective projects rather than prestigious directorial names.

But the corporate house that has really and truly belled the costly cat is Viacom 18. Their filmmaking affiliate Studio 18 rejoicing in the budget-friendly success of Aanand Rai's Tanu Weds Manu this week has decided to let the axe fall on their biggest project Boodha, bringing together Amitabh Bachchan with Jagannath Puri, one of the hottest directors of Telugu cinema.

Viacom/Studio 18 has cancelled a huge event that was planned last month to introduce the entire cast and director of Boodha to the media in Mumbai.

Says a source, “It was planned by Viacom as the mother of all mahurats. Mr Bachchan was going to appear in his cool-dude tinted hair and dyed-bearded avatar with his leading ladies. Puri Jagannath was going to be introduced as Telugu cinema's hotshot movie-maker. All plans for this mega-event were suddenly aborted.

After the release and success of Tanu Weds Manu Viacom/Studio 18 has realized that it isn't the hype or the budget that sell a film to the audience. They immediately instructed Puri Jagannath to follow cost-cutting measures in Boodha.”

Puri who starts shooting in Mumbai this week is reluctant to open up on the issue of the annulled event for Boodha. “Yes Viacom had planned a big event. But it has been called off.You'll have to ask them why.”

Vikram Malhotra, the COO of Studio 18 admits the Boodha event has been called off. “But for no particular reason. The dates didn't match as Puri Jagannath was overseas and Mr Bachchan was starting his current film.”

Malhotra goes on to add, “I am a firm believer of the fact that right budgets and good content projected big in marketing, is the way to work. Our lineup of movies at Studio 18 will reflect that.”

It remains to be seen whether the aborted jamboree for Boodha will herald a new era of sober unostentatious filmmaking in Bollywood. At the moment this cutting down of costs does reflect a new awareness of the changed fortunes in filmdom.

By Subhash K Jha

May 14, Sri Ram Centre, Delhi. The date and venue will be recorded in the political and cultural history of the world. For, on that historic day Muntazer-al-Zaydi who created instant history on December 14, 2008 when during a press conference in Baghdad, Muntazer hurled his shoe at Bush as a sign of protest, will be in Delhi to watch play based on the incident.

The intrepid journalist's tryst with globally recorded shoe-throwing is now the theme of a play The Last Salute to be produced by Mahesh Bhatt and directed by well-known theatre personality Arvind Gaur.

Most interesting of all is the fact that the young actor new actor Imran Zahid who plays Muntazer-al-Zaydi in the The Last Salute has been in constant touch with Muntazer to understand the mind of a man who chose such a crude but effective way of political protest against Americanism.

For months Imran has been struggling to comprehend Muntazer's Arabic email

Says the excited actor, “To play Muntazer I needed to understand the man's motivations as a humanbeing, journalist and political individual.

Though he speaks a smattering of English and we've conversed by phone many times, Muntazer-al-Zaydi writes only in Arabic. All his email to me came in Arabic.

I had to take the help of a lecturer-friend from Delhi University who specializes in Arabic. She helped me unravel the enigma of Muntazer as contained in his emails.It's only through his writing on email that I actually understood why he did what he did.”

Imran who'sall set to play Muntazer on May 14 in Delhi followed by one-off performances in Mumbai, Kolkat and Dubai in the same month, shares some of the unknown facts about Muntazer-al-Zaydi.

“Muntazer had been repeatedly warned by the Iraqi government of dire consequences because of his anti-establishment stance.But he remained defiantly pro-democracy.

Not too many people know that he had gone to the Bush conference prepared to hurl the shoe, so it wasn't a spontaneous display of outrage.He had, in fact, taken off his shoe before entering the Bush conference and then carefully placed the shoe under his chair.A woman saw him putting the show under his chair and asked him what he was doing it.”

Muntazer told Imran Zahid, “So many dog sniffers and metal detectors couldn't decipher my true neeyat that day.” Imran's most recent email from Muntazer this week said, “I am going to Tahir Square on Friday , even if they arrest or kill me, I'll protest.”

All these incidents, anecdotes and statements that Imran has collected through his enduring communication with Muntazer has now gone into playing the character on stage.

Zahid who has also been selected to play the slain students' leader Chandrashekhar Prasad in Mahesh Bhatt's Chandu, is nervous as hell. “I'm not allowing myself to think that I will be creating history when the real Muntazer-al-Zaydi will be sitting in the audience in Delhi watching me play him on stage. It's a feeling I can't describe in words.”

Also expected at the historic play from Bollywood are Shabana and Javed Akhtar, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.Plus of course the entire Bhatt clan which includes Emran Hashmi.

But the Bollywood invitees on May 14 is not what Imran Zahid is excited about.After having interacted for so long with the Iraq's iconoclastic journalist Imran is looking forward to meeting him.

“Not just that. Mahesh Bhatt Saab will appear on stage in Delhi and the other three performances to read a letter that he wrote to George Bush in 2003. Bhatt Saab will also moderate question and answer sessions with Muntazer-al-Zaydi after each stage performance.All in all I think we will be creating a kind of history, ” says Imran Zahid dreamily.

Priyanka Chopra seems to have taken her role in "7 Khoon Maaf" a little too seriously! The versatile actress, who gets married seven times in the thriller, says she would love to marry at least six times in real life - but to the same man.

"I have been planning my wedding since as far back as I can remember! My ideal scenario is getting married six times (to the same man of course), " Priyanka revealed in the upcoming, second anniversary issue of fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar.

The 28-year-old, one of the most eligible singles in tinsel town, already has elaborate plans set in her mind about the six spots and types of ceremonies she would like to have.

"My dadaji's (grandfather's) house in Ambala - my ‘big, fat Indian wedding'; underwater at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia; a church in Las Vegas - wearing a short black dress and with the priest dressed as Elvis; the intimate ceremony - at a small, beautiful church in Locarno, Switzerland. It's on top of a hill that overlooks parts of Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

She also wants to go in for a nikah.

"Only very close family and friends will be present; a nikah - I think it's a beautiful, romantic ceremony - the curtains, the stolen glances, the words, and finally the acceptance... ‘Kabool hai'; and lastly, the groom's choice! If my future groom survives all that, then we'll survive anything!" she added.

The plans are all quite set of course, but Priyanka says marriage does not figure on her priority list as of now.

"There is so much happening on the work front right now, which is my priority. I will get married, but I can't say when. It's not really in my control. I am a hopeless romantic, so I'm waiting for the man who is meant to be with me; he may arrive today, or five years later, " she said.

In the meantime, her hectic schedules and film promotions will keep her on her toes.

She has almost finished the shoot of "Don - The Chase Continues". She will start work on Karan Johar's remake of "Agneepath" and then she has Anurag Basu's "Barfee", Kunal Kohli's next, as well as "Krrish 2".

In her interview to Harper's Bazaar, the National award-winning actress has spoken about her journey to fame, the importance of awards, industry rivalry, her style, aspirations and her much-talked about chemistry with Shahid Kapoor.

The magazine hits the stands Wednesday.

To go shirtless in Dhoom 3, mommy willing
PS: Is beefing up in LA to look the part

If all goes well, and with his mother Jaya Bachchan's permission, Abhishek Bachchan would be taking off his shirt for the first time in Dhoom 3. For this, he has met two of the top physical trainers in LA earlier this week.

Says a source, "With the help of these two renowned trainers who have worked on the physique of a number of iconic Hollywood stars Abhishek hopes to build his self-confidence (read: muscles) enough to appear bare-chested on the screen for the first time in Dhoom 3." There's just one hitch.

Abhishek's mom Jaya is strictly against her son appearing bare-chested on screen. Until Abhishek convinces her that it's fine to do so no amount of muscle-power would persuade him to take the shirtless plunge.

At the moment he's in LA with with his fingers crossed. Says a source close to Abhishek, "Ash and Abhishek have taken some time off together in LA for various reasons.

Yes, he has met two trainers. They're flying back to India on Saturday night."

Hollywood director to co-produce Xtrme City with Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan's Indo-Hollywood project Xtrme City just got bigger! Martin Scorcese is coming on board the film and most of the credit for that goes to SRK's friend and Ra.One screenwriter Mushtaq Shiekh.

Scorsese will co-produce along with David Weisman. Paul Schrader will direct and is also co-writing the film with Mushtaq. Leonardo Di Caprio will star in the film along with SRK.

Says a source connected to the film, "Mushtaq and Paul have been working on the script for a year now. The two, along with SRK and Paul met in Berlin last year at a meeting coordinated by Shiekh."

Apparently Scorsese has proposed making the film as a fully equal co-production between SRK's company Red Chillies in India and Scorsese's company Sikelia Productions in Hollywood, whereby all creative decisions would be shared equally between SRK and Martin.

"A meeting will happen soon to decide how the Bollywood-Hollywood dream can become reality."

Shiekh confirms, "It's true. We are all elated. This is the best news I have heard in a long time. Martin loved the script and it meant the world to me as the writer of the film along with Paul Schrader.

But when he comes in as the producer of the project, then I am thrilled as it takes the film to another level completely. Inshaallah, all goes well from here onwards. Fingers and all parts of the body crossed."

The source adds that a year ago, Xtrme City looked like it might remain a pipe dream.



"The sheer logistics of merging two great film-making cultures seemed overwhelming, until a secret meeting took place on February 12 at last year's Berlin Film Festival between SRK, Leo, Martin, David, Paul and Karan Johar when Shah Rukh was in Berlin for the world premiere of My Name Is Khan and the H-Town actor-director duo were there for the premiere of their Shutter Island premiere the following night."

Last minute arrangements were promptly made and hours before the MNIK screening. Khan hosted a secret encounter in his Regent Hotel suite.

"The meet-and-greet over coffee was simply intended to break the ice between the international artists who admired and respected each other's work. It quickly turned into a high-energy encounter.

Topics of discussion included Scorsese's love for Bollywood cinema and the need for the preservation of its classic works."

The Xtrme City screenplay was officially presented to SRK, Martin and DiCaprio. "Apparently, the camaraderie evolved from that event. The bonding between the superstars took everyone by surprise."

Bobby Doel declines to do a step for a dance number in Anees Bazmee's Thank You

Remaining true to his shy Deol image, Bobby Deol recently refused to do a step for a dance number in Anees Bazmee's Thank You.

The comic caper, toplining Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Irrfan Khan, the Deol munda and Sonam Kapoor in the lead, has extramarital affairs as the core theme.

To go with the film's tone, the director shot a raunchy take on Jaanbaaz song Pyaar Do Pyaar Lo, which as the men (except Sunil) shaking their booties in a nightclub with bikini babes.

Count me out

Says a source present during the shoot, "It's a raunchy number. One of the dance steps had the boys spanking the dancers on their behinds.

While both Akshay and Irrfan agreed to follow through, Bobby flatly refused to do the move.

Deol Jr is very conscious about being a married man and has always refrained from doing steamy or provocative steps. Despite the coaxing of co-stars and the director, he stood his ground."

Aneez Bazmee says, "Thank You is a film about extramarital affairs. The choreographer came up with the step keeping the film's theme in mind. So, we poked fun at Bobby for being so 'shy'."

Must say Tanya has trained her husband really well!!

Buzz was that the couple were superstitious and had been wanting a baby for long so they preferred to keep the happy news under wraps 

Manoj Bajpayee and his wife Shabana Reza have a bundle of joy but till yesterday the couple preferred to keep mum about the new arrival!

Shabana delivered a baby girl on February 23 at a private nursing home in Santa Cruz. The couple has named her Ava Nayla Bajpayee.

After Hitlist reported yesterday ('Mommie Diaries') in which Manoj was spotted at a baby store at Waterfield Road, Bandra, checking out the stuff on display, guess the actor finally decided to make it public!

All this while Bajpayee preferred to keep mum about the baby. Buzz was that the couple were superstitious and had been wanting a baby for long - so they preferred to keep the happy news under wraps.

Says a source, "The new parents are overjoyed about the new arrival but had kept it quiet because that is the way they wanted it!"

The source adds, "Manoj has always been a very private person. He is not the one to flaunt this. In fact they shifted from a bigger hospital to a private nursing home in Santa Cruz to stay away from glare."

The actor had come to Mumbai for the delivery and taken a break from the shoot of Aarakshan that is happening in Bhopal.

It is also a coincidence that both daughter and father have a common date Manoj was born on April 23 while Ava Nayla Bajpayee is born on February 23.

Kapoor donates solar lamps worth lakhs to Bihar village 

Ranbir Kapoor believes in giving generously. The actor recently contributed solar lamps worth lakhs of rupees to the Purani Bazar village in Lakhisarai town of Bihar.

Says a source close to Ranbir, "The villagers in Purani Bazar are grateful to RK as he sponsored solar lamps for their developing village. Solar power is an economical energy option for villages to use.

While Ranbir is not very vocal about energy conservation, he believes in quietly doing his bit to prevent global warming. When a news channel approached him, he believed in what they were doing and supported the cause."

Ranbir did his own research before contributing to the cause. "RK found out that solar lamps are more economical and less polluting than kerosene lamps. So he told the channel he wanted to donate lamps to the village."

Adds the source "The Purani Bazar has a lot to thank Ranbir Kapoor for. The vegetable vendors here had to wrap up their stalls before sundown everyday because there was no electricity.

Some of them would do business using kerosene lamps which would cut into their earnings as it cost them R 8 a day to run these. Some days they couldn't even light up as kerosene isn't available easily, RK's solar lamps are a veritable boon."

Ranbir says, "I did the little I could in my small way and I hope this encourages the youth to do the same. I am very humbled by the villagers' appreciation."

The actor was part of the NDTV Greenathon 2010 that helped raise money to provide solar power to 160 villages across the nation.

Completes first phase of construction project he's developing in Khandala. Here's looking...

Sunil Shetty has finally completed the first phase of his dream homes in Khandala.

Fully furnished

Called Whistling Woods (as one can actually hear the sound of the wind whispering through the trees), these villas come fully furnished with private swimming pools, a gazebo, servant rooms and a garden.

Sunil Shetty and the many sights of the property he has developed at Whistling Woods in Khandala

Shetty had earlier ventured into the real estate business with another company in Alibaug. This time, though, the villas are entirely his brainchild.

A source says, "It's a fully-loaded home, furnished and ready to move in. You don't have to bring anything but your clothes.

Once you move in you don't need to step outside for everything as the villas are fitted with all sorts of gadgets."

Birth of a concept



Sunil came up with the concept while travelling. "The Whistling Woods villas are like Balinese villas. It's not just his dream project but also ideal homes as they are spacious, green, environment-friendly, using solar energy.

They are also working on harnessing wind power. Each villa is something one can dream of having."

Anna's Phase One of the Whistling Woods is complete and Phase 2 and 3 have already started. "The villas are well priced and value for money. It's called the 'S Assets' brand of second homes.



Phase 1 took a year to get complete but the actor-entrepreneur has been with it every step of the way."

Why real estate? Anna says, "For me, this is a passion. I look into it very seriously. Like good films don't come every day, good places like these also don't".

I am an actor, an obsessive gardner and landscaper and have done my training in hotel management. For me, this was the best thing I could have done as an extension of my earlier work."



Sunil's villas also come with beautiful lighting systems at night, "It is completely self-sufficient and low-maintenance. There are signature light fittings and furnishing.

I am very particular about the people buying them also as like-minded people and people who maintain their homes are as important. The house owner will be more proud of his second home."

Though Sunil agreed to let us check out the villas, he was reluctant to talk about it. He says, "For me, less is more. I have always believed in multi-tasking. Yes, it is my dream project and passion."

Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan, who is making his television debut as a dance reality show judge, is the highest paid film star on small screen.

The shooting for "Just Dance" the dance reality show on Star Plus will start next month where the 37-year-old film star will judge contestants along with choreographers Farah Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant.

Hrithik is looking forward to a successful inning on the small screen after his two previous films 'Kites' and 'Guzaarish' bombed at the box office. "Only after biggest failures come biggest success, " Hrithik had said at the launch last month.

About reports that he is being paid approximately Rs 2 crore per episode, Hrithik had said, "I thought I am paid well." But sources close to the actor claim that the Hrithik is indeed the highest paid actor on television.

"He gets Rs two crore per episode. Whereas Salman Khan shot for his last TV show only during the weekends and would wrap up two episodes in a single day and take home a pay packet of Rs 2.5 crore, " sources said. 

By Subhash K Jha

Housefull2 will be shot in Chile and Argentina where no Hindi film has been shot before.

“Besides these virgin locales we’re also shooting Housefull 2 in the UK, Phuket and Hongkong, ” informs Sajid.

It’s not just virgin locations that turn on Sajid Khan. It’s also virgin pairs.

“That’s why I’ve replaced all the girls. I’ve paired Asin for the first time with Akshay, John Abraham for the first time with Jacqueline Fernandez. We’re looking for a leading lady for Riteish Deshmukh, ” informs Sajid Khan. Now that Riteish’s good friend and co-star Jacqueline has moved on to John on screen, one wonders whom Riteish will get paired with in Housefull2!

Sajid is also excited about bringing the two brothers Randhir and Rishi Kapoor together. “I’m their huge fan. I had so much fun working with Dabooji in Housefull. And Chintuji is arguably the most natural entertainer we’ve ever had in our films.And guess what? I’m naming them ‘Daboo’ and ‘Chintu’ in the film.”

Sajid Khan is in principal against sequels.

“I dropped plans of doing a sequel to my Heyy Baby. But Housefull is a franchise. My producer Sajid Nadiadwala and I want to carry it forward. We’ve retained the name and the basic premise of a house crammed full with character chaos and comedy. Everything else is completely different from the first Housefull.”

Anees Bazmee's "Thank You", about extra marital affairs, has steamy scenes and some hot dance numbers. But Bobby Deol, one of the lead actors, refused to do some dance moves.

A re-mixed version of "Pyaar do pyaar lo" from the film "Jaanbaaz", has been used in the film. Lead actors Akshay Kumar, Bobby, Irrfan Khan and Suneil Shetty were supposed to dance on the song shot in a night club with women dressed in bikinis.

One of the dance steps had the boys spanking the dancers on their buttocks, but Bobby flatly refused to the dance step.

"Bobby was very hesitant to do the spanking step. Actually Bobby is very conscious that he is married, and refrains from doing and steamy or provocative steps, " said a source close to the film.

Even after a lot of coaxing Bobby refused to budge. Bazmee tried to talk Bobby into doing the step, but he explained his predicament and the director understood.

" 'Thank You' is about extramarital affairs. It's an out and out comedy, and keeping in mind the theme of the film, the choreographer came up with the step. It was a step done in jest. In fact, we were all making fun of Bobby that he felt shy, " said Bazmee.

In "Thank You", Bobby, Irrfan and Suneil are shown as playboys who cheat on their wives. Sonam 

Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee has becomes a proud father as his actress wife Shabana, known as Neha, gave birth to a baby girl in a private nursing home.The baby was born Feb 23 and Manoj is very happy and excited.

"They have named the baby Ava Nayla Bajpayee. They kept quiet about it because that is the way they wanted it.

Manoj has always been a very private person about his personal life and everybody knows this. In fact, they shifted from a bigger hospital to a private nursing home in Santacruz to enjoy this moment with close family, " a source close to the actor told.

"Manoj had come to Mumbai for the delivery and now he is back in Bhopal for the shoot of 'Aarakshan', " added the source.

Sussanne Khan, the media shy and pretty wife of Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, has launched another interior store - The Charcoal project.

Located in Andheri, it is spread over an area of 14, 000 square feet and has a wide spectrum of decor products that range from French antique furniture to modern eclectic furniture to home accessories, dinnerware, table linen, crockery, soft furnishings, installations, artefacts, and limited edition photo-art and accent pieces.

Sussanne will showcase her collections as well as creations of Indian and some international designers as well. The store will offer creations of Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, who apart from designing clothes also come up with home furnishings.

British interior designer Andrew Martin's collection will also be on display.

Sussanne has an Associate of Arts Degree in interior design from Brooks College in Long Beach, California. She first started working with the interior firm of her mother Zarine, wife of actor-filmmaker Sanjay Khan.

She is a full-fledged interior designer and owner of Suzanne Roshan's House of Design. Known for her good work, she was roped in by actresses Rani Mukerji and Priyanka Chopra to do their houses.

Her new store was launched Sunday and Bollywood came in full force - from Aamir Khan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahid kapoor to Katrnia Kaif, Shilpa Shetty, Anil Kapoor and Twinkle Khanna were there.

After veteran character artist A.K. Hangal, comes news that 81-year-old M.S. Shinde, editor of the cult film "Sholay", is perishing in poverty in Asia's biggest slum Dharavi. The Cine and TV Artists Association (CINTAA) has come to his aid.

Shinde, who edited over a hundred hit films including "Shaan", "Shakti" and "Seeta Aur Geeta", had to move to the PMFP colony in Dharavi after the building in Parel where he lived for 48 years collapsed and the owner refused to help him. His wife died in 2006 and he lives with his daughter Achla.

Shinde recently had tumour surgery and cataract operation.

"We are helping him. Yesterday only we sent him a cheque, " Gajendra Chauhan, vice president of CINTAA, told.

"The federation (CINTAA) is the highest body that controls 23 associations and they all are sending money to federation to help Mr. Shinde, " he added refusing to disclose the amount of money given.