'Ek Tha Tiger' is not anti-Pakistan, says director

 'Ek Tha Tiger' is not anti-Pakistan, says director

 Mumbai: Director Kabir Khan is upset after 'Ek Tha Tiger' promos were banned in Pakistan following allegations that it portrays the neighbouring country's intelligence agency in a bad light. But he says this is a misconception and that his film is neither insensitive nor derogatory.

"I will say it once more... Ek Tha Tiger is NOT anti Pakistan....In this day and age, it's stupid to make films that are insensitive or derogatory to any country or community," Kabir tweeted.

The director, who earlier made 'Kabul Express' on post-Taliban Afghanistan and won critical acclaim for it, says that jingoistic films lead to such situations

"This is the price we have to pay because unfortunately our industry has made insensitive and jingoistic films in the past," he wrote.

According to reports, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the country`s media regulatory watchdog, has directed cable operators and satellite TV channels to refrain from airing promos/reviews of the movie till it is issued a no-objection certificate by the Central Board of Film Censors of Pakistan.

PEMRA alleges that the film shows the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI in a bad light.

Produced by Yash Raj Films, 'Ek Tha Tiger' features Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif and will be released on August 15. Kabir Khan is confident that the film will be released in Pakistan.

"I am absolutely sure that once the censor board of Pakistan sees 'Ek Tha Tiger', they will be more than happy to show the film in Pakistan," he posted.

"I can assure the millions of fans of Salman in Pakistan that 'Ek Tha Tiger' will release in theatres in their country," he added.

Priyanka Chopra to replace Kareena Kapoor in 'Ram Leela'?

Priyanka Chopra to replace Kareena Kapoor in 'Ram Leela'?

Mumbai: Kareena Kapoor may have marched out of Sanjay Leela Bhansali upcoming romance film, but the filmmaker is yet not ready to hang his head in disappointment.

In fact, according to sources, he has bigger plans in place, the first step of which is to take lead actor Ranveer Singh on a trip to Gujarat to prep him for his role. Our source from the film says, "Bhansali is planning to take Ranveer to Gujarat in order to make him familiar with the place, where the film is set, apart from introducing him to the crew members."

With Bebo exiting the project, buzz is that Bhansali could be looking for a fresh face. And in case, the filmmaker decides to go with a tried and tested actress to cast as his Gujarati heroine, here’s looking at the timetables of some of our Bollywood actresses who could suit the part. But it looks like all of them have a rather choc-o-bloc schedule to start shooting next month.

Deepika Padukone: Deepika has the sequel of 'Race' in her kitty. She is currently shooting for her film opposite Ranbir Kapoor. And then she will start working on Chennai Express.

Anushka Sharma: Right now, she is shooting for her Yash Chopra project, post which she will do Raju Hirani’s next.

Sonam Kapoor: Sonam is currently working on Rakeysh Mehra next and will start work on 'Ranjhana'.

Katrina Kaif: The actress is shooting for Yash Chopra’s film opposite SRK. And then there is Dhoom 3 opposite Aamir Khan, apart from promotional activities around her spy thriller opposite Salman Khan.

Vidya Balan: Vids has 'Ghanchakkar' and 'Shaadi Ke Side Effects'.

Priyanka Chopra: PC could be Bhansali's only hope among A-list actresses. She has no other film apart from the remake of 'Zanjeer'.

Ajay, Rohit meet children from Smile Foundation

 Ajay, Rohit meet children from Smile Foundation

Ajay Devgn who has given yet another successful film with Bol Bachchan has always been a hit not just with youth and families but with kids as well.

An example of his immense popularity amongst children was when Devgn and director Rohit Shetty spent their Sunday afternoon spreading some smiles amongst the underprivileged kids from 'Smile Foundation'.

The kids are a huge fan of Ajay Devgn and having loved the film, they have had a long standing wish to meet the star. So when Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty were in Mehboob Studios, the kids came all the way to meet them and presented a huge colorful card to the duo!!

We heard that Devgn and Shetty were extremely touched by their gesture and Ajay Devgn generously distributed tons of chocolates to the sweet kids, interacting with them for quite some time and taking photographs as well.

Bhumika Chawla all set to start her second innings in Bollywood

Mumbai: Bhumika Chawla has been on a break from Bollywood since her marriage to yoga expert Bharat Thakur. After moving to Hyderabad post her marriage, she got busy with South projects. However now, she is all set to make a Bollywood comeback.

The actress says, “For the first two years of married life, I was in Hyderabd. Post that we moved to Dubai and I kept working on Tamil and Telugu films. Now, I have shifted base to Mumbai and plan to travel between Bangalore, Mumbai and Dubai.”

Bhumika last Bollywood appearance was in Gandhi My Father, back in 2007. The actress adds, “I will be starting a Telugu film next and a Tamil film after that. As for Hindi films, I’m reading a couple of scripts and nothing is finalised yet. I’m just hoping that the audience still want to see me again.”

Savour a mix of friendship, fashion, love in Cocktail

 Savour a mix of friendship, fashion, love in Cocktail

If you've loved films like Dil Chahta Hai and Dostana, chances are you would want to taste Cocktail too! With a heady mix of friendship, love, oodles of trendsetting fashion statements, and topped with a soundtrack of chartbusters like Tum hi ho bandhu and Daaru desi, the film has a great buzz among youngsters ahead of its release Friday.

Directed by Being Cyrus director Homi Adajania, Cocktail features actors Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and newcomer Diana Penty, in lead roles.

Co-produced by Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan of Illuminati films, the story is centred around Gautam (Saif), Meera (Diana) and Veronica (Deepika). Gautam is an incorrigible flirt, while Meera, a pretty girl who wears Indian clothes and exudes Indian values, comes to London from Delhi for a fresh start, and Veronica is a party animal.

As three people living together, they all have a blast- until love happens! The perfect friendship turns confusing, and love becomes complicated.

Adajania says Imran Khan was his first choice for the film. "Saif was not the first choice. Imran was supposed to do it but he was not sure if he wanted to do it at that point of a time," Adajania told IANS.

Actors Dimple Kapadia and Boman Irani feature in supporting roles. Explaining their presence in the cast, he said: "Dimple and Boman are also there in the film and it is not like they were in Being Cyrus so are part of this film as well. It is not a matter of familiarity but using talented actors who fit the bill."

Actor Randeep Hooda will be seen in a cameo. The film has already grabbed eyeballs for its ultra-modern styling by designer Anaita Shroff Adajania, and bagged a thumbs-up for its music, composed by Pritam Chakraborty.

Quirky song Second hand jawaani, with Saif, Deepika and Diana grooving together, has also gained popularity among music lovers.

Kareena Kapoor to catwalk at Lakme Fashion Week finale?

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Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor is likely to walk the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) winter-festive 2012 runway at the grand finale to be jointly presented by designer Kallol Dutta and duo Pankaj Nidhi.

The forthcoming edition will be held here Aug 3-7. "Kareena walked for Manish Malhotra two seasons ago and we have shared the work with her. We are already working with her (for this season). Kareena is taking out time for that," Purnima Lamba, head (Innovations), Lakme, told IANS.

However, Lamba says nothing is finalised for Kareena grand finale catwalk. "At this point we haven't decided the prospect of it, but she (Kareena) is very excited to walk for us. So Kareena might be the showstopper," said Lamba.In the last season, veteran designer Rohit Bal presented an outstanding finale. But this time fairly new designers like Kallol Dutta and Pankaj-Nidhi are getting the chance.

Lamba said: "I don't see there is any risk. As somebody who has invested in the future of fashion, it is my responsibility to give them a voice...The concept of bringing fresh perspective to the finale was very exciting. So we were very thrilled to get them on board and they both have very individual takes on fashion."

Has Madhuri done more for dance than Saroj Khan?

 Has Madhuri done more for dance than Saroj Khan?

Model-turned-actor Bhairavi Goswami gets vocal about the BMC land controversy regarding Madhuri Dixit-Nene dance academy

Madhuri Dixit-Nene has been in the middle of a controversy and the reason behind this is the issue of setting up a dance academy. Reports had recently claimed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had identified 100 plots in the western suburbs for Madhuri's dance academy after the actor had expressed a desire to set up a multi-genre dance school.

This issue of allotting a plot of land to Madhuri had come under the scanner. Model-turned-actor Bhairavi Goswami, who had been in the news after her controversial remarks against Aishwarya Rai Bachchan pregnancy, took to microblogging to express her anguish.

"Madhuri needs free land to start a dance academy. BMC offers a list of 100 plots to choose from. Why? Has she done more for dance than Saroj Khan? What will be the cost of land allotted to Madhuri? Is the dance school justified? She will also teach a few 'gareeb' students free in a separate servant area," Bhairavi wrote on a sarcastic note.

The actor further went on to ask, "Why should BMC give away a land for free or as a subsidy, to someone who can easily afford it? In that case, why can't super models get free land to start grooming academy to teach English, to train ordinary girls become models? In fact, talents who are poor should be given these kinds of privileges. With due respect to Madhuriji, who is a living legend, I think she has done nothing good for the nation or state courtesy which she should be expecting huge favours in return!"

While Bhairavi was very vocal online and otherwise with her protest, recent reports suggested that BMC had clarified that no such action has been taken. "All the calls and interviews about land being allotted to Madhuri when she can fully afford it have been successful. BMC says they will not allot any land," Bhairavi wrote.

While the Madhuri controversy might have been sorted out, fact is there are huge number of celebs who keep on making requests to various governments to allot them free plots of land even when they can very well afford to buy them. If the issue is to actually do a service to the nation, wonder why musicians, actors and sportsmen don't generate money themselves to buy the plots of land without adding any financial pressure to the government. Is it a concern for philanthropy or an ego massage that makes them take the free-plot path?