Happy Birthday Arjun Rampal!

Arjun Rampal turns 37 today. He is just seven years old in the industry and with the success of Rock On and The Last Lear, Arjun has proved that he is not only the most good looking man in Bollywood but also a wonderful actor now.Rampal was discovered by designer Rohit Bal at a discotheque in Delhi and that kick started his modelling career. He was launched by Rajiv Rai in Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat in 2001.In the past seven years he has done 22 movies out of which for Rock On and The Last Lear he got critical acclaim for his performances.He’s had a rocking year so far and we wish him the same for the rest of his life.

Celina Jaitley’s Birthday Wishlist

Celina Jaitley has tasted a little bite of the so-called success of Golmaal Returns but she still feels she is unlucky, especially in love. She celebrated her 27th birthday on 24th November without the ’someone special’ in her life.“So maybe for my birthday, god will grant me romance and love. About time I got lucky in love,” Celina told IANS.Nevertheless, something good came up with the absence of love in her life. She spent her birthday partying with destitute girls at Regina Spaces she threw a party at the NGO premises for them.“I threw a birthday party for my girls. Nothing makes me happier than seeing them smile. Wish my family was here.”Celina’s family too couldn’t make it to Mumbai for the occasion and her pet dog made sure she doesnt have a peaceful day before her birthday.“So for me it was not a very happy birthday. My parents left Mumbai and my dog didn’t take well to their absence. So she swallowed plastic. The entire day before my birthday the vet was trying to pull the plastic out of her throat. Not a very pleasant way to bring in my birthday.”She didnt have anyone to gift her anything so she gifted herself a brand new BMW.“I need that boost. I’ve been working hard and my ‘Golmaal Returns’ is a hit. So I need to indulge myself. I know a girl’s best friend are diamonds. But she needs a posh car to get to the jewellery store. So a BMW,” said Celina.Its not always bad to be alone on birthdays isn’t it… especially if you can afford a BMW.

Glimpse the gentry presented at ‘The Goddess of Atlantis’

No doubt, opening of the Atlantis Resort in Dubai is one of the biggest glamour news of the year attended by a number of renowned celebrities along ‘Goddess of Atlantis’ Priyanka Chopra.  Apart from Priyanka, other noted celebrities presented at the event were, Lindsay Lohan, Robert Deniro, Charlize Theron, etc.

Bips Charged 1.5 Crore for New Year’s Eve Show

Hotel Sahara Star has proposed Rs. 1.5 crore offers to Bipasha Basu to dance on the night of 31st December.  Bipasha Basu has been agreed to the proposal however did not disclosed the amount she agreed to dance.  Katrina Kaif is also not behind in money race as she is charging Rs 1 crore for dancing at JW Mariott in Juhu Mumbai.

Shahrukh Khan Honoured With Datuk

The Malaysian government has decided to confer the title of Datuk to Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan on December 6 2008.Shahrukh is expected to be dressed in traditional Malaysian dress - lack costume with a waistband, a songkok and a black cap which is the official attire to receive the award from the Malaccan royal chief, Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob.Malaccan authorities, however, say Shah Rukh’s shoot in Malaysia had benefitted the country immensely, giving it global publicity without any money being spent.It is said that the Malaysian Datukhship is equivalent to what the British confer as Knighthood.Here you go Shahrukh… A new feather in your already crowded cap!

Movies Releasing This December

Its going to be a mad mad rush in theaters for December. In the next two weeks there’ll be as many as 10 movies lined up for release. Of course the most desperately awaited films are Shahrukh Khan’s Rab ne Bana Di Jodi which is going to release on 12th and Aamir Khan’s Ghajini which is due release on 25th December.

There are two movies releasing tomorrow - Oye Lucky Lucky Oye directed by Khosla Ka Ghosla fame director Dibakar Banerjee featuring Abhay Deol and Neetu Chandra in lead roles. There is Onir’s Sorry Bhai releasing on the same day, the film has Chitrangada, Sanjay Suri and Sharman Joshi along with Boman Irani and Shabana Azmi.

Then next friday two important releases lined up - Naseeruddin Shah’s Maharathi and Khalballi - Fun Unlimited starring new comer Nikhil Dwivedi. I dont expect much out of Khalbali but Maharathi definitely seems like something not to miss.

Then the Friday after that we’ll see the release of movies like Dil Kabaddi starring Rahul Bose, Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen, Soha Ali and Rahul Khanna. It seems like an interesting movie and my pick of the week would definitely be Dil Kabaddi and Vinay Pathak’s Oh My God  because all the other releases seem to be bland.There is Horn Ok Pleasss with Nana Patekar, Mandira Bedi’s Meerabai Not Out, Wafa starring Rajesh Khanna romancing a Pakistani bombshell.

And then there is of-course the most awaited film of the year - Ghajini on 25th December.

Perfectionist Aamir Shoots in South Africa

Aamir Khan is famous all over India as ‘The Perfectionist’ (we’ve also heard stories of his perfection annoying some filmmakers) but with the kind of performances he comes up with - its appropriate to call him Robert Di Niro of India.

For his forthcoming film Ghajini, he managed to convince the film makers to for a quick trip to South Africa to finish shooting for a pending song.A source tells us, “Aamir was shooting in South Africa a few months back for some important scenes and a duet number. But during the shooting of action scenes, Aamir encountered a leg injury and he had to rush back to India. The duet number which was to be shot on him and debutante Asin was left to be picturised. But then after Aamir got back in shape he expressed his wish to the makers that they should again go back to South Africa to shoot the pending duet. By then almost the entire shoot of the film was over. But since Aamir insisted the producers were left with no choice but take the crew to South Africa in a special chartered flight.”“Aamir is known for his secrecy concerning plots of his films and his character but this time he made a limit by even keeping the shooting location of the film a secret for the crew members right till they reached South Africa. Everything was kept hush hush and even after shooting the song the crew members were told not to disclose anything.” the source adds.“Ghajini’s director, AR Murugadoss was a bit hesitant initially as it would escalate the cost but Aamir convinced him that he wanted nothing but the best for the film and for that reason alone, the director had no choice but to relent.” concludes the source.Cant wait for this film… Its releasing on 25th December with 1500 prints world-wide. Way to Mr.Perfectionist!

Farhan Akhtar Gets A Hug From Robert Di Niro

It was dream come true for Farhan Akhtar when he got a hug from his favorite superstar Robert Di Niro. Di Niro has been Farhan’s childhood idol and he finally got a chance to meet him thanks to the launch of Atlantis Hotel in Dubai last week.“I can’t even begin to tell you what it meant to me. I mean, everyone who loves cinema loves De Niro, right? But with me it’s a little more,” Farhan told IANS.“When I heard he was going to be there at the Dubai event, I had to be there too. Yes, De Niro was my primary incentive for attending. I had hoped for a handshake with De Niro at the most. I got a hug. I don’t know whether he felt my respect for him. But to see him so up close and personal was an awesome experience.“De Niro turned out to be a thorough gentleman. Everyone there at the Dubai event wanted to meet him. What an ordeal it must have been for him to smile and talk to everyone. But he was so in control,” Farhan said.Since Farhan has just begun his innings as an actor, not many people know about him, especially folks outside India. But look who’s introduced Farhan to Di Niro - apna SRK.“Shah Rukh (Khan), who was with us, was sweet enough to tell De Niro quite a lot about my work. De Niro has given us his contact details where we’ll be sending him my films. I’m doing so right away. I’m completely impressed. I hadn’t gone there expecting him to give me a star treatment or anything. But he was wonderful. He spoke to us. That was more than I could ask for.”“We were constantly doing something or the other, attending one event after the next. There was no respite. You can hardly call it a holiday. Now I need a holiday to get over the experience and relive my golden moments with De Niro. To me it was amazing to have met someone who has been a complete inspiration for me. My love for movies was inspired by people like De Niro and Mr. (Amitabh) Bachchan. He was a wow factor right after I saw ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Raging Bull’, etc.”You just cant stop raving can you!

Priyanka Chopra a Goddess: Richard Branson

Priyanka Chopra has many fans in India and look who is her latest fan - Richard Branson who is the 245th richest person according to Forbes’ 2008 list of billionaires as he has an estimated net worth of approximately $2.8 billion USD.

Priyanka Chopra walked the red carpet at the gala opening of a Billion Dollar state of the art Hotel in Dubai along with Hollywood celebrities and socialites. Thats where she met Richard Branson who walked to her told her, “You’re the only woman worthy of being called a Goddess. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world,” said businessman Richard Branson to her.Priyanka was obviously very flattered and said, “Yes, the incident with Branson really happened. He was just being sweet and chivalrous. I didn’t know how to react. I gathered my wits and said a calm ‘Thank you’.She also got to interact with the great Gerard Butler and Robert Di Niro, “He is De Niro, man! He just kept smiling. His wife spoke more than him. He said he was very happy to meet what he called young talent from Bollywood,” said an elated Priyanka. International fame surely coming the lady’s way… hope to see how it works in her favour!

Sayali Bhagat Wants To Be Anarkali

Sayali Bhagat who hasn’t quite impressed the masses with her acting skills says she would love to play the role of Anarkali, played by legendary Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam.“I am ready to give an eye to play Anarkali of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’. I am aware that legendary actor Madhubala has immortalised the role in the film. But it’s my dream to portray the character if given a chance in future,” wished Sayali.Wonder what it would look like to have a one-eyed Anarkali singing Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya hahahaha!

Akshay Kumar & Naomi Campbell - The hot combo?

Akshay Kumar is not a new name for Hollywood. The actor has already paired with Hollywood stars like Denise Richards, Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh etc. Going a step further, Akki is supposedly all set to sing along with supermodel, actress and singer Naomi Campbell in a duet for the animated movie ‘Jumbo’.Naomi has acted in the movie ‘Miami Rhapsody’ earlier and is set to appear in another Hollywood movie with an Indian touch- ‘Karma, Confessions and Holi’ which also features Randeep Hooda and Sushmita Sen.Khiladi Kingg Kumar is not behind with many projects in toe. His ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ is coming up in January. Also in progress are ‘Kambakht Ishq’, ‘Blue’, ‘Eight by Ten’ and Deepa Mehta’s ‘Komagata Maru’, which tells the story of the historic voyage and challenge to Canadian immigration laws early in the 20th century.

Chitrangada is Sudhir Mishra’s Chandramukhi

It was Sudhir Mishra who introduced Chitrangada Singh in the tinsel town with ‘Hazaaro Khwaishein Aisi’ and the director openly expressed his displeasure when Chitrangada chose to make her comeback with ‘Sorry Bhai’. However, the director liked the film quite a lot and finally came to good terms with the lady.

Now, Sudhir has cast Chitrangada in the role of a courtesan in his period film that is strangely titled ‘The Nawab, The Nautch Girl and The John Company’. Chitrangada will play the nautch girl in the film which is set in era of the pre-Independence, British-ruled India. To be mentioned here that Sudhir has also replaced his regular Soha Ali Khan from his next ‘Aur Devdas’ and has roped in Chitrangada for the role of Chandramukhi. Mishra made certain changes to the film’s script and roped in Chitrangada for the part that was initially meant to be played by Soha Ali Khan.

So, apart from making a comeback to Bollywood, Chitrangada has also managed to make her comeback into someone’s heart too!

Beware of Marriage, Kareena Tells Amrita

Kareena Kapoor is giving her girlie pal some girlie gyan about marriage and boyfriends. Although Amrita is more experienced in this department but Kareena tells her not to rush into marriage with her latest boyfriend Shakeel Ladak.

According to Indian newspaper reports, the young lasso from the Kapoor clan is not happy that her best friend and Golmaal Returns co-star Amrita Arora is rushing into a marriage with new love Shakeel Ladak.According to sources, “Kareena thinks it’s too soon for Amrita to settle down. She feels that she should think before rushing into this big decision. Like all gal pals, Bebo and Amu discuss their boyfriends and relationships, which is why she was shocked when she heard that Amu hadn’t taken her into confidence before making such a big decision. Bebo told Amu that being such close friends they should get married
together at the same time.”The source further ads, “Bebo never hesitates in speaking her mind. She also feels that Amu’s career is now looking up, and it is a wrong decision for her to get hitched right now. Kareena wants Amu to give some more time to her relationship with Shakeel and not jump to conclusions leading to marriage.”Perhaps thats what Bebo is doing with Saif, not jumping on to conclusions that’ll lead to marriage.