A bespectacled studious girl to a glam diva

Actress Vidya Balan has essayed a range of characters in showbiz, but she says she always wanted to do a double role.Her dream came true thanks to her endorsement deal with a new range of snacks brand Aliva.Only Sridevi and Hemaji (Hema Malini) have done it so far. I have always wanted to do a double role.

The 30-second campaign for Aliva’s multi-grain waves will go on air early June.

The ad took me back to ‘Parineeta’. For the longest time after ‘Parineeta’, people just wanted to see me as (in the look of) Parineeta. And they didn’t think I was capable of much else.

I’m performing with Jermaine in Toronto – Sonu Niigaam

 

Versatile Indian singer Sonu Niigaam says he will perform with Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine during the forthcoming International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend in Toronto, as a tribute to the late King of Pop on the eve of his second death anniversary.

The duo will perform Sonu’s composition, which has been chosen as a tribute song for Michael, who died June 25, 2009, by his family.

“Yes, I am performing with him (Jermaine), the MJ tribute song that is getting released by Universal America next week. It is called ‘This Is It’. I wrote and composed the song and he sang it for me in Los Angeles. It is the first ever tribute song in the world post MJ’s sad demise that is endorsed by a member of Michael Jackson’s family,” Sonu told IANS.

Their performance will be a part of the IIFA Rocks, a music and fashion event which will sponsored by Grey Goose on the second day of the three-day Bollywood extravaganza in Toronto, starting June 23.

“We were fortunate to have met with Michael Jackson in 1996 when we brought him to India for his concert. With IIFA in Toronto, we will be commemorating Michael Jackson’s second death anniversary with a performance by his brother Jermaine Jackson on the IIFA Rocks stage. He will be joined by Sonu Niigaam,” Sabbas Joseph, one of the founder directors of Wizcraft International Entertainment, told IANS.

Sonu is a huge Michael Jackson fan, and he has admitted in the past that his style of singing the hit number “Ye dil deewana” was majorly influenced by the international pop superstar.

Jermaine, MJ’s elder brother, had last visited India in October 2009 for 10 days to record an album with composer-singer Adnan Sami.

Like Oscars, IIFA doesn’t need brand ambassador – Anil Kapoor

Comparing the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards with the Oscars, actor Anil Kapoor says just like the Academy Awards have no brand ambassador, the IIFA needs no one to endorse it too. Nevertheless, he says he would miss having megastar Amitabh Bachchan, IIFA’s former ambassador, at the event in Toronto this year.

For any institution which is honest, sincere and transparent and entertains, you don’t need a brand ambassador! Have you ever heard of a brand ambassador for Oscars or BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards? For an institution like IIFA, one doesn’t need a brand ambassador. Everyone associated is a brand ambassador in himself,” Anil told reporters at a press conference here Thursday.

The three-day IIFA Weekend extravaganza, to be held June 23-25, is expected to draw a huge Bollywood turnout including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Saif Ali Khan and others. However, the Bachchan family, that used to be a regular at the event for a decade, will be missing.

“They will be missed and his absence will be felt 100 percent,” said Anil, who considers himself a “friend of IIFA”.

Anil, who has made a name for himself in the international market too with projects like “Slumdog Millionaire” and TV series “24″, recently shot in Toronto for “Mission Impossible 4″. He says their hospitality is extremely warm, and that Canadians are awaiting to welcome Bollywood with “open arms”.

Bollywood returns to Darjeeling

Within days of the West Bengal government reaching an agreement with Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), Bollywood returned to the picturesque Darjeeling hills Wednesday for a film shoot after an eight-year gap.

The shooting of Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra starrer “Barfee’ was held at Ghum station of Darjeeling. The film is being directed by Anurag Basu.

The film is a romantic murder mystery and will be shot at various locations in Darjeeling in two segments.

The first segment will be till the end of June, while shooting for the second segment will start from the last week of August and continue till mid-September.

The few shots featuring Ranbir were taken Wednesday. Priyanka is scheduled to join the shooting June 25.

The last film to be shot in Darjeeling was Shah Rukh Khan’s “Main Hoon Naa” in 2003.

Many nationally and internationally acclaimed films have been shot in Darjeeling, including Satyajit Ray’s “Kanchenjunga”, Saif Ali Khan’s “Parineeta” and Anjan Dutta’s “Chalo Lets Go”.

But shooting for both Hindi and Bengali movies stopped after Bimal Gurung-led GJM organised a violent movement for the creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced June 7 that the issue of a separate Gorkhaland has been resolved and an agreement signed. However, the GJM said it has not gone back on its demand and called the agreement the “foundation of a separate state”.

Comedy, romance, action to hit the box-office Friday

His flawless performance as an irritating guest in the 2007 movie “Bheja Fry” is still remembered by one and all. Vinay Pathak is once again set to take the audiences on a laugh riot with the sequel “Bheja Fry 2″, which releases Friday, along with “Always Kabhi Kabhi” and crime thriller “Bhindi Baazaar Inc”.

The impeccable chemistry between Rajat Kapoor, Vinay and Ranvir Shorey in the film made “Bheja Fry” a big hit among the audiences. However, the sequel doesn’t have Rajat and Ranvir – they have been replaced by Kay Kay and Suresh Menon.

Minissha Lamba too features in the comedy, produced by Mukul Deora and directed by Sagar Ballary.

The story revolves around good-hearted but not worldly-wise tax inspector Bharat Bhushan, who wants to fulfil his long cherished dream of becoming a singer. To make his dream a reality, he enters a game show hoping to win a cash prize with which he will make his own music album.

Eventually, Bhushan goes on to win the competition. Apart from the cash prize he also gets a free cruise trip, during which he meets sadistic business mogul Ajit Talwar (Kay Kay Menon) who is attempting to avoid income tax officials. Due to oddball circumstances owing to mistaken identity, Bhushan and Talwar are left stranded on a deserted island. The story gets interesting as both of them try to find a way out from the island.

Vinay is also making his singing debut with “Bheja Fry 2″. The song titled “Oh Rahi Rahi” is based on the 1960s theme and is filmed entirely in black and white.

While “Bheja Fry” had a shoestring budget of Rs.52 lakh, “Bheja Fry 2″ is said to be made “at a budget 20 times more than the original”. It will be released with 450 to 500 prints.

If you are looking for romance, then badshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan’s production venture “Always Kabhi Kabhi” is the one.

Set in a school, “Always Kabhi Kabhi” is about four youngsters trying to compete with the pressure of growing up and the many firsts that everyone experiences in high school. It stars Zoa Morani, Ali Fazal, Satyajeet Dubey and Giselle Monteiro, popularly known as Harleen Kaur of “Love Aajkal”.

Shah Rukh will be seen in a cameo appearence in a song in the film. The small-budget film is directed by TV host-turned-director Roshan Abbas and is produced under Shah Rukh’s banner Red Chillies Entertainment.

Ankush Bhatt’s long delayed film “Bhindi Baazaar Inc” will bring the thrill element at the box office.

Made on a budget of about Rs.4.50 crore, the film revolves around pickpocketers and how they use their intelligence and spontaneity to survive in the risky profession. Written by Ghalib Asad Bhopali and Kapil Gulati, the film starts with a game of chess and shows how a nobody from nowhere uses his brains and wits to make his way to the top.

The cast of the film includes Kay Kay Menon, Deepti Naval, Pawan Malhotra, Prashant Narayan, Shilpa Shukla, Vedita Pratap Singh and Piyush Mishra. International pop diva Jennifer Lopez’s cousin, Caterina Lopez, will also make her Bollywood debut with an item song in the movie.

Vikram Bhatt to direct Bhoot 2 in 3D

After the super success of Haunted-3D, Vikram Bhatt is certainly on a roll. While he already has a few projects up his sleeve, he has now taken up the mantle of directing one more big project. The buzz doing the rounds is that Vikram will be directing the sequel of Ram Gopal Varma's hit horror film Bhoot.

Bhoot 2, as it will be called, will be made in 3D and feature never-seen-before special effects. Nitin Manmohan, who produced Bhoot, wanted Vikram to direct the sequel. While the official cast is yet to be revealed, there is speculation that most of the original cast members will feature in the sequel as well.

Mohit Suri's father passes away

Director of Murder 2, Mohit Suri, is all set with his film release but fate played a cruel hand when the maverick director lost his father, Daksh, yesterday morning, to multiple organ failure.

Mohit, who has strong affiliation with the Bhatt camp, was supported by uncles Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt. Emraan Hashmi, who is Mohit's cousin and has also starred in his films, even cancelled his shoot to be by the director's side. Mohit and his family will return to Mumbai on Friday.

We offer our condolences to Mohit Suri and his family.

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