Karsima Kapoor making her comeback with a 3D thriller

Karisma Kapoor was at the top of her career when she married industrialist Sanjay Kapoor in 2003. Though she immersed herself completely into her family and children Samaira and Kiaan, she never really broke her link with camera all thanks to various endorsements she has been associated with.

Time and again, she received offers for various films but finally she has given her nod to Vikram Bhatt’s next — Dangerous Ishq, an erotic thriller in 3-D. It may be mentioned here that Vikram’s last film Haunted 3-D did fairly well at the box office.

Vikram says, “When I first gave Karisma a narration, she loved the story and the script. It’s a woman-centric film and she plays the main character. Dangerous Ishq is a thriller based on past-life regression. We start shooting in September in Rajasthan.”

Karisma, too, is excited about the flick and says, “It’s a role I haven’t done before. The script is very interesting and working in the 3-D format will be a new experience for me,” she says.

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.

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”.

Toronto to see largest galaxy of Bollywood stars

With more than half a million people of Indian origin in its population, Canada’s largest city will see the biggest gathering of Bollywood stars on North American soil to honour its best films and stars for the 12th Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards to be held from June 23-25.

Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, the Deol clan of Dharmendra, Sunny, Bobby, Esha and Hema Malini, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu, Mallika Sherawat, Dia Mirza, Anil Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Neetu and Rishi Kapoor, Arbaaz and Malaika Arora Khan and many more stars are descending here for a grand showcasing of the world’s largest film industry.

But the Bachchans – superstar Amitabh or any of his family members Abhishek, Aishwarya and Jaya – are not coming to the party.

Shah Rukh Khan has been nominated for his hit lead role in his “My Name is Khan”.

The three-day show, which opens with Salman Khan’s debut production “Chillar Party”, a light-hearted comedy about the lives of seven children hailing from different sections of society, will culminate in the “Bollywood Oscars” night of the IFFA Awards June 25.

There is so much rush to see Bollywood stars that the tickets for the awards night were sold out in minutes. Shiamak Davar, who is also a Canadian citizen and runs a dance school here, will be the official choreographer of the IIFA Awards.

According to organizers, more than 22,000 people are expected to attend the IFFA Awards which will be beamed internationally to over 700 million people.

Twenty Bollywood films are being screened in Toronto and its sister cities of Brampton, Mississauga and Markham as part of the IFFA Awards. These include “Chak de India”, “Hera Pheri”, “Dabangg” and “Dil To Pagal Hai”.

Interestingly, the Indian-dominated city of Brampton on the outskirts of Toronto will name a street Raj Kapoor Crescent after the legendary Raj Kapoor during the IFFA Awards.

On the business side, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) will participate in the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum during the three-day show.

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.

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap – Trailer