Salman's innocence made him Siddique's Bodyguard

"Salman's innocence propelled me to cast him in Bodyguard," says director Siddique, the man who wields the megaphone for Atul Agnihotri in Bodyguard. Says the soft-spoken director who had earlier made Bodyguard in both Malayalam and Tamil as the mega-hit Kavalan, "When I looked at Salman, what struck me first was his innocence. And then, it was his personality. I was looking at an actor who had the innocence and humour that was essential to play the bodyguard. And Salman had all that and more."

Salman's way of expressing his wit is something that holds Siddique's attention. Says the director, "Each actor has his own way of expression. And the way Salman essayed the character of an inspector inDabangg was simply perfect. There was the strength, the energy, but more than all that, there was the sense of humour and the innocence in the character. That is exactly what I was looking for in Bodyguard. And he suits it to the hilt."

Salman Khan signed up as the brand ambassador of Rotomac Pens

Bollywood never had it so good. Gone are the days when the hunky-dory and good looking 'models' were a saleable hot property in the glitzy world of advertising and commercials. The current trend has seen these professional models being replaced by either cricketers or film stars.

According to Bollywood Hungama's reliable sources, superstar Salman Khan has been signed up as the brand ambassador of Rotomac Pens (which previously had Raveena Tandon as its brand ambassador).

The official announcement of the same is awaited.

Manoj Bajpai now becomes Football Coach

After disappearing from films for a while, Manoj Bajpai is set to strike back on the big screen again. Manoj is currently shooting for his next film titled 90 Minutes. Interestingly, Manoj plays the role of a football coach in the film. Major portion of the film has been shot in Kasauli. In fact, since he plays a football coach, Manoj had do lot of shouting and yelling at his team in the film which left him drained at the end of the day.

90 Minutes is being directed by a female director, Padmini Kapilla. The last schedule of the film is to be shot at a stadium in Malaysia.

Incidentally, Yash Raj Films has recently announced their next film Chak De! India in which Shah Rukh Khan plays a coach to a girl�s hockey team. The film is being directed by Shimit Amin.

Ramanand Sagar�s grand-son makes debut with 1971

Dr. Ramanand Sagar�s film production wing is all set to fly again with the debut of Sagar�s grand-son Amrit Sagar as director. 1971 -- that�s the title of the film -- heralds the return of the Sagar banner to the big screen after nearly two decades.

1971 was shot entirely in Kullu-Manali in a 71-day schedule at the peak of winter [the entire shooting was wrapped up on June 10]. The snow-laden location provides a chilling ambience for the unfolding of an adventure drama centering around six Indian war prisoners across the border, who break free to set out on a death-defying journey home.

1971 also brings to the fore Akash Sagar, Amrit�s younger brother as a music director.

Manoj Bajpai takes centre stage in the all-male principal cast, which includes Ravi Kissen, Kumud Mishra, Manav Kaul, Deepak Dobriyal, Chitranjan Giri, Piyush Mishra, Vivek Mishra and Gyan Prakash. Farida Dadi puts in a cameo.

1971 is produced by Amrit�s father Moti Sagar, who has written, edited and directed RAMAYAN and SHRI KRISHNA along with his illustrious father Dr. Ramanand Sagar.

Manoj Bajpai & Deepak Dobriyal celebrate W-Day

In honour of the fairer sex, the city celebrated Women�s Day in great style on March 9, 2007. Popular radio station Big 92.7 FM, in association with Adlabs Films Pvt. Ltd. hosted a rally �Big Walk for Women� in Mumbai yesterday.

The event was flagged off by their Special Guest Shri. Rengutwar, Senior Inspector � Oshiwara Police Station, but the limelight was on two talented celebrities who were there to support the cause, namely Manoj Bajpai and Deepak Dobriyal. Also, present was upcoming singer Harshdeep. The Big Walk was also joined in by BIG 92.7 FM listeners, both men & women, who came from all corners of Mumbai city to be part of this dream walk. Hosting the event was the radio station�s popular RJ Anirudh of the Anirudh LLB fame. The Big Walk began with all the enthusiastic participants from Lokhandwala Jogger�s Park, went via Lokhandwala market and concluded at the Infiniti Mall in Andheri Link Road.

Deepak Dobriyal, who played Rajjo in the critically acclaimed Omkara, will now be seen along with Bhiku Mahtre a k a Manoj Bajpai will now be seen in Amrit Sagar�s post-war film 1971.

"Sanjay Dutt has a much bigger role in Kidnap" - Imran Khan

Imran Khan has changed his image in his second film. Says the nervous second-timer, "After Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, Kidnap was the first script that I actually liked. I decided on doing it instinctively. And I've a completely different role from what I did in Jaane Tu...I admit Sanjay Dutt has a bigger part in my next release Kidnap. And rightly so. He's a much bigger star than me and obviously the focus would be on him. I am thrilled with my part in Kidnap. Incidentally, Sanjay Dutt is also my co-star in Luck. Apparently, there's some kind of a mysterious link between the two of us."

Imran was quite intimidated before working with Dutt. "But he turned out to be such a warm and soft-hearted guy. On the first day, I was fumbling and forgetting my lines. He told to relax, that it was okay."

Imran's teenybopper fans who think he's the cutest thing since bubblegum are in for a shock when they see him playing a grey role in his second film.

"It is a slightly negative role. I am very different from Jaane Tu... in Kidnap. But morality in this film and in real life is a question of perception. Once my fans get to know my character's motivations they won't be shocked. This is what I really liked aboutKidnap. It says, 'Hang on for a second. Are you sure you know what's right and what is wrong?' For me morality is totally a matter of which side you are on. I think I play a very interesting guy to watch in Kidnap. People will like me. I think the audience is in the mood to see new and interesting things. In any case I can't go by people's expectations, I'll choose the roles that I like."

Imran ends on a positive note. "I had a blast here in SA. I'm working with some great actors here. Mithun Dada is so down to earth and humble. Ravi Kissan Sir and I got along so well. I didn't know who he was until I saw him in 1971. I guess I'm lucky to have a second release so soon after my debut. These things aren't in an actor's end."

Imran intends to go on a vacation after shooting Luck and attending to the release of Kidnap. "I've been working non-stop from Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na...then Kidnap. And now Luck. Though we're shooting Luck in a very beautiful place the days are very long. We're shooting very intense action scenes with no breaks."

Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif in Dibakar Banerjee's next

Imran Khan proved himself a man of the masses when recently he shot a cola ad with Kalki Koechlin shot by Dibakar (Love & Dhokha) Banerjee.

The ad, a slice-of-life love story about two strangers' chance encounter on a crowded streets of Mumbai shot over 2 days last month, had hordes of fan descending on location. Imran dealt with the situation like a pro, mingling, signing autographs, posing for photographs.

The BEST bus hired for the shoot became his home for two days.

Says Banerjee who's making his next feature film with Imran, "Seeing the discipline and drive Imran invested into the ad, I'm more than convinced I'm ready to work with mainstream actors."

Banerjee who has so far done three feature films with actors like Abhay Deol, Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher, is looking to cast Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif.

Apparently, Imran was lost to the rest of the world for those two days when the ad was shot. Says Dibakar, "We shot the ad on a relatively lonely stretch of road in Malad. But the news that Imran was shooting spread and fans would swoop down every hour. Considering the tight schedule Imran would either quickly hide in his vanity van until the fans left or meet them in a very friendly manner."

The BEST bus had character actors as Imran's co-passengers and Imran was soon friendly with all of them.

Says the director, "All I can say is, Imran won more than a busload of fans in those two days. At the moment, I'm busy putting finishing touches to my release Love Sex Aur Dhokha. But right after that I'll get to work on the Imran project."