Bipasha Basu chosen to be brand ambassador of Kshitij Builders

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Bipasha Basu is someone who needs no introduction in Bollywood. After having creating a niche for herself, Bips went onto do films that consolidated her position in the top slot today.

Well, besides being the darling of silver screen, she is also equally in demand when it comes to brand endorsements. After having endorsed a million products, this 'Bong-Shell' will now be seen as the Brand ambassador of Kshitij Builders, so reports Bollywood Hungama's reliable sources.

The source also added that, the said builders, after having established since 1994, entered this core sector business with a vision of providing affordable housing solutions. With Bips on board, we won't be surprised if the real estate rates touch an all time high!

Shahid-Priyanka pairing not yet confirmed

Is it a professional or a personal decision? One doesn't know but the fact remains that Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra relationship stays on to be under scrutiny practically every week. The latest is the axe that seems to have fallen hard on the Kunal Kohli film in which the duo was supposed to star together.

"It has been a couple of months since Kunal Kohli announced his next with Shahid Kapoor. In fact this was shortly after his production Break Ke Baad had managed decent business at the box office. Knowing the relationship status of Shahid and Priyanka, he was confident that the lady would consent to the film as well", says a source.

While Shahid has readily agreed to work on the film, there is still some flip-flop around the girl who would be cast opposite him. Though it was known to one and all that Priyanka has been approached to play the part, the fact that she hadn't signed on the dotted line always led to speculation.

"It is a 'kabhi haan-kabhi naa' relationship between Shahid and Priyanka. Nevertheless, professionals as they are, they won't allow their personal equation (whether good or not so good) to actually come in their way of making a decision around being cast opposite each other. After all, they are one of the few young ones who are (officially) still single and look good with each other", says a common friend.

Also, Priyanka is genuinely occupied with Agneepath remake already in progress and shoot about to begin for Ranbir Kapoor starrer Barfee. This is not all as Krrish 2 with Hrithik Roshan kick starts in September this year as well. No wonder, the lady could well be finding it difficult to adjust Kunal Kohli's film in her schedule.

On contacted, Priyanka did accept that she hadn't given her nod of approval to the Shahid Kapoor starrer yet. "The film is not confirmed yet and I am still in talks with Kunal. We have to work things out and see how to proceed further." 

Hema Malini to do cameo in Aarakshan

Prakash Jha's Aarakshan already has a stellar cast comprising of Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Deepika Padukone and Prateik. Now, yet another big name has been added to the cast, and it's none other than veteran actress Hema Malini.

Hema apparently has a cameo in the film which is being shot at break-neck speed in Bhopal. Big B, with whom Hema Malini has shared screen space recently in films such as Baghbaanand Baabul, was more than eager to shoot with the Dream Girl. Big B tweeted, "Hema ji joins us tomorrow for the shooting of 'Aarakshan'... a cameo but all looking forward to her arrival ... 'Baghbaan' remembered."

Akshay Kumar plays 'kameena James Bond' in Housefull 2

Is it a comedy? Or is Akshay Kumar back in action for Housefull 2? According to sources the script for the sequel has devised some of the scariest action sequences ever. Apparently, Akshay's introductory stunt in Housefull 2 would be directed by Robert Alonzo who is Tom Cruise's stunt co-ordinator in Mission Impossible 4.

Forget the nerd who gets conned into marriage by a woman who elopes with her boyfriend on their honeymoon. Akshay is done with his nerdy avatar. According to a reliable source, inHousefull 2, he plays a character twice as wicked, destructive and devilish as the one he played in the Sajid Nadiadwala's production Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. According to a source, Akshay's character in Housefull 2 is an extension of the smartass who dupes Salman Khan in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi than the wimp who loses love each time in Housefull.

Akshay Kumar's nerdy act done to facetious heights in a spate of recent comedies has come to an end. He will no longer play the loser on screen.

For starters, in the sequel to Housefull, his role has apparently gone back to the storyboard. The Golmaal writers Sajid-Farhad have been roped in to write the part of a "cool comic lothario, like a Bond-meets-Devgn-in-Golmaal."

Sajid Khan doesn't deny the James Bond influence on Housefull 2. "We've really enhanced the cool quotient for Akshay inHousefull 2.The Akshay that you'll see in Housefull 2 has never been seen before."

So is Akshay a 'Kameena James Bond' in Housefull 2?

Laughs Sajid Khan, "If Akshay played a 'Sad Sack' in Housefull, he plays the coolest character of his career in Housefull 2.Yes, James Bond is a deep influence on me. As a child I remember seeing exotic countries as location in the Bond films."

Shahid-Priyanka pairing not yet confirmed

Is it a professional or a personal decision? One doesn't know but the fact remains that Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra relationship stays on to be under scrutiny practically every week. The latest is the axe that seems to have fallen hard on the Kunal Kohli film in which the duo was supposed to star together.

"It has been a couple of months since Kunal Kohli announced his next with Shahid Kapoor. In fact this was shortly after his production Break Ke Baad had managed decent business at the box office. Knowing the relationship status of Shahid and Priyanka, he was confident that the lady would consent to the film as well", says a source.

While Shahid has readily agreed to work on the film, there is still some flip-flop around the girl who would be cast opposite him. Though it was known to one and all that Priyanka has been approached to play the part, the fact that she hadn't signed on the dotted line always led to speculation.

"It is a 'kabhi haan-kabhi naa' relationship between Shahid and Priyanka. Nevertheless, professionals as they are, they won't allow their personal equation (whether good or not so good) to actually come in their way of making a decision around being cast opposite each other. After all, they are one of the few young ones who are (officially) still single and look good with each other", says a common friend.

Also, Priyanka is genuinely occupied with Agneepath remake already in progress and shoot about to begin for Ranbir Kapoor starrer Barfee. This is not all as Krrish 2 with Hrithik Roshan kick starts in September this year as well. No wonder, the lady could well be finding it difficult to adjust Kunal Kohli's film in her schedule.

On contacted, Priyanka did accept that she hadn't given her nod of approval to the Shahid Kapoor starrer yet. "The film is not confirmed yet and I am still in talks with Kunal. We have to work things out and see how to proceed further." 

Shahid-Priyanka pairing not yet confirmed

Is it a professional or a personal decision? One doesn't know but the fact remains that Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra relationship stays on to be under scrutiny practically every week. The latest is the axe that seems to have fallen hard on the Kunal Kohli film in which the duo was supposed to star together.

"It has been a couple of months since Kunal Kohli announced his next with Shahid Kapoor. In fact this was shortly after his production Break Ke Baad had managed decent business at the box office. Knowing the relationship status of Shahid and Priyanka, he was confident that the lady would consent to the film as well", says a source.

While Shahid has readily agreed to work on the film, there is still some flip-flop around the girl who would be cast opposite him. Though it was known to one and all that Priyanka has been approached to play the part, the fact that she hadn't signed on the dotted line always led to speculation.

"It is a 'kabhi haan-kabhi naa' relationship between Shahid and Priyanka. Nevertheless, professionals as they are, they won't allow their personal equation (whether good or not so good) to actually come in their way of making a decision around being cast opposite each other. After all, they are one of the few young ones who are (officially) still single and look good with each other", says a common friend.

Also, Priyanka is genuinely occupied with Agneepath remake already in progress and shoot about to begin for Ranbir Kapoor starrer Barfee. This is not all as Krrish 2 with Hrithik Roshan kick starts in September this year as well. No wonder, the lady could well be finding it difficult to adjust Kunal Kohli's film in her schedule.

On contacted, Priyanka did accept that she hadn't given her nod of approval to the Shahid Kapoor starrer yet. "The film is not confirmed yet and I am still in talks with Kunal. We have to work things out and see how to proceed further." 

Katrina Kaif to be the brand ambassador of Uni-ball pens

Katrina Kaif seems to be one girl who is totally unstoppable. After having conquered film world, it looks like she is all set to be the Numero Uno even in the world of advertising.

After having endorsed multiple brands, this hottie is now all set to be the brand ambassador of the Japanese' writing major Mitsubishi Pencil's Uni-ball Pens. Mr. Deepak Jalan, Managing Director, Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd, while speaking on the occasion, commented, "The decision to take Katrina as Uni-ball brand ambassador is based on the fact that she has a great connect with the urban youth of our country, which is basically where our brand focus is. For a pen that is largely aimed at college students and young working professionals, Katrina will definitely infuse fresh energy and vivaciousness."

With this 'appointment', Kats will become the first celebrity Uni-ball will be adopting to endorse its products.

Ranveer - Anushka team up for YRF's next titled Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl

After the heartwarming success of Band Baaja Baaraat, director Maneesh Sharma is back with his team, in Yash Raj Films' next offering, titled Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl.

Starring Ranveer Singh, who has won everyone's heart with his endearing and scintillating performance, as well as the Best Actor (Debut) at all the award shows this year, and the accomplished and charismatic Anushka Sharma, the film is produced by Aditya Chopra and is based on a story developed by him. Habib Faisal has written the dialogues, the screenplay is by Devika Bhagat. The music will be composed by Salim-Sulaiman, lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya and the film will be shot by Aseem Mishra (DOP), all of whom have been a part ofBand Baaja Baaraat.

Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl is a fun-filled 'Rom-Con' where a smooth and charming conman, Ricky Bahl, cons girls for a living but finally meets his match.

The film starts shooting early-April with plans to be in theatres worldwide on 9th Dec 2011, the same weekend Band Baaja Baaraat released.

Mukta Arts acquires stake in Maya Digital Studios

Entertainment conglomerate Mukta Arts Limited acquired a minority stake in Ketan Mehta's Maya Digital Studios.

After taking this stake, the Mukta Arts group is now present in all the major verticals of the film industry starting from Film Education (Whistling Woods International), Programming & Distribution (Mukta Movie Distributors), Exhibition ('Mukta Cinemas' chain of multiplexes open in April 2011) and now in the Animation & VFX industry in Maya Digital Studios.

The new studio will be based out of the Mukta Arts Head Office Building 'Mukta House', in Filmcity Mumbai & will have 4 primary business lines - Original IP creation, outsourced Animation & VFX work for international projects, international co-productions & 2D to 3D conversion.

Rahul Puri, Executive Director, Mukta Arts said, "Animation and VFX have been on our radar for the past couple of years and we have been exploring the right entry point into this sunrise industry. So, while investment in Maya, has been a matter of timing, we have been considering this industry for a while."

Mukta Arts Chairman Subhash Ghai said, "Ketan Mehta is a highly artistic & creative filmmaker and has also proven to be a visionary when, almost a decade ago; he realized the potential of Animation & VFX as a key component of filmmaking and forayed in the same. We are confident that this partnership of Mukta Arts' tradition of path breaking cinema and Maya's potential of success in the fields of Animation & VFX will bear fruit, sooner rather than later."

Sunidhi Chauhan records duet with Enrique Iglesias

Our entertainers are constantly floating pointed rumours about their purported collaboration with international stars. Talk of Hollywood movie projects supposedly featuring our desi A-listers with Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Michael Douglas, etc. came and went. What happened?

Finally, it's the seductive-throated Sunidhi Chauhan who has done it. She will be part of an international album titled Euphoria where she will share tracks with the likes of Usher, Akon and Nicole from Pussycat Dolls. Sunidhi has crooned a love duet entitled 'I can feel you' with none other than international singing sensation Enrique Iglesias for the album

Apparently, Sunidhi was chosen to sing for this global album alongside Usher, Akon and Nicole, as her voice was perceived to have an international feel to it.

When contacted, Sunidhi is most reluctant to talk about the song.

She said, "As you rightly said our artistes are all the time talking about collaborating with international artistes. Finally, nothing happens. I don't want to sound like one of those proposal makers. So all I'll say at the moment is, yes I've recorded the duet that you mentioned. Beyond that I'll let the song speak for itself."

Shamir Tandon who has composed the duet for Sunidhi with Enrique is far more forthcoming. "It's absolutely true that Sunidhi has sung for a global album featuring Usher, Akon and Nicole. I've composed Sunidhi's song with Enrique. We are not like those wanna-go-west Indian musicians who just talk about collaborations. Talk doesn't mean anything. I am proud to say I'm one of the first Bollywood musicians to have composed for Enrique Iglesias. Having successfully and legitimately collaborated in the past with the Boy Band Blue for 'One Love' in the Rakht and having composed a duet for Bret Lee with Asha Bhosleji, I can comfortably say I've gone from talk to actually doing it." 

Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn in Bangkok

A get-together bringing together two Bollywood teams of A-listers shooting simultaneously in Bangkok is now being planned by two of our biggest filmmakers.

Anees Bazmee and David Dhawan have more in common right now than meets the eye. Considered comic maestros of great mirth worth, they are both in Bangkok shooting simultaneously for two films almost adjacent to one another. Under normal circumstances the stars from the two units would be hopping over and hobnobbing with one another, especially since Devgn-Dutt-Dhawan bond magnificently with Salman.

Blame it on the killing mutually incompatible schedules. But the Rascals team is not able to spend time with the Ready team. With David Dhawan helming Sanjay Dutt's first production Rascals and Anees Bazmee determined to wrap up Ready, the pace is naturally fanatical. The two units find themselves working at a pace that does not invite socializing.

Repeated attempts to party together have been thwarted.

Anees is about to change that. He's planning a big get-together for the two units this week.

Says Anees, "It's really strange. We all love one another in the two units. But we aren't able to spend time together here in Bangkok. We're doing night shoots. We haven't had a moment to breathe. I'm now planning a dinner for both the units. We HAVE to meet. And I've to make it happen. We hardly get to meet in Mumbai. Chalo,Bangkok hi sahi." 

Faruk Kabir reveals about his marriage with actress Rukhsar

Finally, the closely guarded secret is out. For all those who thought that the dashingly filmmaker Faruk Kabir (of Allah Ke Banday fame) is single and available. But the news is that, this dude is not single and that he had a secret marriage with actress Rukhsar. This is a confession that Faruk did on one of his social network accounts.

Rukhsar made her silver screen debut with Yaad Rakhegi Duniya (opposite Aditya Panscholi). She was however recently noticed when she featured in films like Sarkar, Knock Out and Allah Ke Banday.

Faruk and Rukhsar were in a relationship for six long years before they tied the knot last year. And when it comes to the couple, it's nothing less than a mutual admiration society. While he is damn proud and impressed by the way she gathered herself after her bad marriage and started leading life afresh, Rukhsar is all praise for her hubby dearest saying that she wanted Faruk to settle down in his career, which eventually happened post the release of his film Allah Ke Banday.

Panic in Lucknow, Irrfan misses his flight

With two major projects in Hollywood, three Hindi films ready for release this and next month, and two other Hindi films awaiting his attention for completion, Irrfan Khan is currently into the busiest year of his life. The actor needs serious time-management manoeuvres. Proof? On Sunday there was panic at the Mumbai airport when Irrfan Khan who was supposed to leave for Lucknow with his director Sudhir Mishra and co-stars Chitrangda Singh and Arunodoy Singh failed to turn up. Apparently, Irrfan was untraceable, and the team had to fly out to Lucknow without him.

Explains Mishra, "Irrfan was supposed return from Los Angeles and immediately join us for our flight to Lucknow. But his flight got delayed. He had no choice but to miss Lucknow although it's a city he loves dearly. He very badly wanted to come with us."

If Irrfan Khan has been conspicuous by his absence from recent publicity events for his new film Yeh Saali Zindagi, it is with good reason. Irrfan had to leave for a week-long shooting in LA of Spiderman. 

Though Irrfan is not allowed to talk about his role in Spiderman a source reveals that the actor plays the main villain. "It's not a cameo that our actors play in Hollywood biggies and come back bragging about. Irrfan has a full-fledged role in Spiderman.After shooting in LA he also has to do Ang Lee's Life Of Pi in Taiwan, Pondicherry and Canada. This year he will be shooting extensively in New York and Taiwan when he's needed in India for the promotion of three back-to-back films. After Yeh Saali Zindagi there is Anees Bazmee's Thank You and Tigmanshu Dhulia's Paan Singh Tomar." 

Sonu Sood to play cop in both Boodha and Maximum

Sonu Sood's grimacing villainy in Dabangg has got him the kind of recognition no amount of goody goody roles ever did. Just when Sood was all set to unleash an avalanche of evil on screen by signing on plum villain's roles in 5 of the biggest films of 2010-11 as the chief badman, Salman put a brake on Sood's diabolic plans.

No more villains' parts until the sequel of Dabangg. That's the brief given to Sood by hisDabangg hero.

Confounded by the embargo Sonu Sood has done the next best thing. He has crossed over to Chulbul Pandey's territory and is playing a cop in the two films that he has signed in 2011.

Intense preparations are on to get the nuances right. Sood recently spent a fortnight with a top cop in Punjab to understand the mind, body language and spoken language of a cop.

Says Sood, "It's true I have been told not to expend my mean muscles until Dabangg 2. Interestingly, I've signed two major cops' roles. One is a dream-come-true role in Puri Jaganaath's Boodha where I play Mr. Bachchan's son. My role is modelled on Amitji in Zanjeer."

Sonu has watched Zanjeer 17 times in the last six months. To his command over the Bachchanesque style of law enforcement in Zanjeer (including that famous body-flying-across-the-air for a full-impact hurl against the adversary that had the crowds roaring when Mr B did it in 1973 in Zanjeer) Sonu will add the inner knowledge of a cop's world.

"I've spent time with a senior of the DGP rank in Punjab, Mr. P S Gill. He has helped understand how a cop functions," informs Sood.

The law enforcement skills would help Sonu with his other role this year as well.

Says Sonu, "I again a play cop in Kabir Kaushik's underworld drama Maximum. I had no intentions of doing any other film except Boodha this year. And that too another role as a cop! But when I read the script of Maximum I was bowled over. I will play this cop very differently from the one in Boodha."

These two films will take Sonu Sood to the end of this year. 

Shahid Kapoor steals away to London for mysterious visit

With Sonam Kapoor out of Edinburgh for Mumbai for the promotion and release of her new filmI Hate Luv Storys, shooting for Mausam in Edinburgh slackened up a bit. The hero Shahid Kapoor who also happens to be the director's son decided to take off for a 3-day visit to nearby London. Only Shahid's father Pankaj Kapoor knew about his son's whereabouts while the rest of the unit was kept in the dark about his visit.

Though Shahid maintained before her departure that director Pankaj Kapoor had planned solo sequences with Shahid while waiting for Sonam to return, the fact of the matter is the unit was left with very little to do after Sonam's fleeting return to Mumbai which was planned well in advance.

Says a source, "Shahid didn't have much shooting to do once Sonam left. So he took off for a secret holiday to London for four days."

A co-actor from the unit lets the cat out of the bag, "I don't know what Shahid told others. But the truth is, without Sonam there was little he could do for the camera. Mausam is a love story and 90 percent of the time their scenes are together. With Sonam gone Shahid left for London. For what, we don't know."

Apparently, on his return Shahid was teased mercilessly about his "secret rendezvous".
Whom with, Shahid isn't telling.

Hungama Game Studio launches 'Bipasha's Fitness Gym' game on Tata Sky

With an aim to provide fun and engaging games on the Tata Sky DTH platform, Hungama Game Studio, part of South Asia's leading digital entertainment company Hungama Digital Media partners with Tata Sky to launch Bipasha's Fitness Gym on Actve Games. Bipasha Basu, one of India's leading actresses will be seen in a sporty look in a well furnished fitness centre. With various equipments like Treadmill, Crosstrainer, Cycling, Swissball, ropes and dumbbells, the centre includes 4 rooms - Yoga, Diet, Steam and changing room. Known to be one of the fittest actors in the industry, Bipasha known for her fitness mantra in real life, plays the role of a fitness guru, providing fitness tips throughout the game. All Tata Sky subscribers can subscribe to this exciting game conceptualized and developed by Hungama Game Studio, and Bipasha Basu herself. Players have to place the members on respective equipments according to the given sequence and complete their regime successfully, moving on to different levels. Mr. Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Sky Ltd. said, "Last year Tata Sky introduced a completely new breed on Television gaming on its Actve Games platform with an aim of making every home the new playground. Since then the concept of playing these new breed of high tech games across multiple genres on the DTH platform continuous to receive an overwhelming response among subscribers with age no bar. After the success of the Yuvraj Singh Cricket Championship on our platform, we believe that the latest edition of Bipasha's Fitness Gym will enjoy similar success. Thanks to Hungama Game Studio, we are able to offer fun, exciting, visually appealing, easy-to-learn games to more customers." Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media added, "The concept of gaming has caught on well in India and with leading DTH service provider, Tata Sky's Actve Games we have a new platform where gaming content can be distributed. After the successful launch of the Actve Games property for the Tata Sky audience, we have now added a new catalogue of games to this bouquet. We have now launched our new celebrity game with actress Bipasha Basu, who is well known for her fitness mantras. With her philosophy 'Love Yourself' this seemed like a great way to introduce a game that is both fun and engaging set in the fitness environment. With the growing popularity of celebrity games, we hope to introduce many more in the coming few months." In a record time, Hungama Game Studio has made noticeable and significant inroads into the world of gaming; recalibrating the benchmark in DTH gaming, redefining and trendsetting the gaming experience, cornering the mobile gaming market, and being an established player in internet gaming.

Aamir Khan to play villain in Dhoom 3

Dhoom, India's version of the hi-octane thriller films is one of the most successful series in Bollywood. The much talked about third part of Dhoom has finally got the booster shot it needed. It is now official that Aamir Khan will be playing the villain in Dhoom: 3.

Confirming this Aamir says, "It is indeed a pleasure to be working with Yashji and Adi once again. Dhoom is a great franchise, most entertaining and full of fun. Every time I hear the theme tune of Dhoom it brings a swing to my step. Victor's script really won me over and I look forward to working with him."

Says producer Yash Chopra, "It's a great pleasure to have Aamir working with YRF once again. It's even more special that he will be doing Dhoom: 3. I am terribly excited with what an actor like Aamir will bring to the Dhoom franchise with his unique star power and level of performance. Adi and Victor have worked over a year to bring out, what I can now confidently say, is possibly one of the best scripts coming out of YRF and I am sure that with Aamir and Adi together, they will both create magic to give our audience one of the most exciting films they have ever seen."

Coming to the rest of the cast, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra will be seen in their previous avatars of Jai Dixit and Ali respectively.

Produced by Aditya Chopra, Dhoom 3 will be directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya. Vijay is the writer of all three Dhoom films and has also directed Tashan.

The film will begin shooting end of this year and is slated for a 2012 Christmas release.

John Woo, Spielberg, Tarantino & SRK coming together this year

Secretively and unknown to the media world, Percept Ltd has launched a new global concept in entertainment. Called 'Champions Of World', the concept will bring together under one roof, the most celebrated super-icons of sports, cinema, music, business and other fields of entertainment and entrepreneurship.

Percept has chosen to kick off the iconic series with cricket. On Wednesday February 2, six of cricket's most iconized captains from the world over would be coming together for a live interaction with fans everywhere.

The six international cricket captains who are flying into Mumbai on Wednesday from different parts of the world are Clive Lloyd, Arjun Ranatunga, Steve Waugh, Alan Border, Imran Khan and our own Kapil Dev. The event will telecast and placed on the internet for fans across the world.

It is reliably learnt that these cricket icons comprising the first in the 'Champions Of The World' series, would be participating in a special charity match to coincide with the World Cup. Likewise iconic 'Champions Of The World' from the global entertainment industry would be participating in a non-competitive jamboree to coincide with the film-awards season in 2012. The icons from the entertainment industry expected to come together later this year include Steven Spielberg, John Woo, Danny Boyle and Yash Chopra.

Says a source close to the project, "Percept is already in advanced talks with the names you've mentioned and also Harvey Goldsmith, Bob Geldof, U2's Bono, Quentin Tarantino and Michael Douglas, who's a personal friend of Shailendra Singh. All these giants of the entertainment industry along with our own Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan will come together on one platform to announce an entertainment event at the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012 ."

Says Shailendra Singh, "The idea behind the 'Champions Of The World' events is to bring together the most celebrated names in genre-specific bunches to India under one roof. We kick-start with cricket's six most iconized captains this week at a suburban hotel in Mumbai. We would be putting them together in an event that would go beyond what the IPL has to offer. As for the giants from the entertainment business we are close to sealing deals with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and beyond. I cannot reveal their names at this time." 

Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji opens better than Bhandarkar's biggest film Fashion

Continuing the winning trend in 2011 so far, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Jihas now joined the likes ofYamla Pagla Deewana, No One Killed Jessica and Dhobi Ghat, all of which have been successful at the box office. Now this Madhur Bhandarkar film too has taken a decent to good opening at the box office, hence ensuring that at the least it is on safe ground and is a winning preposition at the least.

"Exactly", says an excited Bhandarkar who has been closely monitoring the film's progress amidst the trade, audience and industry circles, "I was getting good vibes from those who had seen Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji prior to its release. However the way audience too has given a go-ahead to the film, as can be seen in the collections over the weekend gone by, I am quite pleased."

He has all the right reasons to be elated. As per early estimates, the film has netted in the vicinity of Rs.15 crores just from India. This is just a Rs.3 crores less than what Priyanka Chopra starrer Fashion had netted in it's entire first week when released a couple of years ago. Of course the print count was lesser there but in the times when quick bucks are the name of the game, an early recovery for this medium budgeted film featuring Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi and Omi Vaidya is being looked at pretty positively.

Says a source attached to the film, "The film has been made on very controlled budget despite big names being involved. There was no wastage involved as well as it was wrapped up in quick time. While the production cost was Rs. 22 crores, print and publicity was further Rs. 6 crores. To recover Rs. 28 crores is a cakewalk due to inherent merits that the film carries."

With good reviews coming the film's way and audience reaction too ranging from decent to good with no one having anything contrary to say, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji pretty much seems en route to turning into the biggest grosser ever for Madhur Bhandarkar after Fashion (which had netted Rs.27 crores).

"Well, I hope so", smiles Bhandarkar who can shrug away the under performance of his last release Jail, "We have anyways recovered quite a lot from satellite (Rs.16 crores) and music rights (Rs.2 crores). The theatrical too was sold at Rs.13 crores which will be quite easily recovered by all involved."

As for the audience, Bhandarkar is happy that he could successfully move away from the serious cinema that he has made in the past and give them some light hearted entertainment as well.

"In addition to that this is my first major success for a male oriented film", adds Bhandarkar, "The film has only picked up further over the weekend. With quite a few open days ahead, we should only be benefiting further from word of mouth."

Music channel trying to sabotage Patiala House?

Click above for more movie stills

Is there a music/entertainment channel up in arms to sabotage Patiala House? Going by some of the very prominent segments which are being run on these channels, it pretty much seems to be the case.

Says a trade follower on condition of anonymity, "This is much more than just apparent and really, all of it is happening in bad taste. There are capsules being run which are filled with out and out negative sentiments against the film, its lead actor (Akshay Kumar), it's director (Nikhil Advani) and it's co-producer (Bhushan Kumar from T-Series) . It appears there is an entire tirade against the film."

Those who have seen these capsules can pretty much see a one way campaign which is entirely anti-Patiala House. Whether is it the promos or the music, everything is being ridiculed.

"It is nothing short of being childish actually", continues the trade follower, "The fact remains that the channel has been having issues with T-Series for quite long now. Due to their stand off, none of the software of this music company is currently being run there. Now since T-Series pretty much has a monopoly over the software, the music channel is left without any content for it's 24X7 service."

Resultantly, over a period of time, the TRPs of this music channel has plummeted to an all time low, hence resulting in other rival channels taking the lead. This has resulted in a vendetta like situation with Patiala House finding itself in the middle of all the mayhem.

"This is sad", says another trade observer, "Also, this is not the first time when the channel has kick started a campaign like this. Even in case of Tees Maar Khan, it had called it a flop two weeks prior to its release while also quoting the losses to be in the range of Rs. 20-30 crores. The channel had its own weird calculations to show which came without any basis."

Now this time around the attack is full frontal with no one associated with the film being spared. In the name of comments coming from the 'aam junta' (who have seemingly been 'interviewed' around the prospects of Patiala House), it pretty much appears to be 'feeding' job where there seem to be clear instructions around going out and out negative.

"Well, it is nothing short of mischief because the facts are totally on the contrary", says the follower, "It is being said that Akshay is repeating his act when the fact is that it is years after Ek Rishta that he is actually playing a sober family man to the core in Patiala House. Music is being said to be a downer when the fact is that it is doing very well. The promotion is said to be lacklustre when the fact is that it has been intelligently laid out so that audience expectation are totally different from what they usually expect from an Akshay Kumar starrer. As for the commercial appeal, Patiala House has been made on a modest budget in a partnership mode which means that it is safe on the table itself."

With the trade being confident about Patiala House continuing the golden run that 2011 has been enjoying so far after the success of No One Killed Jessica, Yamla Pagla Deewana, Dhobi Ghat and Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, one waits to see what's next that the music channel has in stores for weeks to come!