Acting is not an easy job, says Vidya

Vidya Balan, who is acting in the much talked about Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Dirty Picture’ recently faced troubles while shooting a bathtub scene, where she plays the role of the South sex symbol Silk Smitha.
Apparently, Vidya was supposed to indulge in skin show but recently, while shooting a sequence in the bathtub, she developed skin allergy and rashes all over her body, which turned out to be so severe that she had to be rushed to the dermatologist.
The shooting for the film is going on full swing at the moment in Mumbai. The day this incident occurred the unit was shooting at Film City, Goregaon.

Vidya was clad in a towel and the sequence had to be picturised while she was in a bathtub full of soap water. After some time, her skin started feeling rough and irritated. Initially, she ignored it but later it turned into rashes, which made her raise the alarm.
A source revealed to a daily, “Vidya soon realised that she had developed an allergy. The rash spread all over her body. She quickly got dressed. Abandoning the shoot, she went to see the doctor immediately.”
Though some would like to blame the production unit for using unhygienic water for the shoot, a source confirmed a daily, “Balaji Motion Pictures had organised for mineral water to be filled in the bathtub. Luthria is very particular about his actors getting the best. Despite the precautions, Vidya developed the allergy. It could be due to the bathtub, which was hand painted. It could be the soap or maybe just the fact that she had remained in soap water for a long time.”

But the leading dermatologist in Andheri in Mumbai pointed out it wasn’t the water but the allergic reaction happened to Vidya’s skin from the quality of soap that was used in the bathtub.

"Like most other actresses, Vidya too must be using a soap with a lesser percentage of alkali.

The soap used must have had a higher alkali content causing the skin to break out in rash. This happens when a person is exposed to soap water for a very long time," said the doctor to a tabloid.

The scene however, did not suffer as much as Vidya. “Hiccups are not uncommon to a shoot. This was one such incident in ‘Dirty Picture’. The first schedule in Mumbai has been completed. The second schedule kicks off in Hyderabad in a few days. Vidya will have time till then to recover completely. Hopefully, she`ll be fine by then,” concluded our source.

Ranveer Singh opted out of ‘Shaitan’ due to bold scenes

 Long before ‘Band Baaja Baarat’ happened to actor Ranveer Singh, the actor was supposed to play one of the lead characters in recently released ‘Shaitan’.
Directed by Bijoy Nambiar, the film was supposed to have Ranveer play an important character. The role eventually went to actor Gulshan Devaiah.
So what went wrong? Apparently the actor was not comfortable shooting bold sex scene which was an important part of the film. Speaking to a daily, an industry insider revealed, "Ranveer was like any other struggling actor at that time. He hadn`t signed BBB then. He was one of the first guys auditioned and selected for the role. Bejoy immediately decided to cast him. He loved the energy and spontaneity RS brought in front of the camera."
However, a sexually explicit scene made Ranveer backtrack. "Ranveer loved the part and agreed to do it. However, he chickened out later on as his character was supposed to be introduced in the movie in a sexually explicit scene. The actor told Nambiar he wouldn`t be comfortable debuting with such a bold scene. His family also had their reservations against the role," the source added.
Eventually the scene was toned down to suit the Indian sensibilities.
The source further added, "Though it was a risky call but I am glad that Ranveer took it because it worked in his favour. Everyone has his or her own dos and don`ts. Ranveer comes from a conservative family. Moreover, he wanted to do a solo hero film. He then waited for the right film to come his way and made a great start with BBB."
When contacted, both Ranveer Singh and Bijoy remained unavailable for comment.

Madhuri would love to work with Salman and SRK

Mumbai: Madhuri Dixit has expressed her keen desire to work with the Khans of Bollywood – especially Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Madhuri has shared some great on-screen chemistry with SRK and Salman in the past.
Madhuri’s chemistry with both Salman and Shah Rukh has been hugely admired in number of films. She appeared with Salman Khan in ‘Saajan’ and the most memorable ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’, and with Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Anjaam’, ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’, ‘Koyla’ and ‘Devdas’.
So much in love is Madhuri with these Khans that her statement made recently seemed like a special request for filmmakers. “It’ll be wonderful to work with Salman and Shah Rukh again...three of us together in one film. I hope some good script comes our way. It’ll be so much fun”, says Madhuri recalling the chemistry she created with the duo in `Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam’.
Madhuri is friends with both Khans, she candidly acknowledges that Salman deserves the success he has achieved.
Bollywood original dhak-dhak girl would like to recreate the magic once again. So, Madhuri is requesting filmmakers to send her scripts that she can romance Salman and SRK.

No sisterly roles for this diva!

Sonakshi to romance Akshay in OUATIM 2

Mumbai: ‘Dabangg’ hottie Sonakshi Sinha is all set to play Mandakini in ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2’.

While the names of Katrina, Kareena and Deepika already doing rounds, it was revealed lately that Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter Sonakshi has bagged the plum project, starring opposite Akshay Kumar.


Talking to a daily, a source said, “Ekta Kapoor and Milan Luthria are taking their time to choose the leading lady for ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2’. They want the girl to be perfect. Initially, they wanted a leading lady to essay the role of Mandakini. But now, they are considering Sonakshi Sinha.”

“Akshay and Sonakshi are already doing Shirish Kunder’s ‘Joker’ and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Rowdy Rathod’ to be directed by Prabhudeva together. Ekta and Milan will obviously keep that in mind while making their choice,” said the source speaking about Akshay and Sonakshi’s on-screen compatibility.

However, apart from Akshay, the female is yet to be finalised for another hero in the film. “They are still looking for the parallel hero in the film. Once the second actor is finalised, Ekta and Milan will take a call on who will play the leading lady,” added the source.

Don`t kill that small budget entertainer !

Beautifully told tales touching upon various human emotions hit the silver screen this year with movies like "I AM", "Chalo Dill" and "Stanley Ka Dabba". But only a few did well as the audiences were either not aware or were hesitant about watching an unfamiliar cast or theme.

Ironically, these tales are often more engrossing compared to big-buck movies, mainly because the emphasis is more on content, storytelling technique and performances. Such films deserve a chance.

"If small-budget films succeed, people will make more experimental cinema and have content-based scripts," says filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.

One such film with good performances was "Chalo Dill" that brought out an interesting contrast between the affluent and the middle class. Lara Dutta, as hoity-toity investment banker Mihika Mukherjee, and Vinay Pathak, as unpolished small-time sari seller Manu Pathak, created the desired effect on screen.

But "Chalo Dill", directed by Shashant Shah, couldn`t attract enough footfalls to make it a hit. This was Lara`s debut production venture for which she had teamed up with Big Daddy Productions and Eros International Media Ltd. Made on a budget of approximately Rs.5 crore, it reportedly managed to rake in above Rs.4 crore.

Another interesting tale that paled at the box office was "Stanley Ka Dabba". An interesting pick from everyday life about the delicate relationship between school teachers and students and how sometimes children are compelled to bear the boorishness of their peers.

The performances of Amole Gupte, who also wrote and directed it, as the teacher greedy for food and his son Partho Gupte as poor student Stanley added a nice flavour to the tiffin box drama, but the lack of big names seems to have kept people away from the theatres. The film ended up pocketing just above Rs.5 crore.

Director Onir delved into multiple topics like the plight of Kashmiri pandits, gay issues, paedophelia and single motherhood in his crowd funded "I AM". The few who saw the film could connect to the tales.

"Onir`s approach towards Kashmiris who were forced to leave the valley was very real and he was equally honest in bringing the pain and sufferings of Muslims living there. I loved the film and could easily associate with it as me and my family had faced the same problem. Despite being born there, we don`t belong there any more," Nidhi Kaul, a Kashmiri Pandit living in the capital, told IANS.

Even critics appreciated the film, but there were few who made the effort to see it.

Kashyap, who acted in "I AM", said: "I was not satisfied with the box office report of `I AM`, but, yes, critically it has got really good response. But at the end of the day box office does matter to every filmmaker."

The director-producer feels the makers should find ways to connect to the audience to make them aware of their product to get enough footfalls.

"Pyaar Ka Punchnama" was declared an average with an earning of about Rs.9 crore, while "Kucch Luv Jaisaa" was not a hit as it could manage to take home just about Rs.3 crore.

One of the few people who found luck at the box office with their "chota packet" was Kiran Rao who created a potpourri of different people from diverse backgrounds in "Dhobi Ghat". Made with a budget of Rs.5 crore, it managed to garner about Rs.12 crore in the first week.

Director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK`s "Shor In The City" were lucky too as their Rs.3 crore movie got a good response and raked in about Rs.4 crore.

A good way to sell small films could be slashing the ticket prices. But right marketing is a long way off.

Rahul Bose, who features in a lot of offbeat films, blames big production houses for giving a step-motherly treatment to small films.

"A lot of big companies have a very dishonest approach to marketing small films. They don`t want them to succeed. They don`t really have the passion. They do it because they have to and they are really interested in big films," he said.

"Traditionally, small films are made by big studios so they can bully the exhibitors if they don`t get the theatres. They leverage the big films they are going to release on small films, so that they get show timings," he added.

Karisma returns to films after a long hiatus!

The ‘Raja Hindustani’ girl is all set to make a comeback in Bollywood after a long sabbatical of five years!
Lolo has signed an erotic thriller film with filmmaker Vikram Bhatt. The film is named ‘Dangerous Ishq’ and is supposed to be a 3-D flick.
A source spoke to a daily, “Lolo never really announced her retirement even after her marriage to industrialist Sanjay Kapur in 2003. Despite being busy with her domestic life and subsequent motherhood (daughter Samaira was born in 2005, son Kiaan Raj in 2010), Karisma has always had film offers. She has remained in circulation by signing many endorsements but has now finally given the nod to Vikram`s film. His last film ‘Haunted’ 3-D did well at the Box Office. That was the clincher for her."
Karisma had been looking to return to films for a long time and she turned on many offers that where made to her. But she has agreed to choose Vikram’s film as her comeback project.
Vikram said to a daily, “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."
The actress is all excited to start working on the film come September.

"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 said to a tabloid.

Well, we are sure Lolo your fans are as excited as you are!

Are Jessica Biel and Gerard Butler hooking up?

Actress Jessica Biel and Gerard Butler have sparked rumours of hooking up after they met at the set of their new movie, “Playing the Field”.
“From the beginning of the shoot, they were flirting with each other, But Biel, didn`t want things to get weird on the set,” the New York Daily News quoted a source close to the set of the actors` upcoming movie, as saying.
“They basically tried not to hook up,” the insider said.
Early last month, the source said that Biel had invited the 41-year-old Butler to accompany her for a weekend in New York.
“When they returned to the set on Monday, you could see and feel the difference in their relationship. You got the sense that they were together,” the source said.
According to Us Weekly, Butler “made a beeline for Jessica” when he arrived and “was really flirting with her” at a crewmember’s birthday party.

Another witness told People.com that Biel and Butler “looked like a couple” at a cast and crew dinner that took place before filming even began.

“Butler has a large personality, and everyone, including Jessica, gets caught up in his world,” A source also told the site.

Although representatives for Biel and Butler had initially dismissed reports of a romance, the story gained new life after the ‘Lost’ actress was spotted with her arms wrapped around the ‘300’ star`s waist as he rode his Harley-Davidson in Malibu.