Who’s singing Katrina Kaif’s songs?

Who’s singing Katrina Kaif’s songs? -19 July 2008

Akriti Kakkar that’s who! Well, she is the lady behind the sweet voice of Katrina Kaif’s songs!

This singer who has sung in for Katrina in Namastey London, Apne and Welcome loves singing for the actress as she feels her voice suits Katrina’s personality perfectly! In fact, recently Akriti had an opportunity to meet the actress at the airport.

She went upto Katrina and introduced herself. Katrina was very pleased at meeting her and commented that very rarely do actresses know whose voices they are lip syncing to and she was glad of this opportunity to meet her. We’re sure even Akriti will not forget this meeting for a long time!

Vivek Oberoi’s on the right track

Vivek Oberoi’s on the right track-19 July 2008

Vivek Oberoi is going out of his way these days to change his image.

After public apologies and all that, he is trying hard to be an absolute professional. Only recently, he had to report for a shooting in Mira Road and the production unit was expecting that he would reach an hour late.

But to everyone’s surprise the actor reported five minutes before the scheduled time. Thank God the guy has lessened his herogiri and is doing some serious work these days.

Back on screen:Ankita

Back on screen:Ankita-19 July 2008

Ankita seems determined to bounce back with a vengeance.


She claims to have signed three Telugu films including a thriller Seven X. “I am happy to be back in the business,” says the actress, who tasted success in Lahiri Lahiri... and Simhadri a few years ago.
The original Rasna girl is sure about her choice of roles since they explore her acting skills besides oomph.
“Director Uday Bhaskar has designed a dream role for me,” reveals the actress who is equally excited about her significant role in Vinayakudu.
However, she needs to keep her fingers crossed until the audience pass the verdict.

'Kismat Konnection' also introduces an actor

'Kismat Konnection' also introduces an actor-18 July 2008

When the film 'Kismat Konnection' was announced, the two reasons why it grabbed the headlines and got good attention of the media was because its director Aziz Mirza was making a movie after a long break and given his liking for making light hearted feel good movies, every one was waiting for the movie to get released.

The presence of Shahid Kapoor appearing as the leading man after the immensely successful 'Jab We Met' also went on to make this movie occupy the top position in the priority list of movie lovers as a must watch film.

Later on the rumors about a new romance going on between Shahid and Vidya Balan during the shooting in Toronto also spread like wild fire adding up the pre release hype of the film.

Among all this hype and hoopla the media failed to notice a new actor who is playing an important role in this film.

Amit Varma who is taking his first step in the Tinsel Town with 'Kismat Konnection' is playing one of the love interests of the heroine.

The guy was selected by Aziz Mirza's son as he thought Amit will be looking perfect opposite the beautiful Vidya.

If the film becomes a block buster it will be a great chance for Amit to get noticed as in the majority of his scenes, he will be sharing the screen space with either Shahid or Vidya.

Amit became very nervous when he met Vidya for the first time, but as the days progressed he became more confident of himself with the support and help of Shahid and Vidya.

The debutant says that Aziz Mirza's encouragement and the way his co stars helped him with the rehearsals that put him at ease made the acting part very comfortable and simple for him.

Akshay Kumar & Snoop Dogg hit it off!

Akshay Kumar & Snoop Dogg hit it off!-18 July 2008

Akshay Kumar & Snoop Dogg swapped Los Angeles for Chicago as they shot the keenly awaited video of the title song of SINGH IS KINNG last week.

The king of Bollywood and the king of rap got on like a house on fire and even went on a major shopping spree for the shoot, running up a 'kingly' bill!

Akshay succeeded in convincing Snoop to don Indian clothes and accessories in the song! The rapper graciously went beyond his contract and agreed to don a Sardar look, which promises to be an absolute delight for his fans the world over.

Remarks producer Vipul A. Shah, "Snoop wants to do a Hindi movie with Akshay, as he is really keen on wooing the Indian audiences. The most interesting aspect of the song is that one gets to see two very different styles - Hip Hop with Snoop and Bhangra with Akshay. Their chemistry was worth seeing as they're superstars from two different worlds. To say the least, the video is looking brilliant!"

Karan Johar dumps SRK for Imran Khan?

Karan Johar dumps SRK for Imran Khan? - 17 July 2008

Here’s the biggest news of the week. Rumours are rife that Karan Johar has signed teen sensation Imran Khan for his next project, which will be directed by one of his associates. The film-maker is keen to cast a new face opposite Aamir’s bhanja in this film, the story goes.

“I would love to work with Imran, he was fantastic in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, but the fact remains that I haven’t signed him for any of my projects,” Karan Johar tells me, “There’s no denying that Imran has great potential. He’s sensational and looks so fresh. But the news is untrue.”

Meanwhile, Karan has decided on the release date of his new film Dostana, being directed by Tarun Mansukhani. It’s November 14.

SRK, Aamir, Abhishek make it to Forbes list

SRK, Aamir, Abhishek make it to Forbes list-17 july 2008

After the business titans like Ambanis and Mittals, it is the turn of the three young icons of Indian entertainment world – Shahrukh Khan , Aamir Khan and Abhishek Bachchan – to make it to a Forbes list.

The US publication, known for its rankings of wealthiest persons across the world, has named these Bollywood stars among ten celebrities adding star-power to mobile phones.

The two Khans and the junior Bachchan, son of Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan , have been joined by two international sportstars Maria Sharapova and David Beckham, four singers Usher, Fergie, Rain and Andy Lau and race car driver Danica Patrick in the ‘Ten Celebs and Their Cells’ list published on the Forbes website.

“Once upon a time, perfume and designer jean makers were the ones who relied on celebrities to add a bit of star-dust glamour to their products. Add to that list, now, mobile phone makers,” the report said.

While SRK endorses mobile phones made by Nokia, the world’s biggest cellphone maker, Abhishek and Aamir are brand ambassadors for Motorola and Samsung phones respectively.

Among other celebrities, Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova endorses Sony Ericsson phones, while soccer star David Beckham is a brand ambassador for Motorola RAZR2 phone.

Forbes said the ten celebrities are “some of the big ones who want you to join their handheld club.”

“As nearly everyone on the planet seems to have a cellphone, device makers must work harder to win new customers. Cool designs and low prices help, of course. But so do celebrities. That’s led phone makers to recruit some A-listers from Usher to David Beckham to lend an ear– and a smile– to selling cellphones,” it added.

Untold facts about Lata Mangeshkar revealed in a book

Untold facts about Lata Mangeshkar revealed in a book-17july2008

Kolkata, (IANS) How many of us know that Lata Mangeshkar's real name was Hema? A new book on her is not only a compendium of all her songs but also chronicles some unknown facts about the singing legend.

Snehasis Chatterjee, a musicologist and a big fan of Lata, has released a book on the Indian 'nightingale' titled "Lata Geetikosh". He claims that his book provides authentic information about her life and career.

For instance, when she was born her parents, Dinanath and Shevanti Mangeshkar, named her Hema and she lent her voice for the first time for a Marathi movie "Kiti Hasaal" in 1942, but the song was not released. It was her song "Nathli chaitrachi navlai" in Marathi film "Pahili Mangalagaur" (1942) that was the first to see the light of day.

She even acted in 10 films, including "Pahili Mangalagaur", "Badi Maa" (1945), "Jeevan Yatra" (1946), "Mandir" (1948), along with cameos in "Chhatrapati Shivaji" and "Pukar" (2000).

That's not all. The book also reveals that Lata used to compose songs under the pen name of Anandaghan. She also composed the music for two Bengali songs - "Tare ami chokhe dekhini" and "Ami nei", which were sung by the versatile Kishore Kumar.

She also composed tracks for five Marathi movies including "Ramram Pahune".

There is more information in the book - Lata also produced the Marathi movie "Vadaal" (1953) and Hindi films "Jhaanjhar" (1953), "Kanchan" (1955) and "Lekin" (1990).

She was also the producer of the Hindi TV serial "Kuchh Paya Kuchh Khoya" (1989).

Asked what had prompted to write the book, Chatterjee told IANS: "It is very disappointing that till date there are no authentic compilations of Lataji's songs.

"The paperbacks available at roadside bookstalls are all full of errors. Even the media feeds the public wrong information about the total number of songs she has sung so far," he added.

"I have always been a diehard Lata fan. But I hit upon the idea of bringing out an authentic compendium of her songs back in 1990 when I started collecting recordings of her songs," Chatterjee said.

In 2001, Chatterjee even figured in the Limca Book of Records for this effort.

"Lataji has so far rendered 7,000 songs in various languages, including both film and non-film songs. I have all her songs in the form of gramophone records, cassettes, audio and video CDs.

"No one can challenge me with a song that is not included in my collection. Even Lataji has acknowledged my work and sent me her best wishes," Chatterjee maintained.

At 24, Katrina sprints on path to success!

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) As she turns 24, Britain-born Katrina Kaif, who was initially written off by critics for her strong foreign accent, can boast of having carved a niche in Bollywood in just five years.

Her birthday Wednesday will see a family get-together as her mother and sisters are arriving in Mumbai from abroad to celebrate.

"Katrina is working. She is doing radio interviews for her forthcoming film 'Singh Is Kinng'. As far as celebrations go, she will dine with her family members," a source close to the actress told IANS.

Katrina ventured into Hindi films from London in 2003 and struggled a lot mainly because of her accent and height. But then last year, she proved her mettle with four hits - "Namastey London", "Apne", "Partner" and "Welcome.

This year too she repeated the success story with "Race" and gave credit to her fans for her success.

"I don't think it's a matter of where you place yourself. It's a matter of how your fans feel about you and where the industry finds you. At this particular place I think I am lucky to be able to say that I do get offers for a lot of films," Katrina said.

She is one of eight siblings, all girls. Her mother is British and her father is from Jammu and Kashmir.

The actress spent her formative years in Hawaii, but later moved to London. She started modelling accidentally when she was in Hawaii at the age of 14. Thereafter she continued modelling in London till she moved to Mumbai, pursuing a movie career.

While climbing the ladder of success, the actress kept her focus intact.

"I am pretty clear about what I want to do. I don't want to go down the road doing serious cinema. I am happy doing commercial films. The fun films give the audience time to escape the monotony in everyday life," she said.

Now all eyes are set on her films "Singh Is Kinng" and "Yuvraj". While the former is a romantic comedy and sees her once again with Akhsay Kumar, the latter is a musical extravaganza and will see her teaming up with real life beau Salman Khan.

"'Singh Is Kinng' is a comedy. Director Rajkumar Santoshi's script is one of the best scripts I have ever heard."

Katrina has now moved on to bigger banners like Yash Raj Films. She will soon be seen in "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" with Ranbir Kapoor

Wishing Priyanka Chopra, a very Happy Birthday!

Not long ago, the topmost officials from Thesaurus added words like 'Bollywood' etc, in their literary Bible! And it's not at all easy for anyone to convince these officials in adding any word, as they personally examine every word till they are fully satisfied to the core!

There was a certain request from one of Priyanka Chopra's fans to add Priyanka's name as the synonym to the word 'Gorgeous'. But when these officials saw Priyanka's glaciered beauty, they approved of the fan's request instantly. That's the magic of Priyanka Chopra!

And guess what! The girl with so many synonyms aka Priyanka Chopra is celebrating her Birthday today. And in order to prove to the Thesaurus officials that they did the right thing, simply post your messages for the Birthday girl below.

Salman Khan meets his look alike!

A mirror is an object of desire to many (read 'all'). But, if one were to think of the same on a philosophical level, then, it gets revealed that it's not the mirror, but, it's the mirror image that one is in love with! And can you imagine what will be your plight when you see your mirror image standing in front of you? Well, we are only asking you to imagine. But Bollywood's darling Salman Khan actually lived the experience of seeing his mirror image - live in flesh!

This happened on the sets of TV's most popular game show these days - 'Dus Ka Dum'. Salman Khan met up with his look-alike on the show, who, in real life, happens to be a dancer. While dancing in the show, the look-alike was really surprised and shocked (to say the least) to see Salman sneak up from behind him and strike a similar pose! What happened after that was out of anybody's imagination. Even as Salman was talking to his look-alike, the young man walked away as he was totally confused on coming face-to-face with his idol! One can't blame the poor guy though, because after all, he was in front of THE Salman Khan! On seeing his look-alike walking away, the real Salman in his usual trademark humor shrugged and remarked "Salman Khan sure has attitude!". We simply second that, Sallu Mia!

Future Dad-In-Law Misses Kats B Day Bash-17 july 2008

Future Dad-In-Law Misses Kats B Day Bash

While almost all of the glitteri people of bollywood attended the party thrown by Sallu for girlfriend Katrina Kaif, Sallu’s dad, Saleem Khan, was nowhere to be seen. Sources say that Saleem Khan is still not convinced with the fact that Katrina is in a relationship with Sallu not for success, but for love. Saleem Khan also quoted

“all the actresses who were rumored to be Salman’s girlfriend were only with him to use him as a ladder to success.”

Well, Katrina, guess u still gotta impress the daddy.

Shahid Dismisses Affair Rumors With Sania

Shahid Dismisses Affair Rumors With Sania-17july 2008

Shahid Kapoor, who has been endlessly linked up after his break up with Bebo, has grown really tiered of explaining people that there’s nothing between him and tennis star Sania Mirza. At a recent interview, the actor said,

“Sania is my favourite tennis player. I have met her and talked to her. I have nothing to hide about my relationship with her. She can be as good a friend as many other actresses in the film industry. What else can I say?”

Now, shall we beleive that or is it the typical “Just Friends” tag used before the formal declaration of the relationship???

Convey Your Birthday Wishes To Priyanka

Convey Your Birthday Wishes To Priyanka-17July 2008

18th July marks the birthday of the dusky beauty Priyanka Chopra. So all you fans who want to wish the lady, convey your wishes in our comments section, and we will forward it to your favourite actress.
Happy Birth Day Priyanka, may God bless you with all the wellness and happiness.

Mallika Turns Sallu Down

Mallika Turns Sallu Down - 15 july 2008

Mallika Sherawat, who will be soon seen in Ugly Aur Pagli, turned down the offer to appear in Sallu’s “Dus Ka Dum”. Sallu and Mallika’s cold war started off in 2006, when the actors started for a world tour as a team. And this was just a rude way of making Sallu realise how important Mallika madam can be to him.
Was it the cold war, or Mallika is just not smart enough to even guess the answers???

Konkana Sen Sharma To Appear with Paresh Rawal

Konkana Sen Sharma To Appear with Paresh Rawal - 15july 2008

Sounds a really unusual pair, doesn’t it?? Well, the duo will be seen together in Sanjay Chhel’s next flick, which is said to be a romantic comedy. The flick will also star Neha Dhupia, Rahul Khanna and Javed Jaffery. The film will start by August end and is titled “fantastic”.
So, ready to see another romantic comedy??

Mallika Blackmailing Himesh???

Mallika Blackmailing Himesh??? 15 july 2008

Maliika of the useless Nakhras, Mallika Sherawat, was on sets of Sa Re Ga Ma PA recently, to promote her flick, “Ugly Aur Pagli”, and the first thing she seems to have said after hearing a little sarcasm from the mentor Himesh Reshamiya, was “Should I expose you in front of the people?”. Himesh, sources reveal, looked stunned at this and kept quite after that.
Well, with very few good films to her credit, we now know how Mallika affords all that luxury… We now kno what her side business is… ;)

Abhi Baby Teaches Sick Wife Her Dance Steps

Abhi Baby Teaches Sick Wife Her Dance Steps-15 july 2008

Aishwarya Rai seems to be really lucky to get a husband like Abhishek. Recently, when the lady fell sick after rehersing for the tour named “Unforgettable”, Abhishek used to learn her dance steps too and and then teach her those steps back at home.

“I had to do her steps also, not only at the rehearsal hall but at home too in order to teach her the dance steps Shiamak had given her for the songs she would be dancing to during the tour,” said Abhishek.

Now that is surely a Patni Vrata Pati!!!

Govinda Ala Re With Mani Ratnam

Govinda Ala Re With Mani Ratnam-15 July 2008

Govinda, who has not re established himself yet, is all set to make an appearance in Mani Ratnam’s next flick starring Ash-Abhi couple. The actor is on cloud #9 after the role landed in his bag.

“I am actually doing a film with him! Isn’t it every actor’s dream to work with him? We met recently and I heard about my role. It is an interesting and a powerful role,” quoted Govinda.

Hope this role helps u to return back in main scene of B’wood Chi Chi.

Harman On A Gift Hunt

Harman On A Gift Hunt-15 July 2008

Harman Baweja is hunting for a gift for his lady love. Priyanka Chopra’s birthday falls on 18th July, and the poor chap is still clueless about what gift to buy for the beauty. “I don’t know as yet what I’ll get for Priyanka. But girls like anything you give then in a gift-wrap and with a smile, trust me on that,” says Harman still confused about the gift.
Well, any suggetions for Harman people???

Pratik Babbar: Part Of Jail

Pratik Babbar: Part Of Jail
15th July 2008

Pratik Babbar, last seen in Jane Tu Ya Jane Na as Genelia’s brother, has been roped in by Madhur Bhandarkar for his latest flick, Jail. The chap will have Neil Nitin Mukesh as co-star, whose presence has been confirmed in the film. Pratik Babbar also happens to be Smita Patil’s son. Madhur says that he always wanted to cast Smita Patil in one of his movies, but his dream was killed with the death of the actress.
Hope to see baby following the talented mamma’s steps.