Shankar - Ehsaan -Loy - Gulzar with NDTV on save environment campaign

NDTV, musical trio, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and the seasoned Lyricist; Gulzar have come together with NDTV to launch an anthem to save the environment. This green anthem - "Hawaein, Patte, Paani" is a clarion call for people to take action instead of being just mute spectators to the continued degradation of the earth. The NDTV-Toyota Environment Telethon, launched earlier this year, is aimed at creating awareness about issues related to climate change, and how each one of us can make a difference and help create a cleaner, greener tomorrow. Commenting on their creation, musician Shankar Mahadevan, said, "The minute we heard that NDTV is taking steps towards saving the environment, our first reaction was that it was a much needed thing. We don't know whether this song is going to transform the way people look at the environment completely but even if we are able to make one percent of change, we will achieve what we want to. Music is a very powerful medium...it has communicated in the past and definitely will this time as well".

Ehsaan Noorani too was elated about being associated with an environment awareness song. "Music, the way it is in India, is all about Bollywood and entertainment. It's not about protests, and people don't do anything about using music to protest. We have been associated earlier with movements like cancer and AIDS awareness, and I think it's wonderful that we can be associated with a movement to save the environment". Loy Mendonsa has already taken steps on the personal front to save energy. "I have replaced all the bulbs in my house. I am not fond of tube lights; I like yellow lights. So I have put in energy savers as the first step. I hope I can cut down the use of the A/C. It's a long road and I have got to do my part".

Log on to green.ndtv.com to listen and download this foot-tapping number that's sure to get you to your feet to save the environment. Take the pledge for a greener and better future with the NDTV-Toyota Environment Telethon!

Golmal Returns with lots of expectations

Sequel of Golmal - ‘Golmal returns’ will be released during Diwali ! Promos of the film state that it is going to be a blast this Diwali. The film is a sequel to year’s 2006 ‘Golmal’. It is expected to be a comedy and fun filled entertainer, will have lot of expectations and hopefully will get a good opening. The movie stars Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Arora, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitley, Tusshar Kapoor and Anjana Sukhani. Pritam has composed films music and film producer is Dhilin Mehta and Directed by Rohit Shetty. The sequel will have three actress unlike ‘Golmal’ wherein it was one to three actors !

Rohit Shetty, Director wwhile speaking to media said that the film is full of gigs and since anyone who gets a tattoo becomes fodder for TV coverage, he decided to incorporate it in the film too ! This time we have tattoo of word ‘Saif ‘ on Arshad Warsi chest !! Though denied as it being a spoof will evoke debate and interest !. Though the prequel to Golmal Returns is 2006 hit Golmal. But when ever one talks of Golmal one is also reminded of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Golmal starring Utpal Dutt and Amol Palekar. And off course Utpal Dutt’s famous quote ‘A moustache is the mirror of the human soul and mind’, which he himself denounces away at the end of film !! The film was about wherein characters get into corny situations from which they extricate themselves only after extravagant bursts of imagination. Many critics do still feel that was the best of Golmal’s but the one in 2006 was a hit and let’s wait till Diwali as the ‘Returns’ hit the theatres !!

Alina evicted from Bigg Boss – 2

Alina Wadiawala’s was the fifth participant who has been evicted from Bigg Boss season – 2. As the Bigg boss house was settling in with its new house entrant Diana Hayden. It was turn of one eviction, and the two nominated last week were Alina Wadiawala and Raja Chaudhury. Raja Chaudhury survived. And after Sanjay Nirupam, Rahki Vijan, Monica Bedi, Ketaki Dave, it was turn of Alina Wadiwala's to be evicted. Alina becomes the fourth lady to be shown the door. Alina was non celebrity participant in the show and was not a part of the backbiting and fighting going on in the house. But she was nominated by fellow housemates and was in the danger zone for the last two weeks, and was evicted yesterday night.

Sweety voted out of Bigg Boss -2

Sweety (Rakhi Vijan) of the comedy serial Hum Paanch was voted out of Bigg Boss - 2 the reality show which is on air at Colors TV Channel. This is the second week of the programme. Though she described her stay "Fantastic" and found Rahul Mahajan as the sweetest among all. Both Rahul and Rakhi were nominated last week by the house members last week and then it was decided by the sms poll from the people who would be evicted within the two. Interestingly all the ones evicted ones had some kind of tiff with Sambhavna Seth , another participant at the show. It was earlier Sanjay Nirupam, the politcian who was voted out last week. He had some heated debates with Sambhavna and now Rakhi. ! In this week episode the K queen Ekta Kapoor and Tusshar Kapoor made a special appearance at the Friday's show to promote their film 'C Kkompany'.

Aamir Khan's two faced Tata Sky ad

TATA SKY had roped in Aamir Khan as their brand ambassador. He will be on air with new advertisement where he plays a double role of a ‘bride and a groom’. He enacts a discussion between bride and groom on honeymoon night wherein both are played by him. One half of Aamir is dressed in a pink salwar-kameez and dupatta plays a Punjabi girl, while the other half in a blue sherwani with moustache. Aamir as always is different. This is going to be a part of campaign that encapsulates television, print, outdoor and radio along with on-ground activities and marketing on a digital platform.

In fact, now two Khans are endorsing the two products in similar category. While Shahrukh has been endorsing Dish TV country’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) company and now the second largest Tata Sky, is using Aamir Khan to push the sales further. It is time to see when other Khans, Salman and Saif too join the bandwagon of products in similar categories. This new Tata Sky ad is creation of Rediffusion DY&R, which aims to strengthen the brand Tata Sky.

Aamir Khan does ad campaigns or movie wherein he uses lot of creativity and also has his new looks. That’s why they are different from the regular ones. We all remember Coca Cola ads, Titan Ads, and at present he is the brand ambassador for Samsung mobile phones with his new look. He is also the brand ambassador of Incredible India, the country’s tourism promotion site and will be involved in a drive to create awareness about tourism and the attitude towards tourists. Though unlike his movie career wherein he is very selective, for advertisements he has increased his quota.

By Anil - source http://www.merinews.com/

Pune - Priyanka and Shahid fell off a bike at shooting

Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapur fell off a bike while shooting for Vishal Bharadwaj's film Kaminay. The accident took place in Pune while a scene that required Priyanka to ride a bike with Shahid on the back seat was being shot. The two were riding the bike on a slope that was slightly muddy when the two-wheeler skidded and the two fell off. And to make matter worse, the bike fell on top of them. "By god's grace, I am fine and so is Shahid, except for a few cuts and bruises. I think the only thing that is seriously damaged is my ego, otherwise I am alive and kicking," Priyanka was quoted as saying in her press statement.

Pooja Bedi the latest celebrity blogger !

Pooja Bedi has also now new member of blogging club. After Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar, Aamir & Salman Khan's, Ajay Devgan, its she who has her own blog.Pooja, known for her vocal and direct approach, intends to share her experiences, thoughts, and opinions and reveal her real side to her fans via the blog. "This blog is my way of saying there's a lot more to me than just a sum of all the parts people tend to gossip about. I am what I am and through this blog, you will get to know the real me," said Pooja in a message posted on her blog which is online now.

http://www.poojabediblogs.blogspot.com/.

New task at Bigg Boss house

As per One India website the 2nd task of the Bigg Boss house is that all the housemates have to sit together and the Bigg Boss has given them a list of questions to ask each one... in the duration of 3 minutes. The questions are ask follows:From where have you come?Where do you belong to?Most important moment of your lifeOne thing that changed your lifeReason for being in Bigg BossWhy you want to win the prize money?After these questions it's an open forum, where the housemates ask questions to each other, but only till the time the alarm ring.

Bigg Boss -2 : Celebrities chained and sleepless !

Day one in Bigg Boss house – cool it – all of them took it light, wake up time, 9 am except Ehsaan and Ketaki who were bit early, enjoyed Egg Bhurji at the breakfast. To offset their great sleep on day one as a part of their weekly job, partners have been chained and the entire gang will have sleep time of 100 hours with till next Wednesday afternoon. That is all the time they can sleep ! It going to be fun as they will not be able to get the sleep as it was on day one.

More is happening in Bigg Boss house …
Goody is Gudi ! well that is the new name of ‘Jade Goody’ the only foreign participant in Bigg Boss. Sambhawna, the item girl is trying to teach her dance style to Jade Goody !!.

In open discussion Jade did share her experiences of Big Brother, and her point of view probably to better her image in India. Rahul Mahajan was being considerate to her and volunteered to translate. Rahul is proding Monica on personal issues like which jail she went to ?? - tough one on her. Action is on !!

On day one all participants were divided into partners, which they did by using ‘chit’ and they landed like this : Zulfi – Rahul, Sambhawana- Ashutosh, Monica – Ehsaan, Ketaki – Raja, Sanjay- Rakhi, Payal- Jade, Elina – Deobjit. Keeping the tradition of Athiti Devo Bhawa, Bigg Boss has given safe guard to Jade and lucky Payal her partners was also put into the safe zone. Both of them will not be nominated from the eviction this week. In the nomination Raja and Sanjay are the ones which have got nominated by the participants for eviction one of them will be out. Raja got 10 votes while Sanjay 5 for eviction from the participants.

Rajiv Gandhi Awards - Lara, Saif, Yukta and Darsheel get honours

The Annual Rajiv Gandhi awards honoured people from different walks of life who have achieved excellence in their respective fields on Aug 17, 2008. Saif Ali Khan was awarded the Best Actor trophy while Lara Dutta was awarded Best Actress and Darsheel was awarded as a child prodigy.

Others who recieved awards were footballer Bhaichung Bhutia for the most inspiring sports personality, model turned actress Yukta Mookhey, Anna Hazare for social service, Mehul Choksi for innovative marketing, Sunny Varkey for education, Sameer Gehlaut as the young enterpreuner and Vandana Luthra as the Women Achiever. Indian wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, popularly known as "The Great Khali" was not present to receive his award for Super Achiever Wrestler.

While Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Rakhee Sawant performed on the occasion along with Navin Prabhakar who added the laughter on the show.

Product placement through movies soar

Using movies to promote brands has assumed significance in India. In fact, the tag-line of a product is being integrated with the title of a movie being made by established producers. But measuring the success of this strategy is tricky..

MARKETING WHIZ kids are now trying to engage consumers with emotional connections. They are using Bollywood to promote their brands by arranging adequate exposure in films. One can see celebrities using these brands in the film – the camera closes up on the brand name for the benefit of the viewers. Cinema has a lot of influence on young minds. Cinema represents one of the faster growing markets in the world and hence marketers are using this vehicle to push their brand, increase brand recall and convey the brand’s association with celebrities. This helps in offsetting costs - costs have been rising steadily these days; costs associated with film production and marketing have been soaring. Products used by the celebrity-actors become a topic of debate which is what the marketers want sometimes! But it depends on how the product is projected in the film. At what point of time of the film’s on-screen progress it is shown, also matters. If the product matches the celebrity’s characteristics, it can really help in increasing the sale of the product in question. Product placement, regarded just as another marketing tool hitherto, has now emerged as a key strategy in both Hollywood and Bollywood movies.

Recently, Subaye.com Inc announced that it had bagged a one million USD contract for product-placement advertising in three international movies. Sports goods, digital electronic products and cars would be advertised in this manner in three of MyStarU’s films. Companies like Sony Ericsson and the manufacturer of Swatch brand wristwatches have used James Bond 007 movies to promote their brands. Recently, in Bollywood, it was announced that Mountain Dew, from the PepsiCo stable, would be promoted through the upcoming movie, ‘Mission Istanbul - Darr ke aagey Jeet hai’. The movie is being jointly produced by Balaji Motion Pictures Ltd and Suniel Shetty’s Popcorn Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd. According to the arrangement, Mountain Dew’s tag-line will be integrated into the title of the movie. This is the first time that a brand’s philosophy and its tag-line have been integrated with a movie’s title.

Lots of discussions are on to work out the right mechanism to monitor the impact and effectiveness of product placement in movies. One does hear that in US, agencies are trying to work out a method to measure the effectiveness of advertising and product placement either by asking the viewers to fill out surveys on-line after they watch their favourite shows or by measuring the viewer recall generated by product placement. But this is an area which needs more research even as the money being spent on it soars!

Politician, TV/Film stars, singer, comedian crowd Bigg Boss house !

It is going to be sleazy when you have many - who have had hyped controversies plus add to that sleaze is stand up comedian and politcian !. What to say - that is Bigg Boss start up of season -2. It is back with a with bang on ‘Colors’ channel with its host Shipla Shetty. It started today on August 17, 2008. Bigg Boss was hit when it was launched by Endemol on Sony TV and with Arshad Warsi as its host. This time it will have new 14 celebrities including one international celebrity which will be watched inside a room with 32 cameras for 24 x 7 hours for 3 months. This time around halls of men and women will only be separated by mirror. Well their was lot of guesses this time with many names floating around but finally 14 who will be watched in this the house are as follows -

Ketaki dave - Famous for “Arr..ra…raa,” tagline that epitomizes Ketaki Dave in ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’.

Zulfi Syed is an Indian model turned actor. He won the Gladrags Manhunt in 1997.This tall, good looking & charming supermodel made his debut in Bollywood with "Pyasa" opposite Yukta Mookhey & Aftab.Zulfi has done a lot of modelling and has been featured in numerous music videos of Anu Malik's "Dhuan Dhuan..". He is single as of now and ready to mingle

Monica Bedi – She is one her second winning. On July 25, 2007 she was released from the Chanchalguda Central Jail. Now a year later, she is entering another house. One the first show she performed on the stage after eight years before entering Big Boss house. She is now facing camera again after her time in jail. Am sure Bhopal police wala will watch her closely as they are the one who saw her closely when she was taken their in regard to her case.

Raja Choudhury – An actor who got into fame due to the problem he had with popular actress Shweta Tiwari, his wife.

Rakhi Tandon – Well who can forget this the sweety bubbly Rakhi Tandon of Hum Paanch fame. Dressed in a casual avatar, she didn’t reflect her effervescent self
Rahul Mahajan - son of the late Pramod Mahajan.
Sambhavan Seth Item girl Sambhavna Seth who has appeared in many films like 36 China Town, Wadh, Zameer etc might finally be noticed for something apart from her vital stats. The moment she enetered Bigg Boss houes she wanted to be in boys room !!

Ehsaan Quershi – That was surprise !! and was not talked even before the lauch The great laughter challenge show stand up comedian Ehsaan Qureshi

Elina Wadia is youngest Bigg Boss and no celebrity participant on the show. She is no tension girl and loves shopping; pink is her favourite colour and loves Shahrukh.

Payal Rohatgi – glamorous sleazy actress who was last seen in the 2007 movie Dhol will also be seen in film Dil Kabaddi is now a part of the Bigg Boss.

Ashutosh Kaushik, a dhaba owner who won MTV Roadies is one the show.

Sanjay Nirupam a politician – who was born in the remote village of Rohtas in Bihar. He was one of the leaders of Shiv Sena for many years till he had resigned from Shv Sena in March 2005 and later on joined Congress

Jade Goody – The British celebrity who was evicted from Britain’s celebrity Big Brother last year after she had made racist remarks on Shilpa. This time roles will be reversed. Jade Goody will be the only foreigner among a house full of Indian celebrities. Shilpa Shetty will be her only link to the outside world.

Debajit the Singer and Elina Wadia are the last two participant of the show. Elina is the youngest participant of Bigg Boss. Well no celebrity participant on the show. She is no tension girl and loves shopping, pink is her favourite colour and loves Shahrukh.

Now with all 14 in the house, the show begins which will glue viewers on to the TV everyday (Monday to Sunday), at 10:00pm.

Priyanka & Bobby's Chamku - will it revive them ?

Chamku is uncoventional film starring Priyanka Chopra and Bobby Deol - both of them needing a hit. Chamku played by Bobby Deol is story of little innocent boy when his family was brutally murdered. Raised up by the Naxalites in the southern interiors of Bihar, he was trained and molded into a fine young man who does not know what fear is. Later on after being picked up under a cover by government programme, he is trained to kill. As an Hero he is the best among his tribe and thus begins the numerous crime operations, encounters and political assassinations. Turnaround in is attitude has been brought about by his mind which inhaled the intoxicating fragrance of love. So what feelings and emotional turmoil his mind must be going through when it is held between the addictive attraction towards his lady love and his dark past which is also pulling him with full force into its bowels The action thriller 'Chamku' is directed by Kabeer Kaushik and is a Dharmendra production. Priyanka Chopra plays the hero's lady love. The other main characters of the movie are handled by Irrfan Khan, Danny Denzongpa, Ritesh Deshmukh, Arya Babbar and Rajpal Yadav.

Jade Goody in, Sherlyn out from Bigg Boss season -2

British actor Jade Goody, arrived in Mumbai on Friday to participate in the Indian show 'Bigg Boss . She had hit headlines fro her remarks on Shilpa Shety in Big Brother. However this time, Shilpa will not be Goody's house-mate, but her 'host'. Goody landed in Mumbai by Virgin Airlines this morning and drove to Lonavala, where the 'Bigg Boss' will be shot. Meanwhile Sherlyn Chopra had denied her participation in Bigg Boss as her demands had not been met. She had demanded one crore a month and had wanted cameras to be placed even in the bathrooms for her to flaunt her bikinis while bathing, which the producers didn’t agree to - a miss for many !

The first look of Bigg Boss house !

Bigg boss season 2 starts on colours from Aug 17 ,2008 which is being hosted by Shilpa Shetty this time. Here is first look at Bigg Boss house where 14 contestants will be hosted. Located 200 kms away from Mumbai and sprawled over 10,000 square feet of land, the Bigg Boss will feature 14 contestants whose movements will be tracked over 84 days, 24* 7 by 32 cameras.

Shilpa to host new Bigg Boss on Colors !

Shilpa Shetty, will be hosting the “Bigg Boss Season 2” show to be started on Colors TV channel. It will have 14 contestants who will leave their families behind and prepare to live – cut off from the world -- in the Bigg Boss house built on the outskirts of Mumbai. Thirty-two cameras will capture each and every move of the contestants. Bigg Boss will give the contestants some tasks on a daily or weekly basis through which they will earn their weekly budget.

Why sell Horlicks Darsheel ?

Taare Zameen Par's Darsheel Safary is now in ad market, minting money for himself and of course will be wooing kids to make Horlicks part of their daily lives.

Darsheel is Horlicks's brand ambassador. The TV ad of Horlicks will be his first TV commercial wherein he is seen as a school kid who gets infatuated with a charming classmate. In his attempt to look cool to impress the girl, he ends up making a fool of himself. As a solution, Horlicks gives him a simple and easy way to look cool. The advertisement ends with Safary successfully impressing the girls with trendy sunglasses. The sunglasses came free with 500 gm packs of butterscotch, pistachio and chocolate flavoured Horlicks. By the way Darsheel does Horlicks really do that you do in ad ? Have you be using Horlicks before you became its brand ambassador ?

A question that you need to scatch your soul for its answers. You have a great image, contribute it for children of India who suffer and then you earn out of it - not a problem. Why not become brand ambassador for some children's cause ?
blogathonindia, blogathonindia1

Aamir Khan crops his hair for Ghajini

Recently, there has been a lot of gossips going on and the media was buzzing with news from various sources that Aamir Khan will go bald for his role in his upcoming film ‘Ghajini’. But at the premier of Abbas-Mastan’s thriller, ‘Race’, he stunned everyone with his new look, whereby he did not go bald. Instead, he had a small crop with ‘marks’ (that will be ‘scars’ in the film) in between his small hairline. Totally unexpected as always! Kiran Rao, who was with him at the premier, finds his new look ‘hot’. Media went abuzz to catch his new look, and of course, his bytes! He did steal away a lot of media glare from others at the launch.

Khan is a man, who, with almost his every new film, goes into hibernation and comes out with a new version of ‘Aamir Khan’, which fits perfectly into the character he is playing in the film. Lot of efforts have been made to match Khan’s looks with the character he is playing in the film, because he does not want to use wigs. Even before the launch of the movie, he becomes the ‘center of attraction’ wherever he goes, and this definitely creates a lot of hype about him. For me, he is the master makeover man and stands to his repute of being a perfectionist in the film industry.

He was innocent ‘Bhuvan’ with his village youth looks in Laagan, ‘Aakash’ with his suave urban cool youth looks in Dil Chahta hai and one cannot forget the tapori ‘Munna’ of Rangeela and ‘DJ’ of Rang de Basanti. He was brilliant in playing sensitive painting teacher ‘Nikumbh sir’ in Taare Zameen Par, with looks matching his character, of course. One of Khan’s makeovers that made headlines was his Mangal Pandey looks, which many did copy. I am sure that it will happen with his ‘Ghajani’ looks also. We just have to wait and watch, or who knows it may already be happening in the saloons of hair stylists next door!

Contributed by anil

Kareena Kapoor Collapses during while Shooting

According to sources, the actress, who has been on this major diet to look absolutely perfect in a bikini for her film Tashan, that she actually stopped eating a few days before the shooting of the sequence in Greece.

But the grueling shooting schedule proved to be too much for her and her 'only orange juice diet' as she collapsed on the sets sparking off concern about her health. The actress who is currently holidaying in London with boyfriend Saif Ali Khan brushed aside the incidents as a minor health scare and resumed shooting. Kareena as p[er media sources has had weight less than 48 kg with a waistline of 23 inches. She has raised serious concerns about anorexia but the actress insists that she is healthy and has credited yoga and balanced eating to her weight loss.But one guy who is happy with her new figure is Tashan producer Aditya Chopra who texted her compliments on her stunning look in the film and especially the bikini sequences

Shah Rukh's wax statue in Paris

Shah Rukh Khan will have his second wax statute coming up in France. Paris's Grevin wax museum will present King Khan's wax statue next month. This is almost a year before his wax statue was unveiled at Madame Tussauds, London.

Shah Rukh will be the second Indian celebrity after Mahatma Gandhi to have a wax statue in Grevin. He will be the first Bollywood star to have two wax statues in the two most prestigious wax museums worldwide.

Khan is extremely popular in France with a huge fan following and the wax statue would give Indians another reason to travel to that country, already Paris is a hot destination among Indian tourists. A 19th century French journalist Arthur Meyer conceived Grevin's wax museum. He collaborated with Alfred Grevin, a cartoonist, sculptor and costume designer to work on the project. Wax museum was open to the public in June 1882, and it became a grand success.

Some of the wax statues in the Grevin collection include Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Pope John Paul-II, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

Jodhaa Akbar goes south

NDTV movies.com, Natasha Raj

Ashutosh Gowariker's epic romance Jodha Akbar will now be seen in down south. Tamil audiences who saw Bollywood's hottest pair Aishwarya Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan sizzle in the dubbed version of Dhoom 2 will once again hear them speak in Tamil.

The Hindi version of Jodha Akbar, which was released world wide three weeks ago is said to have collected around Rs 70 crore with Chennai alone making grand collections crossing the Rs 65 lakh mark.

With 60 prints in Tamil, the producers are certain that the dubbed version of the movie will draw in more audiences, especially those who had trouble understanding dialogues, which had a light dose of Urdu.

"We believe they are superstars here also. They are well known across the country and well known in the south and we want to cash on that," said Henry, Distribution Head (South), UTV Motion Pictures.

The music of the film has been scored by the Mozart of the south, A R Rehman. He has worked his magic in the dubbed version as well.

A bonus will certainly be a grand release of this movie in Telugu following a star studded premiere in Hyderabad, which will be attended by none other than the cast and crew of Jodha Akbar including Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Bachchan, A R Rehman and the man himself who has created box office history, Ashutosh Gowariker.

Golden Star Ganesh and Shilpa marriage reception

It was a sprawling marriage reception of Golden Star Ganesh and Shilpa on Sunday night at the Golden SPA resorts near Bangalore. National award winning art director Shashidhar Adapa had erected a beautiful set of a Ganesh Temple near the pool side of the resort.The proceedings were colourful and every thing went on smoothly. The major attraction of the reception was the grand entry of the couple to the reception podium. Ganesh wore a pink sherwani and it ws a pink Ghagra for Shilpa and they also had some bright antique ornaments which were the cynosure of all eyes. Ganesh had an antique chain with the Anjaneya inscribed pendant. And both Ganesh and Shilpa were looking stunning. Noted film personalities, VIP's were among more than 2000 people who attended the reception.

Bani to quit Kasamh Se !

Prachi Desai aka ‘Bani’ in daily soap ‘Kasamh Se’ will no longer be seen as a ‘Bani’. She will move to act in bollywood. Though she is not quitting television but as of now has signed a movie. She became a household name after playing Bani, in the hit soap of Balaji, Kasamh Se. After winning the dance show ‘Zhalak Dikhla Jaa 2’ her professional life took a leap and since then she film offers. She finally has agreed and will be staring in a movie with director Farhan Akhtar. Prachi has signed movie ‘Rock On’ and as per the media reports on the movie contract, she is not allowed to be seen on TV serials during the promotion of the movie. So she has decided to quit from serial ‘Kasamh se’ .

Prachi will finish her shooting for last episode of Kasamh Se by the end of January and then move on to shoot for her debut movie ‘Rock On’ from February onwards. She plays character of a teenager in the film. After Roshni Chopra (who played Pia in Kasamh Se) walked out of the show, Prachi’s exit is bound to affect the show’s popularity.

Bachchans in Bhopal !

Amitabh Bachchan along with his wife Jaya Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh visited Bhopal on Saturday to attend a marriage ceremony in the family. Bachchan family reached airport here from Mumbai in a special aircraft at 1100 hours to take part in the marriage of film actor Rajeev Verma's son and drove straight to the wedding spot. They returned the same day after attending the wedding. Abhishek was busy with the film shooting in Jaipur, hence could not join them in the wedding. Shweta Nanda, Amitabh's daughter was already present at Bhopal for the wedding.

Arnold to act in Akshay - Kareena starrer ‘Kambakth Ishq’

Kambakth Ishq starring Akhsay Kumar and Kareena kapoor has also signed in the famous holloywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger also the California Governor. Akshay plays a Hollywood stuntman in the film. It is expected that the film may rope in stunts experts from Hollywood for Akshay’s stunt scenes in the film. Adding more to the entertainment, pop diva Beyonce Knowles will also feature in a track in the film. According to sources, the production work on Kambakth Ishq has already begun in LA. It is reported in media that talks are on with Sylvester Stallone and was confirmed by Sajid Nadiadwala the producer as per the media reports. Kambakth Ishq is slated to go on the floors towards the end of the month. Reportedly, the film will star a total of nine Hollywood actors and will be shot in the exotic locales of Los Angeles.

'Umeed' - Young Aditya’s maiden album

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan along with Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray have released the debut music album ‘UMMEED’ of Thackeray’s grandson Aditya on January 18, 2008. Aditya, who is studying in class twelve, started writing poems initially at the age of fourteen on his grandfather.

Amitabh Bachchan while releasing the album had all praise for Aditya. Aditya’s younger brother Tejas has also contributed to the album. The album features noted singers like Suresh Wadkar, Devki Pandit, Shankar Mahadevan, Kailash Kher, Sunidhi Chauhaan, Kunal Ganjawala, Jolly Mukharjee, Vaishali Samant and Swapnil Bandodkar.

Deepika may pair with Rajnikant in Robot?

Rajnikant will be coming in Director Shankar’s new sci-fci thriller mega budget film ‘Robot’. A.R Rahman will be composing music for ‘Robot’. The trio Rajnikanth, Shankar, and A. R. Rahman, after success of ‘Svaji’ will be once again together to create the same magic. The film will be produced in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Ayngaran International and Eros International will jointly be producing this film. It is rumored in media that Deeepika Padukone who made a superb debut with Shahrukh Khan in film Om Shanti Om may now be pairing with Rajnikant in Robot. Interestingly Deepika who is 22 years old had paired with Shahrukh of 40 plus and will now be with the Rajnikant who is of 57 years! But for superstar Rajinikanth who has acted earlier opposite to Shreya in ‘Sivaji the Boss’ who was almost Deepika’s age. As of now Deepika is filming for Yash Raj Film's Chandni Chowk to China which is expected to hit the floors in February. Robot’s budget may exceed 100 crore probably may be the most expensive in Indian film history. It will be worth a wait and watch for Deepika if she finalizes the deal and off course for Robot.

Media speculates that 'Yuvraj and Deepika' may tie a knot !

The ‘Times of India’ newspaper dated January 5, 2008 while referring sources close to the family had a report that ‘two are dating and are close to each other’. The media report in print had said that ‘if things go well, in two years time marriage could be on the cards. But right now, both of them are focused on their respective professions’.

Many in media had reported that Deepika and Yuvraj Singh were spotted recently at a popular Sydney restaurant. Zee news website quoting grapevine sources had said that ‘Om Shanti Om’ girl had gone to Sydney on after Yuvraj had sent out a special invite for his latest love interest to catch him in action during the ongoing India-Australia test series. But Yuvi’s family had denied the same to media and had said that she was there on a film shoot.

Speculations about Yuvraj and Deepika started a month back when couple had met at a Mumbai-based nightclub and since then media had rounds of speculations. It was also said that Deepika had played host to Yuvraj’s birthday party in December, which was an indication of their growing intimacy.

‘Jodha Akbar’ – the awaited one

‘Jodha Akbar’, a Bollywood movie which many were waiting and were being thought to be ‘the big one’ in this year’s start will be on theatres in April. Media reports point out that Gowarikar, Director of the film has been advised three weeks bed rest.

The movie is based on a 16th century story between the Mughal emperor Akbar, played by Hrithik Roshan and Hindu princess Jodha Bai, played by Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai. The film has been directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and has musical score from A.R. Rahman. Hrithik Roshan who had several blockbuster successes earlier like "Krrish," and "Dhoom 2", will like to take his path of success forward in this year with this movie. Hrithik as Akbar in the film will be seen wearing a lot of heavy jewelry and armour to showcase the royalty of the 16th century.

Kiran Deohans, the ad maker and with ‘Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak’ and ‘Kabhi Khushi…’ fame is the lensman of the movie. In fact after shooting QSQT in 1988, Kiran took a ten year break before shooting another film- Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and now will be showcasing his talent in this movie. Though the official date of the release was February 15 but may be now slipping down to April.

Film has been produced by UTV and rushes of the highly anticipated film have already generated interest among the movie-goers across the country. Media speculates that the production cost of this mega blockbuster is 50 Crores. With its delay ‘Welcome’ the super-success and ‘Taare Zameen Par’ will gain more at the box office.

'Sunday' and 'Halla Bol'- new releases of January 2008

January in hindi film industry will see more of Actor Ajay Devgan. His release of the month would be Rajkumar Santoshi’s 'Halla Bol', a social film. Another of Devgan release would be 'Sunday, a comedy starring a host of talented actors like Ajay Devgan, Irfan Khan and Ayesha Takia. By the way Devgan will also make his directorial debut in ‘U me aur hum’ this year and would be seen Kajol in the same. Sunday and Halla Bol will be the major who will trying their luck this January, then always lies the surprise from the other ones coming in.

A new comer Nikhil Dwivedi will be testing waters in 'My name is Antony Gonsalves this January. Promos of the same are already on air. Another comedy 'Rama Rama Kya hai Drama' with Rajpal Yadav and Amrita Arora will also be there in January along with romantic thriller 'Bombay to Bangkok'.

In February the big one 'Jodhaa Akbar' , starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. Though it was planned to be in theaters on January 26 but now has been postponed to February.