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Farhan Akhtar’s sibling Zoya Akhtar is putting things together currently as the shooting schedule of her film ‘Running With The Bulls’ is coming near. The male-bonding flick includes Farhan, Hrithik Roshan and Abhay Deol, with Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin supporting them as the leading ladies. The news had been in rounds for sometime now that the team will fly off to Spain for the shoot. The three-month schedule said to include shooting in some picturesque locations like Madrid, Barcelona and a couple of small villages on the outskirts of the two cities. Now, being a Spanish-themed movie, Hrithik, Farhan and Abhay said to be brushing up their Spanish lingo. Birdies reveal that once in Spain, the actors will start speaking the language and conversing in the local dialect. While Hrithik and Farhan know basic Spanish, Abhay is totally new to the language and is now taking lessons, birdies added.

Yesterday, Sanjay Dutt had visited the Ajmer Sharif dargah along with his close friends. But he didn’t expect that his presence would attract not only the fans but also police in the holy premises. What started as a peaceful religious affair, turned out to be a nightmare for the actor. So much that he would hesitate to pray in public next time. According to sources, seeing Sanjay amidst them the fans just went berserk and they were so many in numbers that the exit points were choked. It was said to be a crazy sight to see so many people pushing and shoving to catch a glimpse of Sanjay. Moreover, people seemed have been chanting “jaadu ki jhappi do, uske baad jaane denge”. But was it possible for the actor to do it? Of course not! While he tried hugging some, more of dhaka-bhuki (pushing-shoving) continued. Finally the dargah security had called in the local police to secure an exit for Sanjay and his friends. Phew! When he did the “jaddu ki jhappi” act, hardly would ha

Vir Das has come up in life the hard way. After being applauded for his standup comedy he will be seen playing one of the leads in Yash Raj Films ‘Badmaash Company’ which many dream off, along with Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Chang. Post which, he will be seen in Aamir Khan’s ‘Delhi Belly’ along with Imran Khan and Kunal Roy Kapoor. The buzz in the industry for Vir Das has been so strong and positive that even before the release of ‘Badmaash Company’ Vir Das has been signed for another film which will be directed by Tanuja Chandra. The film will also star Rajeev Khandewal and a new girl. “Yes I have signed Tanuja’s next film,” confirms Vir Das, “It is something very different from what I’ve done in the past. It is an author backed role and I can’t wait to start shooting for the film,” adds Vir.

When he is around one can be assured that the shooting will be a smooth and include fun filled hours. Known to his close ones, Abhishek Bachchan is one of a kind prankster on sets. Reveals one of his aids that, Abhishek gives the impression of being so calm and collected, even serious, but he is exactly the opposite. The actor generally sees to that he keeps everyone on the unit in splits with his funny one-liners or some kind of antics. Of late people on the sets of Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum have been attracted and amused to the actor’s latest obsession. After carrying Amitji piggyback in Paa, sources believe that Abhishek seems fascinated by that mode of transport. And during the Goa schedule of the film, the actor was seen instructing a production team member to carry him piggyback from his vanity van to the sets! Being a sport, the team member would gladly oblige to his demand. It was quite a surprise at first, but eventually everyone on the sets got used to seeing

India’s favourite music composer A R Rahman is taking a break from his current world tour to perform live for two special events in Mumbai on April 24 and 25. On April 24 ARR will be performing live at the audio release of Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’ for a select audience from Bollywood and the media at Yash Raj Studios. On April 25 the maestro’s performance is going to be the highlight of the IPL Finale at DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. The ‘Raavan’ audio release is so special that Abhishek Bachchan, who is shooting in Greece will cut short his shooting to fly back to Mumbai for a day. A R Rahman has not performed live in Mumbai for many years and this will be his first event in Mumbai after the Oscar and Grammys.

Anil Kapoor Films Company and PVR Pictures' much awaited Sonam Kapoor- Abhay Deol starrer Aisha will release on August 6, 2010. Aisha , an adaptation of Jane Austen's famous novel Emma is being produced by Ajay Bijli, Sanjeev K Bijli and Rhea Kapoor. The film is directed by Rajshree Ojha. Besides Abhay and Sonam, the film also stars Cyrus Sahukar and Ira Dubey. Music of the film has been composed by Amit Trivedi while Diego Rodrigues is the Director of Photography (DOP)

Neil Nitin Mukesh is injured from head to toe. And it's not faked for the camera. He has raw wounds and bruises all over. Neil can barely talk. Doing traumatic parts has become a part of Neil Nitin Mukesh's acting karma. Just when he thought he had gotten over the ordeal of being strip-searched and jailed in Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail , Neil is now in the thick of the worst possible physical and emotional trauma. For his role in Lafangey Parindey which he is currently shooting from 11 in the morning past-midnight at Yashraj Studios , Neil is required to get out on the streets and fight man to man with his adversaries, a la Vinod Khanna in Gulzar's Apne and Nagarjuna in Ram Gopal Varma's Shiva . "Except for one detail," Neil corrects, as he winces in real pain. "There's nothing fake about the fists of fury that fly in Pradeep Sarkar's film. It requires the rawest of physical violence and it can't be faked. So if you see me no

"The Gala opening of the festival with our film at Los Angeles was a smashing success." So says Dilip Mehta, the director of Cooking With Stella . Speaking from LA, Mehta says, "It was a sell-out screening and the party that followed at the Cabana Club was unbelievably riveting. The entire venue was packed to full capacity with great India cuisine and the bartenders kept every glass brimmed." The response to the film at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles was overwhelming. Says Mehta, "The huge theatre was packed. The audience was enormously supportive and so fully understood the many layers of our film. Even in the darkness I could make out the smiles and hear the laughter!" After the screening there was chaos. "We were mobbed by strangers following the screening. This is always gratifying because they give honest opinions since they don't have an axe to grind with you. The verdict was that they loved the film; they loved the d

She is someone who can rightly be called the 'Eternal Sunshine Girl', for her smile is something that simply makes everyone's day come alive. Even though she hails from a small town of Himachal, in no time, she has made an impeccable mark in the Bollywood. She is none other than Kangna Ranaut, the girl whose name is on everyone's lips ever since she said 'Cheese' to the 70mm silver screen. Kangna was the topic of every discussion for the fact that she just got a National Award for her superlative performance in the smash hit film Fashion. If our sources are to be believed, then, after having endorsed FMCG like Levis jeans etc…, Kangna has now been roped in as the brand ambassador of 'Alcatel Mobiles'. Our source also added that "The said company, after making its mark initially in the market, was out of the scene for a long time now. But, it's going to bouncing back big time. That's the reason they have roped in a 'Hot Prope

The very mention of the name Zayed Khan brings to our memory a very suave gentleman with stylish mannerisms. Zayed's histrionics can be 'witnessed' in his diverse roles in films like Main Hoon Na, Blue ... to name a few. Even though this Khan is yet to make his place under the sun in the tinsel town, he has already started making waves in the ad circles. Bollywood Hungama 's confirmed sources said that Zayed Khan signed up to endorse the pan masala brand called 'Pan Bahar', which has the tagline 'Aap Aaye Bahaar Aayi'. With Khan coming on board with this product, one really wonders about the Khan-fixation that the said company seems to have. Readers maybe aware of the fact that, prior to Zayed Khan coming in, it was the late Feroz Khan and his actor-son Fardeen Khan who were the 'promoters' of the brand. Sources say that the promoters and the owners of the company are very close to the Khan family. And added to that, the officials f

EXPECTATIONS Frankly, there aren't many expectations from the music of Bumm Bumm Bole . Firstly being a kid film come's with limited scope of incorporating songs that can boast of a wide commercial range. Secondly, the credit details around the composers (Azaan Sami, Tapas Relia and M.G. Sreekumar) doesn't quite make you jump with joy due to lack of familiarity factor. MUSIC It's a good start though for the title song ' Bumm Bumm Bole ' which has a feel-good quality to it, courtesy the 'happy singing' that Shaan indulges in. The kind of track which reminds one of the title song of Ta Ra Rum Pum (in terms of genre and treatment), ' Bumm Bumm Bole ' is written by Irfan Siddiqui and composed by Azaan Sami, son of Adnan Sami. The boy makes his debut as a composer for a Bollywood film with this title song and does a good job here. One would look forward to more compositions from him and see what he has to offer. The sound of Bumm Bumm Bo

Suddenly, schizophrenia and memory loss seem to be the new flavours of the season. First GHAJINI [memory loss], then KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK [schizophrenia], then PRINCE [memory loss], now APARTMENT talks of a schizophrenic who spells havoc in another woman's life. Jag Mundhra comes up with a fairly taut thriller, which is absorbing in parts. Inspired by the Hollywood film SINGLE WHITE FEMALE [Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh], the film has been adapted decently well to suit Indian sensibilities, but there's a hiccup. Neetu Chandra uses every predictable trick in the book to make Tanushree's life miserable. From poisoning Anupam Kher's cat to eyeing Tanushree's man, the stunts that she pulls off don't send a chill down your spine, which is very, very vital for a film that banks on terrifying moments to keep its audience hooked. Yet, when compared to the content in the marketplace today, APARTMENT is at least watchable in parts. Tanushree Dutta

I expect first-time directors to be far more courageous than their established counterparts, when it comes to narrating fresh stories at least. But MUSKURAKE DEKH ZARA, which has top notch names involved behind the camera [the most prominent one being Anurag Kashyap, who has been credited as the writer of this film], leaves you confused and cold, since the writing is so childish, so amateurish, so fragile that its crash is imminent. The question that crossed my mind time and again while watching this film was, did Anurag Kashyap really pen this movie? The sole factor that stands out is Ranjit Barot's musical score and the panoramic locales where a few songs have been filmed. Frankly, there's no other reason why you should exit the theatre with a muskurahat . Gashmeer Mahajani aspires to be a chef. He arrives in Mumbai, after his bride-to-be elopes from the mandap. He falls in love with Twinkle Patel, but the problem is, she loves someone else [Hiten Paintal], who,

Years ago, my friends often shot amateur videos involving themselves on a handycam. Dancing on popular songs and mouthing the same lines that were popular then, the amateur videos would be played amongst friends during a chilled out evening or during one of those relaxed evenings. The laughter while watching the amateur videos still resonates in my ears. Memories of those days flashed in front of my eyes as reel after reel of KUCHH KARIYE unfolded. What happens when an amateur director, an amateur writer and a bunch of amateur actors join hands? It results in a film called KUCHH KARIYE, which, very frankly, makes no sense at all. KUCHH KARIYE marks the debut of singer Sukhwinder Singh as an actor. As someone who has been an ardent admirer of his singing, I felt pained to see him cast in a film that has an apology of a script and non-existent direction. As for Sukhwinder's acting skills, the less said the better. He is expressionless, flaunts his physique like Salman

In the U.S., the animation industry has come up with some amazing films. In India, the animation industry is still exploring and grappling to gain a foothold. BIRD IDOL, directed by Jyotin Goel, is aimed at the kids primarily, but the story featuring birds, is very Bollywoodish. BIRD IDOL has it all too - lovers eloping, their kid winning a music-based show, his love story, the crooked villain and of course, loads of songs. I strongly feel that you should view animation films exactly the way a kid approaches it. Just keep your thinking caps aside and chances are, you might fall for its charm. BIRD IDOL has some endearing moments, but despite a running time of approx. 100 minutes, it looks like a lengthy exercise. That's because the film abounds in songs and some unwanted scenes and since they [the songs] aren't promoted at all, it reverses the impact created by a few interesting sequences. Most importantly, does BIRD IDOL offer more than what's being offered

I genuinely feel that VAASTAV is Mahesh Manjrekar's most accomplished work to date [I am counting Hindi movies, not the Marathi films he made]. He made scores of movies subsequently. I liked some [ASTITVA, VIRRUDH]. I detested some. In my individualistic opinion, Manjrekar's creative skills were on a decline post VAASTAV, though there was a ray of hope once in a while. His new film, CITY OF GOLD, is not VAASTAV, but it almost reaches there. CITY OF GOLD is as stark and real as a gash or an open wound. Of course, I am no one to comment on whether CITY OF GOLD is a true and complete representation of the mill workers' plight, but as a moviegoer, this film worked for me at several levels. CITY OF GOLD talks of a family in particular and has several layers, numerous characters and various stories to tell. I was reminded of VAASTAV in a couple of sequences [Karan Patel's track specifically], but I am not complaining. In fact, I liked it! CITY OF GOLD has sever