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Vivek Oberoi and Suriya, the ‘Rakht Charitra’ colleagues, were the cynosure of all eyes during an exhibition game at the Chennai Open at the SDAT Nungambakkam Stadium on Monday. Featured in a celebrity doubles match at the annual international sports event, Vivek teamed up with Aisam Qureshi from Pakistan, while Suriya partnered with Rohan Bopanna. Even before the first serve, the Bollywood actor requested his Kollywood counterpart not to make him look silly. And Suriya obliged without any second thought. “Vivek calls me anna (brother in Tamil). And how can I see him lose?” was the question of Suriya. Expressing happiness, Vivek Oberoi said, “Chennaiites are always large-hearted, starting with my anna (Suriya).” Remember both actors shared great rapport during the shoot of the RGV film and expressed it in media meets and other occasions.

For someone who has never fell shy of acknowledging the films of his peers, contemporaries and even rivals, especially so in the last couple of years, Karan takes no time in gushing about buddy Shah Rukh Khan's superhero high adrenalin action thriller - 'Ra.One'. "I have seen one hour of the film and mark my words, this is the best Indian action film ever made. Period," Karan is all praise for Anubhav Sinha, the man who has made action films like 'Cash' and 'Dus' in the past, "The film totally blows you away. Anubhav has done such a superb job and based on what I have seen of his work, he would certainly go a long way from here. In fact I have no qualms in admitting that after 'Ra.One', he would be hailed as the best ever action film director that Bollywood has today." If Anubhav Sinha is reading this, it would be understandable if he feels flattered with the compliments. Also, he can afford to breathe easy with

Week gone by was the dullest ever in Bollywood with audience largely staying away from theaters. In the last few years, there have been '3 Idiots' (2009), 'Ghajini' (2008), 'Welcome'/'Taare Zameen Par' (2007) that have made Christmas followed by New Year extremely special due to their blockbuster success. However, nothing of that sorts happened in 2010 end. Meanwhile as a ritual, there were a couple of small time/backlog/stuck in the cans/inconsequential films that did arrive on the last Friday of the year - 'Bhoot And Friends' and 'Ada... a way of life'. Arriving with zero promotion and not quite boasting of any star value, both the films couldn't even find a decent all-India release for themselves. Worse, the critics too didn't bother to check out what these films had to offer, hence resulting in zero awareness about what the eventual product looked like. As a result, both the films opened to practically

The day she stepped on the Indian shores, Dhak Dhak beauty was welcomed with open hands by her fans and the industry. Madhuri Dixit garnered much attention on her return from US and had been enclosure of eyes at several events and for being the judge of dance reality show. Latest buzz about the diva is that she has been offered a role in Anil Kapoor's next production that will be the remake of the Hollywood flick ‘Freaky’ Friday and features his daughter Sonam Kapoor. Interestingly, Madhuri has been approached to play Sonam’s mother in the film – a role played by Lindsay Lohan in the original version. According to sources, the film deals with daughter-mother relationship. However, Anil is waiting for the green signal from Madhuri’s side who said to have gone through the film’s script. While initially the likes of Shabana Azmi and Rekha were meant for the mother’s role, Kirron Kher was offered the film. But she refused the project due to date issues. On the other h

If you've been watching TV, you certainly would have seen Akshay Kumar's new commercial for Micromax mobile. The ad features Akshay stranded on an island sporting a beard and unkempt look. All he has for company is his Micromax mobile phone. He then puts the phone to various innovative uses and finds a way to survive on the island. The ad reiterates Micromax's belief to think and act differently. The commercial is like a snapshot, a projection of Micromax's vision of the future of the way they would think and the mobile handsets that they would bring someday. This certainly goes on to say that Micromax is "Nothing like Anything". The ad has been conceptualised by R. Balki.

The industry is filled with strange friendships and they, the industrywallas, have their own well meaning way to pay tribute to their friends. Where Farah Khan always has one number in her films where all her friends would come together and dance on, other directors make their friends do a guest appearance; Aamir Khan on the other hand has his own unique way. His friendship with Salman Khan is well known and he has made teasing references to Salman in Jaane Tu... Ya Jane Na and Peepli [LIVE] . Aamir has now made a third one in Dhobi Ghat . And it is in Prateik Babbar's character in the film. Aamir Khan hit headlines with the song ' Pappu Can't Dance Saala ' in his film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na while in Peepli [LIVE] , one of the important characters wears Salman Khan's trademark bracelet. This time, in his wife Kiran Rao's film Dhobi Ghat , Aamir has made Prateik's character in the film a devout Salman Khan fan. Aamir Khan loves Salman as a fr

T-Series and People Tree Films Patiala House is touted to be one of the films to watch out for in 2011. The film stars Akshay Kumar with no other than Anushka Sharma, who is now a hot property, after the immense success of Band Baaja Baarat ! The excitement just does not end there. This film also brings together of a real life family members, Akshay Kumar and Dimple Kapadia, on celluloid. For the uninitiated, Patiala House is the story of a Sikh joint family. Four generations of the Kahlon family live together, in a suburban house in London. The term 'Patiala' in this film, signifies a fourth generation Sikh household in Southall, London, UK. A house with 22 members both young and old ruled by an autocratic and big headed Gurtej Singh Kahlon (Rishi Kapoor). A house where the disparity in thought between the younger and older generation has reached a simmering boiling point and mutiny, rebellion is round the corner. How a 34 year old ex-cricketer who has been

2010 wasn't a year when one evidenced a flurry of blockbuster soundtracks. A few albums did very well, quite a lot didn't and then there were a few which did make an impression but just about. Also, there isn't a mighty fight out there for the place at the top as the choices were quite obvious with quite a lot separating one from another. Joginder Tuteja talks about those ten albums that won audience heart over the year gone by. 1. Dabangg (Sajid Wajid - Lalit Pandit) When the album released, it was perceived as one of those good soundtracks and that's about it. However, the days of continued promotion changed everything around for this 'masala' album which became the spiciest flavour of not just the season but an entire year. Munni Badnaam ' was a double hundred on comeback from Lalit Pandit while songs like ' Tere Mast Mast Do Nain ' and ' Chori Kiya ' were winners as well which made Dabangg a complete album. No wonder, th

Best Actor (Male) Ajay Devgan - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Hrithik Roshan - Guzaarish Naseeruddin Shah - Ishqiya Paresh Rawal - Road To Sangam Ranbir Kapoor - Raajneeti Rishi Kapoor - Do Dooni Chaar Salman Khan - Dabangg Shahrukh Khan - My Name Is Khan Best Actor (Female) Anushka Sharma - Band Baaja Baaraat Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Guzaarish Kajol - My Name Is Khan Neetu Singh - Do Dooni Chaar Vidya Balan - Ishqiya Best FILM Band Baaja Baaraat Love Sex Aur Dhoka Peepli [Live] Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Raajneeti Udaan Best Director Anusha Rizvi - Peepli Live Dibakar Banerjee - Love Sex Aur Dhoka Maneesh Sharma - Band Bajaa Baaraat Prakash Jha - Raajneeti Milan Luthria - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Vikramaditya Motwane - Udaan Best Actor In A Negative Role - M/F Emran Haashmi - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Manoj Bajpai - Raajneeti Ronit Roy - Udaan Sonu Sood - Dabangg Vivek Oberoi - Rakht Charitra Best Actor in A Comic Role - M/F Konkona Sen Sh

Best Actor Male Ajay Devgn - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Akshay Kumar Hrithik Roshan - Guzaarish Ranbir Kapoor - Raajneeti Salman Khan - Dabangg Shah Rukh Khan - My Name Is Khan Best Actor Female Aishwarya Rai - Guzaarish Anushka Sharma - Band Baaja Baaraat Deepika Padukone - Break Ke Baad Kajol - My Name Is Khan Kareena Kapoor - Golmaal 3 Vidya Balan - Ishqiya Katrina Kaif - Raajneeti Best Film of the Year Dabangg Golmaal 3 My Name Is Khan Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Peepli [Live] Raajneeti Best Director Abhinav Kashyap - Dabangg Karan Johar - My Name Is Khan Milan Luthria - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Prakash Jha - Raajneeti Sajid Khan - Housefull Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Guzaarish Sa Re Ga Ma Pa - Song of the Year 'Bin Tere' - I Hate Luv Storys 'Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji' - Ishqiya 'Munni Badnaam Hui' - Dabangg 'Pee Loon' - Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 'Sajdaa' - My Name Is Khan 'Sheila Ki Jawani' - Te

alman seems to have taken Asin completely under his wings. Earlier this month, he not only took her on a safari in the National Park - just the two of them - he also looked after her constantly when she fell ill shooting for Ready . Is Asin going the Priyanka Chopra way? Driving herself to a nervous exhaustion. Like Priyanka, Asin's mom is a doctor. Laughs Asin palely, "So the warnings are being served up with stern regularity. I know I've been overdoing it. But it couldn't be helped. I fell ill because of the round-the-clock shoots and the weather change. I was doing two shifts a day. I was doing my makeup at 6am to start shooting for ads and photo sessions by 7pm and that too in the chilly outdoors. Then I'd head to Film City to shoot for Ready with Salman." By now it is clearly established that there are two Salman Khans: the slap-happy one and the sensitive caring soul whose heart bleeds for others. It was the gentle caring side of Salman

In a few hours from now, we would be bidding 2010 Goodbye and welcoming 2011. The year 2011 promises to be a big year for Bollywood with a lot of big films slated for release. However, one of the most awaited films of 2011 is none other than Ra.One starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. Ever since this sci-fi film was announced, it has generated tremendous buzz. Director Anubhav Sinha and his team have been working round the clock to ensure that they have a high quality product. SRK in fact recently shot for a couple of songs for the film in Mumbai along with his co-star Kareena Kapoor. Director Anubhav Sinha posted this pic of the superstar rehearsing his dance steps on Twitter. Says Anubhav excitedly, "I know, I know... what you want. Here is the man himself, rehearsing for the song... Exclusively for my twitter friends..." Anubhav is also planning to reveal the first look of G.One (the character played by SRK) in a few days from now. Wit

One promo that has become quite the talk of the town these days is that of Madhavan-Kangna starrer Tanu Weds Manu . While the title of the film itself is quite catchy, what many don't know is the fact that it took a while before the makers could zero in on the same.

When the first promo of  No One Killed Jessica  was aired on the television, the viewers jumped. Yes, they were sucked in by a sudden rage; a sudden emotion and a sudden connect. It was as if Jessica Lal case was still on and it reminded you of the India Gate outrage, the ongoing court cases and a collage of those ten years of Sabrina's struggle to attain justice for her late sister. Absorbingly touching and terrifying,  No One Killed Jessica  seems like an intimate film but has the gutsy and reflective ingredients of sorrow, introspection and indignation. And that is exactly what the director Raj Kumar Gupta has set out to achieve. From the director of Aamir comes yet another common story of society, sorrow and struggle. And from all we've been seeing of NOKJ and hearing it's music, which, according to me, is one of the key characters of the film, without sounding too devastating, the film looks like a low-key therapeutic thriller about the human element of disdain and dis

UTV Motion Pictures has confirmed that they are in the profit making zone for their recent release Tees Maar Khan . Though certain sections of industry as well as trade didn't quite acknowledge the terrific start of the film and were only way too pleased to label the film as a 'barely coverage' affair or even a 'flop' as weekdays progressed, an official confirmation from UTV with facts and figures intact pretty much tell a different tale. Though the film didn't quite turn out to be the festive extravaganza that it was touted to be, it is way beyond the claims of being a loosing preposition and has actually turned out to be a profitable venture for its investors.

It's next to impossible to transcribe an interview of Dia Mirza. More so, when you are not meeting her in flesh...but on the internet. I try to do the most unpredictable, never-before-tried task. I go on her twitter page and click on her picture, where you see her looking bright and right in your eyes through that thumbnail. A symbol of perfection and prettiness draped in a yellow dress. I go close to my screen and blink, sit back, take a breath and...well, that'll make me write better. And that's how I begin...It's only in her ordinary looks that she looks extraordinary. Dia Mirza is not one of those actresses who set out to grab attention. She is unassumingly pretty rather than stunning and she doesn't go in for melodramatic pouts or look-at-me histrionics. She is unaffected and unpretentious and that's what draws a man in her direction. For starters, she is already surrounded by two: Zayed Khan and Sahil Sangha. The reason: Born Free, a produc

The promos of Gul Panag starrer  Turning 30  do bear an uncanny resemblance to the Hollywood cult classic  Bridget Jones's Diary  which starred Renee Zellweger in the lead role. After all, both films are woman-centric and deal with problems faced by a woman with respect to her job, friends and of course love life.

The copyright issue has been something that has been creating a furore within the film industry for a while now so much so that several members of the film fraternity had a high profile meeting with senior leaders of the Congress and the UPA Government in Delhi yesterday. Among the political bigwigs who attended this meeting were Congress General Secretary - Shri Ahmed Patel, Hon'ble I&B Minister - Mrs Ambika Soni & Hon'ble HRD Minister- Shri Kapil Sibal. The meeting was held to discuss many of the long pending grievances of the Film Industry such as Copyright amendment bill, heavy and multiple tax burden on the film sector, statutory radio licensing and royalty issues etc.

Adah Sharma is one girl who is on cloud nine these days, and she has very much all the reasons to be so. On one hand, she has been signed alongwith Madhavan, for yet another year as the brand ambassador for the jewelry major Joyalukkas. On the other, the 3 commercials of the said brand won the 'Pepper Award', considered as one of the most prestigious award in the field of advertising.

Every time a film releases there is a scramble to come up with new and innovative ways of promoting it. Well, this time Studio 18 developed a new on ground activity for its upcoming film Tanu Weds Manu . Though the film releases on Feb 25, the production house has started awareness much in advance in the most innovative way. Taking a leaf from the film, an awareness building campaign was arranged, where anxious parents of Tanu and Manu went to major multiplexes across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kanpur, Jaipur, Pune and Chandigarh looking out for a the perfect groom and bride for their son/daughter. They handed out postcards with Kangna (Tanu) and Madhavan (Manu's) pics on it with their bio data on it. They were seen asking cinema goers if they knew of a good alliance for their son / daughter respectively. The response was very good as the cinema goers enjoyed suggesting prospective bride and groom for Tanu and Manu.

Five feet something man is sitting quietly in the lobby area where Rani Mukherjee and Vidya Balan were to attend their video interviews. As I finish my meeting with Vidya, I head to the first floor lobby for some unfinished business when my eyes catch an attention of a man facing his back, sitting quietly on the couch kept near the glass door of the grand balcony. I lean forward and see a man in spectacles fiddling with a music CD. The film's PR was seated opposite him. We exchange eye contact and she is seen whispering in the man's ear. He turns and smiles. My first meeting with India's finest after A.R Rahman, Amit Trivedi. AR and AT have a lot in common. They speak less, listen more and entertain us the most with their unusual but lovable soundtracks. Amit Trivedi is a revolutionary when it comes to scoring music for Hindi films, surprising when you come to know that he is only six films old. It's a pun when I say that Trivedi doesn't play instruments, he plays i

The first chapter of the film Murder set the male testosterone pumping with the overtly bold scenes and yes of course the curvy Mallika Sherawat. Well, the Bhatt camp is ready with the sequel to the much talked about film and its rightly called Murder 2 . Though the film cast has been changed a bit, with Emraan Hashmi still featuring in it, the lead actress Mallika has been replaced by the leggy Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez. We got our hands on this still from the film featuring the pretty damsel. After playing the cute girl next door roles in films like Aladin and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai , Jackie seems to have gone for a complete image makeover this time around. If what we see is anything to go by, then with a figure like that, Jacqueline will soon be heating up the screens much like the bong beauty Bipasha Basu did with her film Jism .

Vijay Krishna Archarya Inception: "It cerebrally reinvented the heist film" Dabangg: "For its unabashed celebration of desi-ness" Do Dooni Chaar: "Authentic middleclass voice and Rishi Kapoor's pitch-perfect performance" Abhishek Chaubey Love Sex Aur Dhokha(LSD): "Uncompromising" Udaan: "Intense, great rendition" Tere Bin Laden: "Funny yet pertinent" Vikramaditya Motwane LSD, Tere Bin Laden and Harishchandrachi Factory: "They were all original engaging unpredictable" Kabir Khan Do Dooni Chaar: "Brilliant performances, superb writing" Dabangg: "Sheer sense of joy and filmy excitement. Above all, the incomparable charm of Salman Khan" Udaan: "Real uncompromised, honest" Raj Kumar Gupta Udaan, Peepli (LIVE): "Debutant director, small budget, big idea. These 2 films touched my heart" LSD: "The only film that made me uncomfortable

'Rascals' is a comedy about two cool competing conmen trying to out-scheme each other in consistently amusing and surprising setups. 

127 Hours is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's (played by James Franco) remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers (Clemence Poesy), family, and the two hikers (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) he met before his accident. Over the next five days Ralston battles the elements and his own demons to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, descend a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he is finally rescued. Told with a dynamic narrative structure, 127 Hours is a visceral, thrilling story that will take an audience on a never before experienced journey and prove what we can do when we choose life. 

R Madhavan: Manoj Sharma aka Manu Smart intelligent caring, the shy & sweet NRI boy who is what makes a perfect 'husband'. Educated and settled in London, but lonely. Would never do anything that his parents would disapprove of Dreams of a sensible quite and homely wife City- London Education- MBBS Loves -Reading, listening to old Hindi songs and Che Guevara Hates –Loud music, crowded places. Kangna Ranaut: Tanuja Trivedi aka Tanu A beautiful charming and extroverted girl, who defies anything which is ‘by the book’, Lives life by her own rules and dreams of marrying any guy who her parents will hate. City –Kanpur Education- BA (Hons) Delhi University Loves- Fast bikes, Tattoos, Alcohol (neat), Che Guevara Hates- Arranged Marriages, Social norms, is being told what to do. Synopsis Marriages are made in heaven! Though the road to heaven might be a little "tedha". Meet 'Manu', a seedha saadha Doctor from London. Intelligent, tempe

At Patiala House lives the Kahlon family ruled by Bauji. They follow his diktats as he tries to hold onto his 'Indian values' in the land of the 'goras'. The younger generations at the Patiala House wants to assert themselves and follow their dreams but are held back by their respect and love for Bauji and the shining example of Bauji's eldest son, Parghat Singh Kahlon aka Gattu. Gattu gave up his dream at the altar of Bauji's biases. His reward: For the last 17 years he has been working in a corner store. Will Bauji loosen his hold and let the youngsters find their own dreams instead of following his? Will Gattu get a second chance to live his life? What's more important: family or dreams? And why must we choose one or the other? 

Love is clearly in the air, as another starlet decides to settle down or at least taking the first step towards it. The lady in question is the blue eyed girl Celina Jaitly who recently got engaged to Dubai-based hotelier Peter Haag. Celina and Peter met through their respective families, exchanged numbers and started dating only some 10 months back. The relationship was kept under wraps as Celina is extremely superstitious about her personal life and only when rumours about her marriage started floating around did she speak about Peter. The engagement took place among close family members, Celina's best friend from Kolkata and her maternal uncle in the actress's Versova house. The couple exchanged rings during the auspicious durga puja but Peter's parents weren't present for the ceremony. Is marriage around the corner? Not in the near future as the actress plans to focus on films and endorsements that take up most of her next two years but the couple surely plans

More than once bitten, production houses have now decided to permanently shy away from all references to authentic characters in films based on real life. It therefore comes as no surprise to know that UTV has decided to change all the names of the characters barring Jessica Lal in  No One Killed Jessica , the film based on the celebrated case of the Delhi model who was murdered in full view of dozens of eyewitnesses on crowded bar on April 29, 1999. The initial plan was to go the whole hog and recreate the entire case in all its details including the characters with their real names. In fact, say sources, the director Raj Kumar Gupta wanted to offer Shayan Munshi the prime witness in the murder, the chance to play himself. However, according to legal advice, the original spelt trouble. Now all the names of the main dramatis personae including the prime accused Manu Sharma and the key witnesses have been changed, to avoid legal and financial troubles. When questioned about it dir

There's tremendous speculation about the release date of DON 2. Of course, producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar and Reliance Big Pictures had locked 23 December [Christmas weekend] as the release date of the film, since Shah Rukh Khan's home-production RA.ONE was slated to hit the screens in June, giving a six-month gap between the two releases. But with RA.ONE now arriving in Diwali [that's the buzz in the industry, although SRK hasn't officially announced the release date yet], one wonders whether DON 2 will stick to the date of 23 December. However, Ritesh Sidhwani denies any postponement of DON 2. "It's a great period [Christmas weekend], so why should we postpone the film? In fact, we will be through with the filming part in February/March itself. We have ample time to devote to the post-production work and marketing of our film," Ritesh tells me. But Diwali and Christmas fall in the same quarter, so won't the pro