PicShik Blog

Bollywood actress Malaika Arora Khan added the glamour quotient with her presence to the India Radio Forum’s annual meet on Friday. Talking about radio, Malaika says she likes a mix of all kind of music. “Today’s music, oldies and golden oldies. I am that kind of a person who listens to all kinds of music and the more variety they have on radio the better for me,” adds Malaika. While Malika is busy with her forthcoming film EMI, brother-in-law Salman Khan is all set to make his TV debut with Dus Ka Dum.

The lady seems busy promoting brother-in-law Salman Khan’s TV debut Dus Ka Dum.

“We are all very excited. I have seen bit of the show and it looks great. Salman bhai is having a great time and that’s important for the show,” says Malaika.

Big B’s love for bahurani Aishwarya is immeasurable. He is very much concern about her and to lend her company at Cannes, he immediately flew off to the Cannes film festival with wife Jaya where Ash represented L’Oreal. Ash walked the rep carpet in designer attire with husband Abhishek and father-in-law Amitabh. “We are here to be with Aishwarya, who is here in an official capacity as brand ambassador for L’Oreal. We went to the opening with her and a few films together, but mostly it is to be with family because we’ve all been away from each other for a long time in different parts of the world. It’s lovely to just be together and catch up before we drift away to our respective schedules”, said Amitabh. On finding the entire Bachchan family at Cannes, the affair entirely looked like a family get together. There’s coming another unique opportunity for the Bachchan’s to spend time together and that is the Unforgettable Tour which will start from July 18.

Salman Khan was missing at the premiere of Sanjay Gupta’s Woodstock Villa, starring his brother Arbaaz Khan. Except Malaika Arora Khan and Amrita Arora (who was seen with Arbaaz), no Khan member was present. The buzz is that it was the presence of the Bachchans (especially Aishwarya’s) that was the cause of Salman’s no-show.
Avoiding the B’s
Says a source, “Arbaaz held a trial on Thursday for the Khan family at 12.30 in the afternoon at Ketnav theatre in Bandra where everyone from Alvira and Atul Agnihotri, Salim and Salma Khan to Salman was present. After the trial, Salman drove off to his Panvel farmhouse in the evening. But the real reason that Salman and Salim Khan didn’t go for the premiere, which was such an important event for Arbaaz was because Salim Khan and Salman wanted to avoid the Bachchan family. Recently, Salim Khan had made certain disparaging remarks against Amitabh Bachchan and it would have made an awkward moment for both if they had come face-to-face.”
No awkwardness, please
Apparently, Salman also wasn’t keen on coming. The source clarifies, “Though Salman shares a cordial relationship with Abhishek and a warm and affectionate relationship with the Big B, it would have made for another awkward moment if Aishwarya, the Bachchan bahu and he bumped into each other at the premiere. Rather than have so many uncomfortable moments the Khan family decided to skip the premiere.”
Arbaaz, however, says, “Salman has just returned from a long and hectic schedule of Main Aur Mrs Khanna in Australia so he couldn’t make it to the premiere. But dad and him and the rest of the family saw it at the trial at Ketnav. Also he’s currently very busy preparing for his TV show, Dus Ka Dum, which airs next week on June 6. We have seen the first episode and Salman is simply brilliant!”
Daddy’s boy
Arbaaz is thrilled with the response he’s got for his performance in Woodstock Villa, where he plays Neha Uberoi’s husband. Arbaaz’s “biggest critic”, his father, Salim Khan has also liked his performance.Dad never gets over-enthusiastic in his praise so when he says it’s good it means a lot. He’s liked the film and my performance. It was a challenging role to play where I had to convey a lot silently through my expressions. Many have said that it’s one of my best performances in recent times.”

A week before the release of his new film, Sarkar Raj, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan speaks exclusively to TIMES NOW. He says he’s nervous about how the film will perform at the box office.
Q: Tell us about some thing your new film Sarkar Raj?
A: After doing Sarkar with Ramgopal Verma, it is joy to do another film with him. On similar circumstances, the story is different. But the family is the same. We have some additions in the new film. Aishwarya Rai comes in to the film but not as a member of the family but as a corporate head that make a project in Maharashtra. The film move ahead with Aishwarya and what happens as a result of this is what Sarkar Raj all about. So it’s not a sequel but its continuity where Sarkar ended and this one starts. This is just another day in life of this family.
Q: This is the most anticipated movie of 2008 and lot of expectations. So what would you like to say about?
A: I am happy that it is. We work and live for succeed in life. Expectations of the people make us even more scared of the ultimate result. We want the film to succeed equally better than the previous one. I am thinking that it is quite natural for the people to have expectations.

John Abraham changed course from an actor to a singer on Wednesday, May 28, when he performed live in Bandstand, Bandra, in the Western suburb of Mumbai. The actor sang the song, Ab Hai Ujala, from his latest film, Aashayein, as the crowds cheered and girls were absolutely delighted.“It was simply crazy. I think we underestimated John’s pull and his pursuit of excellence. I thought he’d come on stage croon a few lines, shake his hips in tight trousers, blow kisses and melt into the night. No way,” told Elahi Hiptoolah, executive producer of Aashayein. John left the audiences spellbound after his performance, also, the director Nagesh Kukunoor joined him when audience compelled John to sing once more. “We hadn’t planned a big music launch and we certainly had no clue there was another music launch the same evening. We just wanted to do something different. So we thought of making all the singers including John perform their tracks from Aashayein live on stage. We never thought there would be such a massive turn-out, or that John would take his first live performance so seriously” she added.

After a series of superstars opting for the television, here’s another super star who gets associated with television. Hrithik Roshan has been signed as a goodwill ambassador for a yet to begin show on NDTV imagine named “Junoon…Kuchh Kar Dikhaane Ka.” The actor here is not a host or a judge, but is present only to raise the spirits of the participants. While the organizer’s happiness is understood, Hrithik himself is also quite exited about the project. I am very pleased to be associated with NDTV Imagine and Junoon. I can identify with the participants and their desire to achieve success with their god-given talent. I relate to their positive and exuberant spirit because I believe that I have a similar Junoon - be it my work or my personal life,” says the actor. Well, all the best is all we say.

After romancing the western audiences with the Broadway style musical Miss Bollywood starring Shilpa Shetty, the Morani Brothers (Cineyug) are ushering in the first Bollywood musical titled City of Dreams in India with Ashish Gidwani Productions. The musical will premiere on June 13 in Mumbai. For the project, budgeted above a crore, big names from tinseltown including Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan have been roped in. Co-producer and director Mohammad Morani says, “We’ve been in the industry for 25 years. We’ve taken musical tours abroad. Now, we want to introduce this genre in India.”According to Nasreen aka Lucky Morani (wife of Mohammed Morani), who is playing the female protagonist; the storyline revolves around the struggles that a small-town aspirant goes through before establishing a foothold in Bollywood. She says, “It is a marriage of theatre and Bollywood. The storyline has Bollywood as the backdrop. We are weaving it with the best of dance-drama.”The stars will be acting as narrators. Though they will not perform live, their parts will be presented as audio-visuals. Roping in SRK was easy, admits Morani. He says, “SRK is like family. The script is similar to what he went through during his teething days in Bollywood. Since SRK has a strong theatre background, he will do the starting sequence. The male protagonist in the play is loosely based on SRK and has been named King Kapoor. To represent the Kapoor dynasty we are in talks with Ranbir Kapoor.” Nasreen also adds, “Bollywood is a world of mystery. A common man wants to know about what goes on behind the scenes. Our musical is a portrayal of that. The big budget for the musical has been primarily channeled into sets and costumes to give it a larger-than-life feel.” Co-producer Ashwin Gidwani reveals that the musical will go abroad next year. It will tour the Gulf, Far East, Germany, UK and the US. The sets have been designed by Umang Kumar (Saawariya and Black fame).

A couple of years ago, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta were the ruling troika of queen bees in Bollywood.Almost overnight, you have new favourites Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif being labelled as the soon-to-be queens, thanks to their box-office successes in recent months. Rani, who’s had a bad innings last year ( Ta Ra Rum Pum and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag ), was tinseltown’s blue-eyed girl until her films crashed at the box-office. Rumours of her marriage to Aditya Chopra didn’t go down well with the audience either. Close rival Preity seems to have shifted gear to meaningful films and has become a franchisee owner of IPL, giving her no time for films. The Bachchan bahu has wrapped up for Sarkar Raj co-starring hubby Abhishek, walked the red carpet in Cannes Film Festival again and is exploring fresher avenues in Hollywood. In such a scenario, it is inevitable that filmmakers would move on to newer stars who can offer bulk dates, commitment and box-office guarantee as well. Unlike male superstars, women stars never had that kind of sway over ticket windows anyway. While married male superstars are welcome, attached women superstars are almost outcasts even in 21st century Mumbai tinseltown. Why do top female superstars have such a limited shelf life? Says filmmaker Sanjay Gadhvi, “Globally, a film is sold mainly because of the male actor. Except maybe a Julia Roberts, no female actor has been able to command a price at the box-office in Mumbai. So today, if we find Rani, Ash or Preity not doing many roles, it’s because they claim to have become selective. Katrina, Kareena or Bipasha are getting there, so they will be doing clichéd roles initially to establish a foothold in the industry.” Some filmmakers feel the new crop of stars have enough talent too. Says Pritish Nandy, “There is an overflow of talent actually. There is Chitrangada Singh, Kangana Ranaut, Jiah Khan, Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and so many more. But they all need good scripts.” Says trade analyst Komal Nahata, “Ash, Rani and Preity are not very hot now because they have passed their prime and are demanding huge sums of money. Producers are ready to bank on good male actors so obviously Ash, Rani and Preity will look for alternative careers or settle for marital bliss.” Even as her Thoda Pyar Thodi Magic gets set for a theatrical release, Rani is preparing for Aditya Chopra’s next, Preity Zinta’s got Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear, Jahnu Barua’s Har Pall, Deepa Mehta’s Canadian on Earth, Sameer Karnik’s Heroes, while Aishwarya’s Sarkar Raaj releases next week, after which she wraps up Pink Panther and Robot. Preity Zinta however, is quick to point out, “There can’t be a hit movie without a (female) actor!” Rani confesses that the offers keep pouring in, but “nothing excites me. Now I am at a position that I can put my heart and soul into every role I do.” Well, being choosy sometimes pays for the three divas, bringing them critical acclaim and commercial success. And when the formula doesn’t work, there are always younger stars to take over those slots.

The stifling 95 degree heat in Mumbai this weekend cannot be purely put down to the onset of the southern Indian summer. The self-satisfied glow of the organisers of the hugely successful Indian Premier League must also be ratcheting up the temperature a degree or two.Built on a mountain of cash from some of India’s richest individuals, the IPL began 44 days ago with a vision for the future that seemed almost as crackpot as the idea that India would boast one of the world’s booming economies.Suspicion and scepticism greeted its beginning, but ever since Brendon McCullum set alight the opening match, the tournament has gathered strength and exceeded expectations. “It has been an unprecedented blockbuster,” said one of the franchise owners, Vijay Mallya - and his Bangalore team bombed dismally.The tournament culminates in the IPL play-off weekend, ending with tomorrow’s final, where the organisers will be desperate to show the world their gleaming new toy. VIPs gathered from the world of cricket will be told how the IPL have broken their own targets in the first year.The franchises expected to break even after year three. For the majority, it has happened in year one. Television viewing figures are astronomical, even by the standards of a country with a population of more than one billion. The huge advertising revenues have enabled people to ignore the inconvenient fact that 20 to 30 per cent of match tickets have been given away.Finding a critic of the IPL is hard. The few dissenters within the Indian cricket board have been silenced by the £40 million they are set to make from the IPL’s first edition.
“It has been sensational,” said Kepler Wessels, coach of the Chennai Super Kings. “I’ve coached and played all over the world and over different eras and this reminds me very much of the Kerry Packer World Series that I played in. That was when cricket became professional and there is a similar vibe here. This has been a tremendous tournament and it will grow from strength to strength.”That strength has been built on decent cricket, looking good for the cameras and appealing to the masses. Preity Zinta, the Bollywood actress and owner of the Punjab franchise, flashes her smile on cue, while one obsessed fan fell from the stands at Eden Gardens trying to get a glimpse of Kolkata owner, the superstar Shah Rukh Khan.But this is India and cricketers are also kings. New stars have emerged, and predictably, they are mostly Australian. Shaun Marsh, the Western Australian batsman, was a snip at $30,000 (£15,171) for the Kings XI Punjab and is the tournament’s leading run scorer with 593. Over at the Rajasthan Royals, Shane Watson has shown what he can do when he stays fit, while Marsh’s team-mate Luke Pomersbach has biffed the ball at will.It is a serious business for the players, who, for the first time in their careers, have had to publicly account for huge salaries.”I remember lots of lads laughing and joking in the first year of T20, but people are taking it very seriously now,” said Jeremy Snape, the former England one-day player who is performance coach for the Rajasthan Royals. “Five years later it is having a big impact on the game.”Off the field the talk is of reconciliation. Players who clashed while competing for their countries have been forced to get on or get out as they share dressing rooms with old foes. There was no greater rivalry than that between Graeme Smith and Warne. But at the end-of-tournament party, held at Mumbai’s Grand Hyatt on Thursday night, the pair were seen swapping altogether nicer sentiments.”So many different combinations have come together,” said Warne. “We don’t normally get to share ideas and methods and that has been one of the lasting memories for me.”There is one thing missing from the finals weekend - the home side. There were longer queues yesterday afternoon at screenings of the new Indiana Jones movie than there were at the Wankhede Stadium ticket office.The IPL’s decision to hike prices for the day did not help on that front, with the top tickets set at £140. A quick rethink led to a 50 per cent reduction. Swathes of empty seats do not look good on television, and looking good on screen is what really counts.
THE GOOD:
The rejuvenation of Shane Warne: He has revelled in his role as leader and father figure to the unfancied Rajasthan Royals, whom he guided to surprise leadership of the group-stage table.
The crowds: It is no surprise that fans have flocked to the games, what has come as a shock is how they have swapped national allegiance for supporting their local franchise.
The money: The Indian Cricket Board are projected to make more than £40?million from the first IPL season as sponsorship has soared.
The cricket: In India the batsmen are kings and Brendon McCullum’s 158 in the tournament’s opening match set the bar. Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh (right) have all reached three figures.
The glamour: From Bollywood actresses to the Washington Red Skin cheerleaders and glitzy after match parties, the IPL has aped Formula One in its pursuit of the opulent. 1. The racism charge. Two British cheerleaders made accusations of racism, claiming they were told they could not perform at a match because they were black.
THE BAD:
The slap: Harbhajan Singh of the Mumbai Indians slapped India team-mate Shanthakumaran Sreesanth in the face after a match against the Kings XI Punjab. Harbhajan was later banned for the rest of the tournament.
The sulking: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan never missed the chance to appear on camera while his side Kolkata Knight Riders were doing well. When their fortunes nosedived he was less conspicuous.
The arrogance: Heady with success the organisers are now talking about two IPL seasons a year. What about Test cricket?
The fickleness: Failure to qualify for the semi-finals left some doubting the futures of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, two true greats.
AND THE NUMBERS:
1,629 Fours
593 Sixes
67 Lowest total (Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai)
84.62 Win percentage for Shane Warne of the Rajasthan Royals
21 Balls for fastest fifty, by Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals)
31 Boundaries hit by Sanath Jayasuriya, the highest in the group stage.

Aamir Khan’s dad Tahir Hussain has watched his grand-nephew Imran’s debut film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, and is impressed. Tahir, who’s been out of the limelight for a while, now wants to get back to film-making but isn’t impressed with what Bollywood is churning out these days. “I haven’t watched too many Hindi films. I spend my time watching some good foreign cinema”, he says. Here, Tahir talks about his estranged relations with Aamir, clears rumours about Aamir taking back the car he gifted him, and his plans for the coming year.

Tell us about Jaane Tu…
I recently saw it and was quite impressed. Everyone has really worked hard and it’s turned out to be a really good film. It’s not just for the youngsters but for all age groups. Everyone has worked really hard on it and I am sure it will do well.

Do you find any similarities between Imran and Aamir?
Yes, Aamir is his maamu. So, of course, there are comparisons made between the two. But I personally think it’s wrong to compare Aamir with Imran. I have watched Imran and I think he’s a better actor than Aamir for his first film. It isn’t fair to compare a newcomer with an established actor. Also today’s times have changed and the style of filmmaking is very different from the way it was done before.

Are you in touch with Aamir?
Yes, I am; but not on a regular basis. He’s busy with his work and films.

Has Aamir has taken away the car he gifted you and stopped your monthly allowance?
No. It’s all rubbish, there’s nothing of this sort. Everything is normal between us, and there are no problems whatsoever. I don’t know who spreads such rumours.

How is Faisal doing?
He’s doing fine. Faisal isn’t living with me. In fact, I haven’t seen him for a long time.

Have you managed to read Aamir’s blogs?
No, I am not into this whole blogging business. Also I don’t spend too much time on the computers, so I don’t know about Aamir’s blog.

It is believed that you plan to get back to making movies?
Yes, I definitely want to get back to film making. I have some ideas in mind, and will start working on them when time permits. I think today’s filmmakers just copy and lift ideas from the West. There are hardly any original ideas and scripts around.

Unlike Taare Zameen Par?
Yes, I liked TZP immensely. I think it was an original film in every sense. I am happy that the film got so much recognition worldwide.

What’s your take on Aamir refusing to send the film to award functions?
I can’t comment on it. That’s the stand that he’s made and I respect it. He believes that the fact that people world over have appreciated the film is much a bigger award than any trophy.