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After Aishwarya Rai repeatedly reported late to the sets of Action Replay, director Vipul Shah decided to teach her the importance ofpunctuality. A source said, “Aishwarya would always come late to the sets. On days when she came on time, she would spend most of her time doing up her hair, make-up and clothes while everybody kept waiting for her. The entire schedule of the shoot would get disrupted. The unit is shooting with Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya at ND Studios, Karjat. “Vipul is extremely particular about shooting the scenes aesthetically. He was fed up of waiting for hours for Aishwarya. Surprisingly, he made his dismay very clear on the sets a few days ago,” said a source.

Ta l k i n g about the particular incident, the source said, “That day, Aishwarya came to the sets, changed into her costume, did her make-up and hair and was ready to shoot. After the entire process, which took her several hours, Vipul shot precisely for a minute before declaring pack-up. Aishwarya was aghast that Vipul had made her get ready only to shoot with her for a minute. She openly expressed her displeasure to which Vipul shot back, ‘Apne sets pe sab time par aate hain aur sab time par jaate hain.’This was a clear indication of how irritated Vipul was.”As expected, Vipul denied our story and said, “This is totally false.

Aishwarya has an extraordinary look in the film. We always knew it would take time for her to get ready because of which we had planned the shoots accordingly. We have not had any delays because of her. In fact, she is working 15 hours every day for my film. She is extremely professional and I am delighted to be working with her.

The style icon A lot of your personality is revealed with the kind of footwear that you wear. No wonder Kareena Kapoor is very particular about those that don her feet. A close pal of Kareena said, “Kareena is particular about her footwear. It’s only YSL or Christian Louboutin for her. The slippers that she wears at home are from Hermes.” Kareena bought six pairs of slippers of same style from Hermes recently.

Kareena likes to have same slippers of different colours,” said the friend. The friend adds, “When it comes to casuals Kareena prefers jeans and T-shirts while it is formal wear for parties. Kareena prefers Roberto Cavalli and Valentino designs for her western wear.

Though she loves Valentino trousers, jackets, sweaters and knits, Kareena feels that when it comes to the perfect fit, Cavalli is best. But as far as Indian designers are concerned it’s Manish Malhotra for her,” said the source.

The Maharashtra Government on Saturday night honoured Bollywood actors — Rekha and Aamir Khan — as well as noted Marathi lyricist Jagdish Khebudkar with awards instituted in memory of showman Raj Kapoor and legendary film producer-director V Shantaram. Chief Minister Ashok Chavan presented the Raj Kapoor Pratibha Gaurav and Memorial awards to Rekha and Aamir Khan respectively.

Khebudkar, who has written songs for hundreds of hit Marathi films over five decades, was felicitated with the V Shantaram award. The award carries cash of Rs 2 lakh and a citation. Rekha and Aamir Khan expressed their gratitude to Maharashtra for the fame they achieved in the state describing it their Karmabhumi.

A cultural programme preceded the glittering award function held at sports city at Balewadi.

There’s something about Akshay Kumar these days that has made many industry insiders cringe. His arrogance, they say, has cost producers a lot of money. And now, we are told, it is Akshay’s turn.2009 may not be as blissful a year for Akshay Kumar as the previous two years. Ironically, it was also supposed to be the year he had most meticulously planned.If insiders are to be believed, Akshay had all intentions of staying in the limelight throughout the year. As a result he had hoped to have at one film releasing at regular intervals.

With Chandni Chowk to China being the first big release of the year hit the screens in January, 8×10 Tasveer released in April – within about three months. It’s another matter that neither did well leaving Akshay Kumar somewhat in the lurch. Tongues had started wagging the Monday after Chandni Chowk released.The word was out. For the first time in two years, an Akshay Kumar film could not rake in the green stuff at the box office on its opening weekend.

Many of us – journalists and industry observers – turned to our favourite cliché: ‘It’s the beginning of the end!But then 8×10 Tasveer released, only confirming everyone’s fears. Every trade analyst worth his salt blamed Akshay Kumar squarely for the disaster. Had he not charged so much, the film might have actually been able to recover the money if not make a profit,” an industry insider tells us.

A newspaper this week said there had been a fling between John Abraham and Katrina. This was denied by both of them in reports on Friday. Katrina added that her photograph still hung in Salman’s house. So what’s the deal with the Katrina Salman relationship? Are they still together? Here’s the big story: It’s over and has been for two months. Why? Many reasons. The ‘big’ reason according to Salman’s friends is that he proposed marriage to her last year, apparently for the first time in his life, and she said it was too early for her to be hitched. This led to Salman slowly disengaging from the relationship which he at one point was convinced had a future. “He decided to move on because he wants kids,” one friend said.

But it was “amicable” and there was “no drama,” the friend said. The two still talk and even meet sometimes, but not as lovers anymore. The reason that Katrina’s still claiming that nothing has changed, they say, is that Salman has promised not to damage her career.Katrina earns about 3-5 crore per film, plus all the other money from appearances and ads that comes because of Bollywood. This will disappear in the absence of Salman, they say.But surely she can continue her career through her films with Akshay? The reply was that Akshay is no longer only working with Katrina. “He thinks that the jodi has been milked enough,” the friend said, pointing to House Full and CC2C with Deepika and Action Replay with Aishwarya and Tashan and Kambakkht Ishq with Kareena.

However, he is doing De Dhana Dhan with Katrina. So Katrina needs the appearance of a relationship with Salman, he insisted, and the star is obliging because doesn’t despise his ex:
“He just switched off romantically, but he’s fond of her.He hastened to add that this was no an on-now-off-now relationship, and that things were definitely over. He gave the example of Salman’s continuing fondness for his ex of years ago, Somy Ali, who is now a documentary filmmaker in Miami. “He still calls her and says: ‘Baby, I’ll protect you’ and things like that,” the friend said. Katrina’s camp admits that it’s over but cites another reason for her staying back. A friend says that Katrina is staying on because “she doesn’t want to leave when Salman is going through a bad phase.” Referring to the star’s flops in God Tussi Great Ho, Heroes and Yuvvraaj, the pal said that Salman was not “in a happy mood” these days and was “going through a bad time professionally”.

Industry insiders aren’t particularly excited about Salman’s next Veer either, though this is because of a general antipathy towards historical films and costume dramas. Kat’s side had another reason for her not walking out fully.”If news of the split is out, producers won’t take her because they’ll expect trouble from him,” Kat’s side says, pointing to Salman’s antics on the sets of Chalte Chalte that cost Ash the role. Salman’s friends say he has matured out of that phase now.Asked what went wrong in the relationship for it to have broken up, Kat’s side did not agree with the marriage bit, but said something else: “He just wants to hang around with his chamchas and drink. She’s only 24. Think of what it’s like for her.”

A third explanation for why the relationship hasn’t been declared officially over comes from the actor’s family. “He pays her bills,” said a family member. Katrina’s side denies this. They point out that she is also liked by some people in the Khan family and is quite close to Alvira, Salman’s sister, who’s married to Atul Agnihotri. Arbaaz’s wife Malaika isn’t particularly a big fan of Katrina’s and skipped her infamous birthday party at Olive when Salman and Shah Rukh had their fight.

After two months of no new Bollywood releases at the theatres, thanks to the stand-off between producers and multiplex owners, it seems things are looking better. Reports claim that the strike is nearing its end, with multiplex owners agreeing to the producers’ demand of 50 percent profit sharing for the first week a movie runs in the theatres. Ever since the 4th of April, when the Producers’ Association formally went on strike, there have been several rounds of talks between the producers and distributers who are on side, and the multiplex owners who are on the other side. So far, most talks have failed.

However, chief executive of UTV, Ronnie Screwvala has told the media that he is confident the end of the Bollywood dry spell is near because the last stage of talks has been successful and both sides are eager to release new films as soon as possible. Reports say that while the deal is still being discussed, the expected understanding between the two parties will be that the first week profits will be shared equally. The producers will get 43 percent in the second week, and 35 percent in the weeks that follow.

Films that we can expect soon after the stalemate ends are - John, Katrina starrer New York, Akshay, Kareena starrer Kambakkht Ishq and Saif, Deepika starrer Love, Aaj Kal.

Salman Khan is not in the mood to extend olive branch to his foe Shahrukh Khan and so he has walked out of Farah Khan’s show on learning that Shahrukh Khan’s production house, Red Chillies Production is the line producer. He expressed his displeasure on appearing as a guest on Farah’s chat show ‘Tere Mere Beech Main’ as SRK’s production house is attached to it. A source said, “Salman had agreed to shoot for Farah Khan’s talk show and had even allotted dates for the shoot. Before this, Salman had never been keen to appear in any talk show but he made an exception for Farah. He was under the impression that her production house, Three’s Company, was the sole producer of the show.

When Salman got to know that Shah Rukh was also associated with the show, he not only cancelled the shoot but also made his displeasure clear about not being informed beforehand about SRK’s involvement.Farah Khan sideways the issue and said, “Don’t make a big issue out of it. Salman is going to shoot with me after 10 days. He is not supposed to shoot with me now because he is busy shooting for Dus Ka Dum.

Elaborating on Shahrukh’s involvement in the show, Farah said, “The show is primarily being produced by my production house but it is a joint venture. A few people from Red Chillies are also involved in the show along with the production team from the channel as well as freelancers.”

For the first time ever, Reebok has roped in their brand ambassadors ace cricketer MS Dhoni and sultry Bipasha Basu for their new ad which showcases the latest edition of HEXRIDE footwear. The footwear comes in a new hexagonal, honeycomb style which will lure one and all.The TV commercial shows Dhoni and Bips in a fun-run with their new comfortable and attractive footwear.  Dhoni said, ‘I find HEXRIDE footwear the best for training with its benefits of cushioning and stability. I wear it during our long practice sessions and it has become my personal favourite now.

I believe in this technology and am really happy to be promoting such a world class technology for Reebok in India.Shooting for the ad was a lot of fun, not to mention running with a friend, which made the whole experience even more delightful. Added Bipasha Basu, ‘I am a fitness freak and I love to indulge in various activities like jogging, running, working out to keep myself fit. I have experienced never-before comfort in running with this footwear. In fact, HEXRIDE is the best thing that happened to my running regime.

The different colours in the shoes make it so much more fun! I am sure that all fitness enthusiasts will agree that if your running gear is comfortable and trendy, you will enjoy your run even more. And looking good doesn’t hurt either!’

Sanjay Gupta’s “Pankh” is a story of a young boy who was forced by her mother to act as a girl in the film industry. It’s a very touching story and it’s a break away from a normal commercial film.

Paan Singh Tomar is a real life story in which Irrfan plays the lead role opposite Mahie Gill. Irrfan has four different looks for this movie. Irrfan shot extensively in the jungles of Dholpur and in Jim Corbett National Park.