PicShik Blog

For all those who think Imran Khan’s career has been a cakewalk, think again. Things may be smooth sailing now but he had a nerve-wracking time before his hit debut movie, Jaane Tu yaa Jaane Na, released. “It was the time when Jaane Tu…kept getting pushed further and further back and we didn’t know when it would release. We had finished shooting the film more than a year ago and I had finished shooting my second film, Kidnap also and was about to start shooting for Luck.

It was pretty funny because I had started shooting my third movie and was unsure about the release of my first film,” recalls Imran.He continues, “After the fourth time that the release got pushed, I cracked; I broke down. I couldn’t handle it and I wasn’t hopeful. That was the lowest point in my life.”Imran felt he didn’t exist and that nobody knew about him. “I had finished two films and was working on the third one. In spite of coming from a filmy background, no one knew about my existence. No magazine or newspaper mentioned me in their articles about upcoming films and upcoming actors.

They mentioned Nikhil Dwivedi, Harman Baweja, Farhan Akhtar’s debut but nobody ever mentioned me. That hurt me because I was shooting for my third film and had not created any buzz. I didn’t know where I was, I didn’t who I was and I was unsure of the purpose of my existence,” Imran recalls painfully. Fortunately for him JTYJN was a huge hit and he has become one of the most sought-after actors in B-Town today. Times change and how!

Imran Khan seems to have discovered a new way of communication. The actor uses code language to speak to his director Punit Malhotra on the sets of I hate luv Stories. It’s learnt that the duo, who have been buddies for long, use this code language in front of the cast and the crew whenever they need to have a private talk.

This code language gets a mix reaction on the sets with some getting amused or surprised and yet some feeling completely irritated. The director calls this language, ”The Pali Hill lingo’, and says that both he and Imran have been using this language for long, particularly in situations when they need to bitch about someone.

The fire dept expected the unit to cough up a $15000 fine for wasting their time. The director and producer began negotiations, stalling shoot Punit Malhotra’s Imran Khan-Sonam Kapoor starrer I Hate Luv Storys has run into trouble with the Queenstown Fire & Rescue Service in New Zealand where the film is currently being shot. A source says, “The unit ran into trouble while shooting on the streets. Most houses have a smoke detectors there as the authorities are strict about such things. They were filming a fire scene and the smoke alarm went off.

And when it did, someone alerted the fire authorities, who came immediately to check if a fire had broken out.When they found out that the false alarm was caused by the shooting, they were very irritated. They wanted the unit to pay a hefty fine. Punit and the production team negotiated with them for a couple of hours over it. Shooting got stalled for a few hours.”On Saturday at 5 am, Imran had tweeted, “Our smoke machine has set off the fire alarm. Which has set off every alarm on the block. Fire brigade are enquiring what exactly we’re upto. Entire unit has spilled out into the street. Negotiating terms with fire department.

Seems there’s a 15,000 dollar fine for fake alarms.Alarm switched off, fire department appeased, and we’re back to work!” When someone asked him whether they had to pay the huge fine Imran tweeted back, “negotiations are still underway. The burglar alarm in a Sunglass Hut next door went off as well, so it’s a “security breach”.”  Producer Karan Johar says, “I can’t comment on it.”

Imran Khan’s female fans are heartbroken as Bollywood’s most adorable hero exchanged rings with his long time girlfriend Avantika Malik. Imran arrived at the Malik farmhouse at Karjat with Avantika where the engagement took place. The 27-year-old star has been dating Avantika for more than five years now She is the daughter of TV18 honcho Vandana Malik.

The engagement party was a very private one attended only by family and close friends. Imran’s mamu Aamir Khan arrived with wife Kiran Rao accompanied by son Junaid. Aamir’s ex-wife Reena and estranged brother Faisal Khan also attended the engagement. Also present were Aamir’s parents Tahir Hussain and wife Zeenat, uncle Mansoor Khan. Others present included Karan Johar, Kunal Kohli, Purab Kohli, Kunal Kapoor and Abhay Deol.

Imran wanted to make the engagement special for Avantika and gifted her with a Volkswagen Beetle which he especially imported from Europe. Imran had imported the Red Beetle over a month ago to gift Avantika.

Imran is living under the fear of being mocked these days. We hear Imran, who is well-known for his jovial and prankster nature, seems to have given up playing tricks on his ‘Delhi Belly’ co-star Vir Das, for the fear of being out-witted in his own game.Vir Das, apart from being an actor is in fact also a stand up comedian.

“Imran, Shenaz Treasurywala and Kunal Roy Kapoor could not dare to take pangas (play tricks) with me (winks), considering I would give it back, twice as hard, as I am a hard-core comedian, and pranks come naturally to me.” Vir raves enthusiastically about Imran and goes on to add, “On a serious note, Imran is a wonderful person and has been very supportive of my stand up comic act.

He has watched my shows and has been a huge admirer.”“I have found a good friend in Imran and he is a great actor, ” signs off Vir.

Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan are identified to be great partners in real life but it may not be any soon that the viewers will get to see the duo share screen space. Ranbir has said that he was not dying to do a movie with Imran. Ranbir who was promoting his movie Rocket Singh said this on being quizzed about his views on blend with Imran.

Ranbir said “I share a great amity with Imran Khan and we stick together whenever we can, but as far as the matter of working together is concerned, I’m not dying to do a film with Imran Khan. Our closeness has its own value for me and professionally we have no such plans to feature together in a film at this moment.”

The answer which was quite straight onward raised many eyebrows. The two heartthrobs are known to hang out together quite often and have hosted the Filmfare Awards 2009. It remains to be seen how Imran reacts to Ranbir’s statement.

Work comes first for Imran Khan. He was supposed to get formally engaged to long-time girlfriend Avantika Mallik in January but that will happen once he finishes shooting for I Hate Luv Stories.A source tells us, ‘The shooting of IHLS will be complete in January as a New Zealand schedule is left. So the engagement has been postponed by a couple of weeks. While Imran is shooting, Avantika and Imran’s families are busy making preparations for the engagement that will take place at Arjun Rampal’s lounge LAP in New Delhi.

Their friends and family members are flying in from all over the country and the world and Imran’s father is also going to be present.’The source continues, ‘When Imran is shooting, he is completely engrossed in the character and becomes another person altogether. Avantika wants Imran to be himself and be at rest mentally when the engagement takes place. She doesn’t want him to be in two worlds. He gets this dedication of getting into the skin of the character from his uncle, Aamir Khan.’Imran and Avantika have been dating since the beginning of 2008.

Avantika has dated Ranbir Kapoor in the past while nothing is known about Imran’s dating history. He proposed to her in September this year. For his fans that cannot wait to see him on the big screen again, catch him in Punit Malhotra’s I Hate Luv Stories with Sonam Kapoor and in Aamir Khan’s production Delhi Belly, both of which will release next year.

Upcoming Bollywood actor Imran Khan has finally decided to settle down with his longtime girlfriend Avantika Malik. His grand engagement ceremony will take place early next year. Imran of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na fame will be officially exchanging rings with his girlfriend Avantika Malik in the third week of January in the presence of his biological father Anil Pal, who will fly in from the US.Sources said that the couple had exchanged rings a few months ago at a private function.

However, Imran wants to host another grand celebration, this time with his father. It will be the first time that Anil will be part of one of his son’s happiest moments.It is said that Imran share very good rapport with his father. He had moved to California to live with his father and did high school there. His father visits him and his ex-wife Nuzhat Khan whenever he visits India. He is said to be very fond of Avantika.

Kunal Kohli is on a producing spree. He was keen on working with Imran for a long time and he is glad that the hot newbie has agreed to be part of his film which is a romantic-comedy.“Since her break-up with Ranbir, Deepika has resolved to prove herself as an actress and a star. She was very happy with the response to Love Aaj Kal and she signed this film because Kunal’s films have always had strong female characters be it Rani in Hum Tum and TPTM or Kajol in Fanaa and both of them were nominated at award ceremonies,” says a source.He adds, “Deepika is thrilled about the films coming her way and wants to make the most of being in demand.

She has started work on a Yash Raj film opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh directed by Pradeep Sarkar and she has bagged an Ashutosh Gowariker film opposite Abhishek Bachchan very early on in her career. She wants to give her 100% to these films. She is also excited about Karthik Calling Karthik and Housefull which will release next year.”About working with Ranbir’s friend Imran, our source says, ‘Imran, Ranbir and Deepika are very professional people, so there should not be any problems. Not many people know this but Ranbir used to date Avantika Mallik who is now engaged to Imran. If Ranbir and Imran can be best buddies why can’t Deepika and Imran work together? ‘

The untitled film will go on the floors only next year. It will be directed by first-timer Danish Aslam, who has assisted Kunal on his movies like Fanaa, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and even on other films like Salaam Namaste, Ta Ra Rum Pum and Swades. Director Kunal Kohli confirmed the news of the pairing and said he was super-excited about the project which he is jointly producing with Big Pictures.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is Imran Khan’s only hit film to date and the only film in which his performance was appreciated. Yet, he had no dates to do a cameo in director Abbas Tyrewala’s 1-800-Love, which is why it was scrapped altogether.The cameo was spun around a story. At the end of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Imran and Genelia get married and Jiggy (Nirav Mehta) is the only one who is single at the end of the film. He migrates to London and gets engaged over there, so Genelia and Imran make an appearance at his engagement party. It would have been a continuation from JTYJN.

Abbas wanted to do this as a tribute to Karan Johar’s cinema. After Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Rani had a cameo in K3; both Kajol and Rani appeared in Kal Ho Naa Ho; and Kajol appeared in a song in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.The cameo didn’t materialize because, at the time, Imran was busy shooting for Aamir Khan’s production Delhi Belly, and it was impossible for him to fly to London for a few days, even though Abbas was really keen and Imran Khan felt the same way. So, they cancelled the cameo sequence altogether.

Abbas said, ‘Yes, we wanted to incorporate a cameo with the members of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, but Imran didn’t have dates and it didn’t work out. There is no problem between Imran and me. We like each other just as much, and I hope we work together later.’1-800-Love stars John Abraham and marks the Bollywood debut of Abbas’s wife Pakhi Tyrewala. It will release in mid-2010.