Bollywood Zone : Blog, Movies, Celebs

This man’s music is soul-stirring, no doubt about that. But we didn’t know that Adnan Sami could dish out soup for the soul, too. Yes, apparently his culinary skills are awesome, and cooking is not just a hobby, but a passion for this musician. His friends are the ones who survive his food and savour it too. He invites them over, wears his chef ‘s cap, turns on the heat… and well, the rest is for the taste-buds to tell. Of course, the chef himself polishes off nothing more than a big bowl of salad. ‘Let the others feast, I’ll only fast,’ is Adnan’s new food funda, after all. Way to go…!

Arbaaz Khan, who has come in for rare praise after the success of Shootout At Lokhandwala, is now doing a film in which the item number is performed by his gorgeous wife, Malaika Arora-Khan. The couple is finally working together and the producer who is making this happen is Kannada filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh. This is his first Hindi film.

“I play the lead in Lankesh’s Shaadi Ke After-Effects and my wife in the film is Tara Sharma, though I love being on screen with Malaika,” said Arbaaz. Shaadi… is reportedly a light-hearted film being made on the lines of The Seven-Year Itch. “It’s a comedy about a married guy with a roving eye. I dance and sing with Malaika in a dream song,” added Arbaaz.

In Hansal Mehta’s Woodstock Villa, Arbaaz plays a jealous and possessive husband. He is anything but that in real life. The actor admitted, “I’m quite comfortable being the husband of a woman who’s a celebrity. And, of course, a superstar’s brother. It’s not an enviable place to occupy. But it’s reality. I’m very closely related to two very successful people and I accept that happily.”

Arbaaz isn’t the first hero to be pitched with his own wife on screen. The legendary V Shantaram directed and acted with his first wife Jayshree in Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani and his second wife Sandhya in Do Aankhen Barah Haath. Decades ago Dilip Kumar did a series of films with his wife Saira Banu beginning with the hit Gopi, followed by the not-sosuccessful Sagina and Bairaag. Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan acted together first in flops before marriage like Ek Nazar, Bansi-Birju and then a series of classic hits like Zanjeer and Abhhimaan, and Mili after marriage. Rishi and Neetu did all their blockbusters before marriage. And so did Dharmendra and Hema Malani who gave a string of hits until Sholay and Charas and Azaad in the late 1970s. Rajesh Khanna and wife Dimple were supposed to come together in Jai Shiv Shankar. But it never got made.

It hasn’t been an easy time for filmmaker Mani Ratnam. Last month Mani lost his younger brother in a freak accident. Then his ambitious plans to adapt Ismat Chugtai’s story Lajjo came to a standstill.

This is Mani’s second project with Bedi to have fallen through. Earlier the two were supposed to have come together for a rendering of the Mahabharat. Lajjo, according to a source close to the filmmaker, was dropped because of major differences between him and producer Bobby Bedi. Says the source, “Producer Bobby Bedi and Mani Ratnam couldn’t see eye-to-eye over the copyright issue of the story. They often had clashes on how Lajjo should be treated. Instead of getting into disputes from the beginning, Mani decided to part ways with Bedi.”

Though Lajjo and Mahabharat have gone awry Mani isn’t sitting still. Says the source, “Mani is very keen to work with Aamir Khan who was a part of his Lajjo. Not willing to let go of the opportunity, he is already planning another project with him. The scripting process has already reached a final stage. And his next film is expected to go on the floors from November 2007.”

The new project, currently under wraps, is expected to have the same team of leading man Aamir, cinematographer P C Sreeram (who has done most of Mani’s earlier films) music composer A R Rahman and lyricist Gulzar. However it isn’t very clear at the moment if Kareena would fit into the revamped project.

It may be a little late in the day but director duo, Abbas Mustan has just woken up to the fact that joining the ‘sequels do work’ gang might just be profitable. If not anything else, it will save them from thinking too much about new plots and ploys to woo the audience. They are busy scripting sequels for Akshay Kumarstarrer Khiladi (1992) and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Badshah (1999). Needless to say, producer (of the originals) Ratan Jain is delighted at the prospect of roping in his all-time favourite actors Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan for the two sequels, respectively.

Producer Ratan Jain says, “We are working on both the scripts simultaneously and if all goes well, we will start off with one of them. I have always had a successful run with Abbas-Mustan. They are taking their super plots further.”

Getting the desired cast seems to be a challenging task for the makers. While Akshay Kumar has given his assent to the project, the producer is apprehensive about Shah Rukh Khan. The buzz is that the actor might not be too keen to do a Badshah sequel. “I will meet Shah Rukh only when the final script is ready,” says Jain. SRK is now working only in a handful of films and most of the makers are his close associates (read Karan Johar and Farah Khan).

Our source further adds, “Shah Rukh has moved on. He is extremely choosy about his films now. Also, the script has to be engaging enough for him to agree. It has been eight years since Badshah hit the screens. Moreover, Karan Johar’s next film and Shirish Kunder’s superhero flick will keep him busy next year.”

As for the leading ladies, Ayesha Jhulka (Khiladi) and Twinkle Khanna (Badshah) have already retired. The producers tell us that they are looking at the new bloc of heroines who are comfortable doing action sequences. Jain adds, “Going by the Abbas-Mustan tradition, there will be lots of action in these films.”

The grapevine blames the split on everything from Amrita Singh’s resumed proximity with Saif to Rosa’s own ambitions. But according to an insider, it was actually a case of Rosa wanting to establish her own identity. Says our source, “Of late, the two were having a lot of fights. Some time back Saif asked Rosa to accompany him for one of his shoots and she snapped back that she didn’t want to because she didn’t want to be ‘just his arm candy’ all the time.” So that’s the case…

Finally, the most talked about and hyped knot of the year so far (well, there’s Abhiash’s wedding to come) has been tied. Liz Hurley has married Arun Nayar the ‘Indian’ way too. They’d already given out all the correct quotes, right after their church blessings and reception in Gloucestershire. “I cried in the church, during Elton John’s speech and during our first dance. I’m afraid my stiff upper lip deserted me,” Liz said and Arun echoed with, “I’ve never seen anyone look so beautiful. I was so full of emotion that I had to struggle not to cry. I felt so full of love.” Did they feel the same way this time too? Or were they too caught up with the ‘Indian’ act, and evading the Indian press? Soon, we will know.

Meanwhile Nagaur, the quaint little village 135 km away from Jodhpur, didn’t sleep on Thursday night simply because it was dancing away to glory. Liz and Arun Nayar’s prewedding bash rocked the old fort. It was a good time all the way for the selected guests who soaked up the music of percussionist Sivamani, jazz musician Louis Banks and Ravi Chari, the famous trio from the Asia Electric band. The guests took to the dance floor after dinner and guess who was behind the music this time? Mumbai’s handsome DJ Aqeel with his remixes. The guests, including Liz and Arun, danced to Bollywood beats.

Arun had personally chosen the musicians. “He called me up. And, man, we all jammed,” recalled Sivamani. “It was a wonderful experience, with a wonderful crowd. Liz came upto me and praised my music. She said the night was rocking thanks to us guys. She looked so happy,” added Sivamani of Thursday night’s party.

Liz wore a white flowy gown while Arun maintained the
Indian groom look, with a offwhite embroidered sherwani. “It was fabulous playing inside the fort. Something so different and exotic about it. Though I didn’t get a chance to talk to Liz, Arun introduced me to the guests when we played. They were mostly foreigners who loved our music. After dinner Aqeel literally took over,” said Louis Banks. The party continued till 6 in the morning.

Well, if Thursday night rocked, last night was a little sober as the the fizzy froth finally settled down when Arun brought his baraat to Umaid Bhavan and finally tied the knot to his beloved Elizabeth Hurley amidst blessings and cheers from family and friends.

Jodhpur is where all the action is right now. As private jets landed and celebs from around the world boarded the long row of cars awaiting them, the Indian leg of the Liz-Arun shaadi began in the right earnest. Amongst those who touched down in Jodhpur were Gautam Singhania with wife Nawaz. “We had a gala time at the party held in Mumbai for the couple. And I am sure the events in Jodhpur will be even better. I will be wearing an Arjun Khanna outfit for the function,” he said.

Another prominent guest was fashion designer Tom Ford. He said, “I have come here to enjoy the party and am very happy for both of them.” Also spotted was beauty icon Evelyn Lauder, who said, “I am like a sister to Elizabeth and I am extremely happy about her wedding with Arun. We have been partying all night these days and get hardly any time for sleep. I doubt if even the couple have had enough sleep.”

Arti and Kailash Surendranath, who have also made a Bollywood style video of the couple, said, “Liz and Arun gel together beautifully. They rehearsed for three hours together and we shot this video.” Adds Arti, “I wore a saree for the mehendi ceremony. The theme for that day was orange for men and pink for women. But the main attraction remained a special cricket pitch that was made in the hotel premises where a match between the Hurley team and Nayar team was played.”

For the wedding today, Umaid Bhawan has been decked up with flowers and special lighting arrangements have been made. The guests will be taken to Mehrangarh Fort, where the ceremony is to take place, in luxury coaches. They will be received to the playing of shehnai and dhols and a folk dance by Rajasthani girls. The newly wed couple would be taken up the fort in a specially made palki. The gala dinner at Mehrangarh fort will have a typical Rajasthani feel with folk singers and folk dances doing the ghoomar, tehra taali and other dances as part of the festivities. Petals and flowers would be showered on them once the guests and the couple reaches Daulat Khana inside the fort where the function would to be held.

Awhole bunch of Bollywood beauties were missing from Mumbai last week. Well, they were in Dubai to cheer for the man who has made them look their glamorous, ‘haute’ selves – designer Manish Malhotra. Yeah, Manish has always been a hot favourite with our Bollywood ladies, so when he decided to launch his flagship store in Dubai, they didn’t bat an eyelid to fly down there to be a part of his big day. Manish says, “I was the first costume designer to step into mainstream, and I’ve seen Bollywood fashion go through its make-over and been a part of it at a time when most designers were wary of designing for movies. So I decided it’s time for me to launch my own flagship stores, I am starting the first one in Dubai. And it’s a great feeling when friends like Urmila and Kareena support me all the way. I think my efforts were all worth it.” Even Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Karan Johar were supposed to be there for the grand event, but the KANK shooting kept them back. Well Manish, for making them look so drop-dead-gorgeous, we’re sure the lovely ladies will do anything for you!

He was the undisputed badshah of Bollywood, till he was linked with the underworld and the rest, as you all know is history. But now apparently, Bharat Shah’s planning to make a slow comeback to where he once belonged, Bollywood. And for starters, he has three films lined up for release – the Salman Khan-Shilpa Shetty starrrer Shaadi Karke Phans Gaya Yaar, the Amitabh Bachchan and Karisma Kapur starrer Zamaanat and the Akshaye Khanna-Priyanka Chopra starrer Aap Ki Khatir. Now the big question is, will the diamond merchant reclaim his lost glory?