Bollywood Zone : Blog, Movies, Celebs

Priyanka Chopra will be celebrating her birthday today. And though the actress is always busy, she takes out some time to spend with her family on her special day. The actress has recently signed a God Tussi Great Ho with Salman Khan. The actress who made it to the big league will hopefully continue the good work. And with Don 2 and Drona coming up this will definitely be an action-packed year for the actress. Here’s wishing her a rocking year ahead.

Shahid Kapoor has signed a two-film deal with UTV, for which the actor will be paid Rs 5.5 crores. A source informs, “Shahid has just signed the deal and he is extremely excited about it.”

Shahid confirms the news. He says, “I have signed a two-film deal with UTV Motion Pictures which will be made over a period of two years. UTV has made some great films in recent times and I am looking forward to this association.”

Ram Mirchandani, Vice President UTV Motion Pictures says, “We shared a great working relationship with Shahid during the making of Chup Chup Ke. We are in the process of signing other good actors so that we can plan scripts according to their strengths.”

Talking about the signing amount, Mirchandani says, “We can’t talk about the financial aspects of the deal. All I can say is that Ken Ghosh will be directing one of the projects. He is already working on an interesting script for us and if all goes well, we will start the first film in December this year.”

Reportedly, Shahid’s sweetheart Kareena Kapoor is also in the process of signing a three-film deal with Astavinayaka Films.

While everyone’s raising eyebrows at Kareena Kapoor’s so-called anorexic look (which is basically just a weight-loss program for her look in Tashan), her best buddy, Amrita Arora is following suit. She’s got a hotbod anyways, but for the multi-starrer (Salman, Sohail, Preity, Sunny, Bobby) Mera Bharat Mahaan, she needs to knock-off a few more kilos. “It’s true that I am losing some weight for this film, but I am not going on a crash diet or anything. This time I am doing a lot of yoga and toning up. That will work wonders for me,” says Amrita. Well, you can lose as many kilos as you want gal, as long as you add some zing to your on screen persona.

Akshaye Khanna is a confused man these days. He cannot understand why people want him to be more controversial than he is. “Somebody asked me a few days back why I am not involved in any controversy! Isn’t that the strangest thing to ask?” he asks. Then he goes on to explain, “Call me boring, but I can’t handle negative situations. Even in my personal life, I can’t bear to have bad feelings. I get very uncomfortable with negativity or if anything is left unsaid. Everything should be clear and on the table.”

So, Akshaye likes a simple life? “That’s it,” he smiles, “My work is my hobby and, if I am not on the sets, I am at home or with a bunch of very close friends. Or, I am on the computer playing games, or watching TV, or reading. I don’t go out a lot. I hate partying or going to crowded places. I am actually a shy guy, and take time to warm up to people.”

Maybe that’s the reason why he is still single. “No, that’s because I am happy being single. I am still young, and want to enjoy my life my way. I don’t think being committed is the be-all and end-all of life. Why do you have to be in a relationship all the time? I am not looking for love - if it happens, fine.”

And then, he goes on to explain another side effect of not being in love. “Being single and an actor is a deadly combo. Obviously, girls hit on me all the time. Then I have to hit on them - what to do?” he laughs.

The vivacious Vidya Balan is fed up of being linked up with her various co-stars, her irritation getting more evident when asked about her alleged proximity with John Abraham. “I guess people are desperately trying to link me up with someone or the other as I am single,” she nevertheless explains with a smile. Vidya adds that it could also be because she shares a fine rapport with all her costars. “I have been extremely fortunate to work with the best - Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, John Abraham and now Akshay Kumar, Sajid Khan and Ritiesh Deshmukh. All of them are fun to be with. I am comfortable with all of them,” she explains.

So did she plan her career moves carefully to bag such prestigious offers? “I have never sat down and planned my career. People have been just nice to me. I have been fortunate enough to bag good roles. I am not the type who plans anything. I didn’t make any strategies in the past nor will I do so in the future. I just go with the flow,” she answers.

In director Sajid Khan’s debut film ‘Hey Babyy’, for the first time the Indian beauty has been given a glamorous western look by fashion designer Manish Malhotra. Vidya says, “I love my look in the film. It’s different. The credit for the same goes to Sajid and Manish.” Sajid has roped in a few heroines to shake a leg for a number in the film. Vidya comments, “I have not featured in the song. But I attended the shoot. All of them looked stunning. I told Sajid that I better look good in the film!”

Talking about living life in the fast lane, Upen Patel is right there, ahead of the road. He’s already proved that he’s a fast mover in tinselville. No, we’re not talking about the hotties he’s spotted with. But, with roles from good banners tucked under his belt, Upen seems to be making his way around fast. Now, the boy is flaunting his passion for hot wheels. He loves sporty cars and bikes, and is often seen vrooming around in his fancy BMW. He’s already set eyes on a new machine he wants to own, but that will have to wait for a while, as he’s stocking up the moolah. Hey Upen, don’t whiz around so fast that we lose touch with you. We can get you a speedometer if you want. Wot say?

Isn’t it amazing that in Bollywood, where most stars have screen names, several are still saddled with the pet names they picked up in childhood! For instance macho man Salman Khan is addressed by most everyone in the industry as Bhai, because his siblings and boyhood chums called him that. Salman is also known as Sallu. To continue, does Gullu suit Aishwarya Bachchan? Perhaps not, but it goes well with bad man Gulshan Grover! That other beauty, Sushmita Sen, must live down the ignominy of being called Titu!

If you need to ryhme, consider Guddu and Duggu… Rakesh Roshan and son Hrithik respectively. And don’t know what Bong bombshell Bipasha Basu’s parents were thinking of when they adoringly called her Bonny. Clinical analyst Dr Pratikshay Dhole explains, “A nickname symbolises a form of acceptance, but can often be a form of ridicule.”

Celina Jaitley is called as Chinki at home, and Mahima Chaudhary is known as Rits! Govinda, is known as Chi Chi, it is a name given by his mother Nirmala Devi. “In Punjabi, Chi Chi means little finger. Lord Krishna lifted an entire mountain on his little finger. Chi Chi’s a symbol of strength and unity,” says Govinda.

The Kapoor sisters Kareena and Karisma are Bebo and Lolo respectively. Karisma explains her pet name, “I got it from my dad because mom liked the Italian actor Gina Lollobrigidia.” Bebo’s boyfriend Shahid Kapoor, meanwhile, is Sasha. Aamir Khan’s friends call him AK and Shah Rukh Khan’s known as SRK. But Juhi Chawla calls him Lucky Ali, because she believes SRK’s a fluke!

Malaika Arora Khan is Malla and sister Amrita is Amu. Lanky Tabu is Tabassum, that’s her real name, and Tabu her pet name! Akshay Kumar’s real name is Rajiv Bhatia and he is called Raju by his friends. He adopted Akshay, aka Akki, as his screen name. Ajay Devgan was Vishal Devgan but friends call him VD. Boney Kapoor’s original name is Achal Kumar. Sunshine and Angel are Ameesha Patel’s pet names. “Both were given by an uncle who lives in Paris,” recalls Ameesha. While Suniel Shetty is Anna to everybody, Sanjay Dutt’s pet name given by his mother Nargis is Sanju, but the industry knows him as Baba. Abhishek Bachchan’s pet name is Abhi and dad Amitabh is called Amit. But the funniest name has to be Aftab Shivdasani’s. He’s called Faffy! And nobody can beat Priyanka Chopra whose pet name Piggy Chops was given to her by Abhishek Bachchan.

Just when we were wondering where the Quotable Queen had disappeared, and the gossip was that Mallika Sherawat hardly had many films in her kitty, comes interesting news. The buzz is that she has no less than 62 scripts on hand but is deliber ately going slow. Reveals a source, “Mallika doesn’t want to take up any and all films that are offered to her. She’s busy with Unveiled which will begin soon and she’s doing Fauj Mein Mauj.

Then there’s Welcome with Anil Kapoor which is complete. Besides these, she hasn’t signed on the dotted line for any filmmaker.” Apparently, Mallika has burnt her fingers earlier by selecting bad scripts such as Kis Kis Ki Kismet and Bachke Rehna Re Baba, and she’s become quite wary about committing the same mistakes again. After being part of such a good script as Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Mallika has tasted blood and she refuses to meet anybody who doesn’t have a sound script. “Today, with more and more filmmakers coming up with innovative ideas, opportunities are looking everyone is the face. Especially for someone like Mallika whom everyone wants to work with,” reveals the source. Also, with the actress making enough money through her item numbers (remember Aap Ka Surroor and Guru?), the moolah is not exactly a criteria for her selecting films right now, it seems.

Many may say that their on-screen chemistry remains unparalleled to what the couple shares off screen, but Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor won’t give up. The duo will continue to act together in films they find interesting, and Imtiaz Ali’s next movie is one such example. Starring Kareena and Shahid, the music for which is rendered by Pritam. Imtiaz tells us, “It’s yet to be titled. There are a lot of brainstorming sessions going on. The film tells a story of two strangers who meet on a train and fall in love.” Interesting, we say! “We’ve shot mainly in the North - in Manali, Kulu, Rajasthan,” informs Ali, “We leave for a Jaipur schedule tomorrow.” No, wonder Shahid and Kareena have found love all over again in these beautiful locales. Good going, guys!