SRK to team up with Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga’s reinventive ways may be weird for some, but Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan finds her extremely inspiring. The actor, who has been working towards convincing the international pop star to do a song for his mega budget project RA.One says she knows her business well.

“I havebeen chatting up with her (Lady Gaga) over a song that I want to do with her and once her manager had said ‘Lady Gaga wants to introduce her audience to you and she wants to be introduced to your audience’. So one understands she believes in pure, simple wonderful business,” Shah Rukh said.

The 45-year-old actor-producer was speaking at the launch of management guru and movie producer Arindam Chaudhuri and his wife Rajita’s new marketing book Thorns to Competition.

He mentioned Gaga at the thought of reinvention, which is an important tool of marketing, according to the book.

“I have learnt re-inventing …..So I don’t listen to raag Bhairavi any more… I listen to Lady Gaga. My son and daughter have converted me from Saturday Night Fever to Justin Bieber…..,” he added.

King Khan looked dapper in a black suit and was at his humorous best.

International pop singer Akon has recorded a song Chammak Challo, which is already a rage ever since it was leaked online. So whether Lady Gaga is recording a song for this film remains a mystery.

Salman leaves for US, holds screening for friends

For the first time, Salman Khan will not celebrate Eid and Ganpati at home. After Hurricane Irene blew into the American east coast last Saturday, and grounded flights in and out of the country, speculation was rife that the actor had postponed the trip he was making for medical reasons. There was a rumour that Salman had decided to stay back in the city for the festivities and the release of Bodyguard, on August 31. He was initially supposed to depart for the US on August 27 for corrective surgery to treat his nerve disorder.

But soon after hosting a special screening of the Kareena Kapoor-starrer for Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, family and friends at Pixion theatre in Bandra at 9 pm on Monday night, the actor drove directly to the airport and flew out of the country early on Tuesday. On Saturday, he had hosted another screening for family and friends at the Yash Raj Studios in Andheri, where Preity Zinta and the Yash Chopra family was present.

Salman took Sunday off to rest and spent most of Monday with his parents Salim and Salma Khan. Brothers Arbaaz and Sohail and sister Alvira accompanied the actor on the 16-hour trip. He will check into a hospital for tests on Thursday. He left town encouraged by feedback from industry friends, as the film is expected to have the biggest release for a Salman Khan movie. The response at the advance booking counters, which opened on Sunday, too has been “extraordinary”. Says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, “It’s three times bigger than that of Ready. I’m expecting a record-breaking opening in several centres. In fact, going by the craze, I wouldn’t be surprised if it even crosses Dabangg (2010).” Reportedly, advance booking in Bhopal opened the Sunday before last, and most theatres have been sold out.

Salman has been suffering from Trigeminal Neuralgia or Prosopalgia, a facial nerve disorder, for the last seven years. He reportedly has three routes of treatment open to him. The surgery will not be incisive. It will use either laser or coil. Salman has been allotted about 11 days for recuperation and will fly out to Dublin on September 13. There, Katrina Kaif will join the actor for the shoot of Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger.

Shahid-Sonam's Mausam hit by turbulence

Reel life sometimes has a strange way of making its way into real life. And that’s exactly what seems to be happening to the makers of Mausam. Thanks to rainy weather in the city, they’ve been facing setbacks for the last few days.

The incessant downpour has not only put the trains andtraffic off gear, but has also upset the schedules of the film’s lead actors, Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Actually, the two were supposed to do promotional interviews on Saturday at a studio in Andheri. But when they reached the venue, they were surprised to see knee-deep waterlogging.

At the last minute, somehow the venue was shifted to a nearby location and they completed their interviews. Then, they were supposed to go for dubbing on Saturday and Monday, but the area around the studio was waterlogged. Both Sonam and Shahid had to literally wade through the water to reach the studio for their dubbing.

When contacted, director Pankaj Kapur laughs: “Mausam has been playing hide-and-seek with us from day one of shooting. From the start, we didn’t get the kind of weather we wanted. In fact, it always went into extreme climate zones. And we were told that this was happening for the first time in several years.”

During the first schedule, the cast and crew went to Punjab, where they wanted to capture early winter and some mist. But when they landed there, they faced the coldest winter in the region in the last 15 years, so much so that they were shooting in minus six degrees with warm clothes. Later, the crew went to Scotland and although it was supposed to be springtime, they were welcomed by heavy downpours. At that time, Shahid had, in fact, tweeted: “Day 1 .... Raining .... Waiting ....”
“I guess when Mausam (weather) is fine, I get more worried,” smiles Kapoor Sr. “All of Mumbai witnessed beautiful weather for the last few days. And despite all the inconvenience caused by the weather, it is the most romantic ‘mausam’ (season) that we have.”

Vidya's hot item song in The Dirty Picture

The first look of Ekta Kapoor’s The Dirty Picture was unveiled at Bandra’s Galaxy theatre yesterday. Later in the day, the shoot of a song was flagged off at Film City on a lavish set reminiscent of the South potboilers of the ’80s. The set complete with chandeliers and glitzy props is reportedto have cost the producer Rs 1 crore.

The item number will feature in the film post-interval and is one of the highlights, apart from being integral to the plot. It features Vidya Balan, who plays an aspiring starlet in a competitive song situation with another dancer-actor, played by a fresh new face. It ends with her becoming a star in the mould of Silk Smitha, one of the muses for the role.

“Vidya is wearing just one outfit in this song, a long, sexy gown, and looks absolutely gorgeous,” informs choreographer Pony Verma, adding, “She’s been rehearsing really hard, from 10 am to 10 pm, and I don’t foresee too many retakes. I’ve watched many Silk Smitha songs and I have to admit that she wasn’t a great dancer like Helen aunty. She was a big, voluptuous woman and her moves were ordinary. It’s her sensual expressions that made those songs memorable. I always wondered what she was thinking when she was performing these numbers.”

Verma reveals that filmmaker K Balachander gave her the title Silk Smitha, saying, “It was perfect for her, given how sensual and soft the fabric is.”

Pony admits that the initial reaction to Vidya as the choice for this role was laughing skepticism, but insists she was cast because she’s a brilliant actor who has put her heart and soul into the role. “Today, everyone admits that Vidya’s looking hot. And this is just the beginning,” Verma promises.

I had no fallout with the Bhatts: Bipasha

Bipasha Basu on Monday denied she had any fallout with the Bhatts and said that they were waiting to give her a strong role, which they finally have done in Raaz 3.

"I don't know what is this whole discussion about the patch up because I love the Bhatts. Bhatt Saab (Mahesh Bhatt) is very

dear to me, Mukesh ji (Mukesh Bhatt) is also very dear to me. I always say that Vishesh Films is like my own production company. So there was no fall out with them.

"It was just that we were waiting for the right kind of role and they did not want to disappoint me with something that was feeble. They wanted to give me a strong role. We got that in Raaz 3 and we are excited that we are all going to be working together," Bipasha told reporters here on the sidelines of an event organized by shampoo brand Pantene.

Bipasha, who was catapulted to success with two films from the Bhatt camp, namely Raaz and Jism, was not seen in any of their films after that. There were also reports that she was offered Murder 2, which she refused to do. However, the actress maintains that there was no rift.

Raaz 3 that will be helmed by Vikram Bhatt and is slated for a July 6, 2012 release is the third part of the Raaz franchise and will also star Jacqueline Fernandez and Emraan Hashmi.

Preity Zinta, Kareena Kapoor make up

Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor have finally decided to put past differences aside and try to be friends.

While Preity has gone public with her praises for the Bodyguard actress via a social networking site, Kareena too chose to compliment Preity on her sweet and genuine nature.

Preity tweeted: Just saw BODYGUARD! Salman U n Kareena Rock! Its FAB & the action is AMAZING ! All da best This one is full Paisa Vasool :)

The gesture obviously comes a surprise, since it was Preity who had once at a Diwali party hosted by Akshay Kumar in 2008, snubbed Kareena publicly. In fact, the rivalry started when an unsuspecting Zinta commented on the 'new lot of actresses' in those days - a list that included Kareena.

The rivalry intensified when Preity was chosen for Karan Johar's Kal Ho Na Ho, to play a role that was initially offered to Kareena. A war of words followed between the actresses. In fact, on Karan Johar's chat show, Kareena made it clear that she was not too fond of Preity. Preity on the other hand, said that Kareena only acknowledged her in Karan's presence.

Both actresses seem to have moved on from their warring days. On Sunday night, Preity was a part of Salman Khan's exclusive show of Bodyguard at YRF Studios. On Monday morning, the actress praised both the lead actors Salman and Kareena for their performances in the film. Needless to say, Kareena is rather pleased with this gesture.

When contacted, Kareena said, "I am really flattered with Preity's compliment. She is really sweet and very genuine as a person. She always speaks her mind so I know whatever she wrote was heartfelt.

iracy check for Bodyguard

Just days before the highly anticipated Salman Khan-starrer " Bodyguard" hit 70mm screens, Reliance Entertainment, one of the producers of the movie and its distributor, hit out in a big way against the piracy industry.

The company obtained a John Doe order from the Delhi High Court restricting websites, cable operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and other organisations and individuals, from infringing upon the movie's copyright by illegally streaming or copying it. This essentially means that in no way can anyone illegally copy the movie. And as far as physical piracy (pirated DVDs) is concerned, the movie's team is conducting across all known piracy hubs in the country, including Delhi's notorious Palika Bazaar.

The movie's producer Atul Agnihotri told DT, "We have found a few thousand jackets of the movie that have already been printed and realised that this can kill the prospect of a movie. Therefore, the step to nip piracy in the bud was imperative." Sanjay Tandon, VP, anti piracy at Reliance Entertainment, agreed with Agnihotri and told us, "We've taken a pre-emptive measure by getting this order. While we know of certain entities that do this, we do not know of many others who indulge in such acts. This order ensures that whenever we catch someone, we don't have to get into the rigmarole of filing a civil case. We can simply seek punishment, which ranges between one week to three years of imprisonment, along with fine ranging between `50,000 and `2,00,000."

Earlier too, Reliance had sought the same order during the release of the Ajay Devgn starrer "Singham", with a view to minimise losses through piracy. Says Tandon, "In the case of "Singham", it was pirated 40% less than it would have been, had we not taken the order. For "Bodyguard", we are hoping to cut down piracy by 50-60%. Piracy cannot be eradicated, but it certainly can be curtailed. For the same reason, we are conducting extensive raids across the country at known piracy hubs."

The step taken by the producers of "Bodyguard" comes in the wake of the severe piracy that has impacted Bollywood in recent times. Unofficial figures estimate the worth of the industry at `4,000 crore. To deal with it, last year, director Sajid Khan had announced that his movie "Housefull" was being released with an in-built anti-piracy software. Anti-piracy raids were also conducted at the time of the release of "I Hate Luv Storys", since the movie lost `20 lakh to piracy in its opening weekend.

Vivek Oberoi may do a Marathi film

Vivek Oberoi is fluent in several languages, including Marathi. So when Prince director Kuki Gulati, who is currently producing a Marathi film, needed an actor for the project, he decided to approach Oberoi.

Vivek, who has previously essayed the role of gangster Maya Dolas in Shootout In Lokhandala, immediately agreed. VO even made time for the film despite shooting for another film in Wai.

He asked to be excused for a day and came down to Mumbai to shoot for his friend. Now that's a princely gesture. Hope he was paid like a prince though!

Rakhi Sawant to insure her body parts?

Item girl Rakhi Sawant is not merely flaunting the Sandra Bullock or Kate Perry look on telly, the lady is ready to go the Hollywood way in more ways than one!
The bindaas babe of Bollywood, who has never shied away from speaking her mind, is garnering a lot of interest these days thanks to her generous cleavage and skin show on Gazab Desk Ki Ajab Kahaniyaan, her show on Imagine TV. And now she's ready to insure her body.
Whither companies!
Rakhi, who has been very candid about her various cosmetic surgeries, says: "I want to insure my body parts like all those Hollywood stars. I have been insured for life and against accident, but now I want to safeguard my face, my hair, my cleavage and my butt. But, I'm not aware if any of the Indian insurance companies can help me in this. I don't mind contacting foreign insurance firms, but I have to go ahead with this now."
Safeguarding assets
Ask her why this fetish for insuring her body parts, and Rakhi replies: "My face, hair and other body parts are my rozi roti and have given me a glam image, and I want to safeguard my assets to have a hassle-free career and life. Sharir ka Insurance karake main tension-free hona chahati hoon!"
Insured stars
Troy Polamalu, the Samoan superstar for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has insured his locks for $1 million.
Bruce Springsteen's vocal cords are insured for $ 6 million.
America Ferrera of 'Ugly Betty' fame has her smile insured for $ 10 million.
Dolly Parton's each breast is insured for $ 300,000.
Jennifer Lopez's butt is said to be insured for $ 27 million
Rihanna and Heidi Clum have insured their legs for $ 1 million and $ 2.2 million, respectively.
Songstress Mariah Carey's legs are insured for a whopping 1 billion.