Aishwarya & Freida Pinto The Would be Enemies?

Looks like Miss world Aishwarya Rai & Slumdog Oscar fame Freida Pinto are getting in each others way or shall we say in each others career and may soon become other hit bollywod hate jodi. Or so say reports. It is being said that a big brand that has Ash representing them overseas and Sonam in the Indian market, is also signing Freida Pinto as another of their international models.

If this is true, then Freida will be walking the red carpet at all major international film festivals next year with Aishwarya for company. Freida, who has bagged films with Hollywood biggies Julian Schnabel and Woody Allen, is also expected to be on the jury of some of the biggest film festivals in 2010.

Sonam on the other hand may be the face of yet another watch brand for the Indian market. Freida Pinto is surely making big in Hollywood with just one film that showed her glamourless & a slum girl. Ash sure has a competitor in making who will be giving her a tough competition.

Irfan Pathan to Wed Long-Time Girlfriend

India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that he was all set to marry Shivangi Dev, the daughter of an Indian diplomat in Australia and his girlfriend of six years. “I am sure that I will marry Shivangi, but it will take another year-and-a-half,” Pathan said. “It’s a long cricketing season ahead and I want to focus on my cricket now.”

Shivangi works as a chartered accountant in Australia and also teaches dance. Talk of their relationship had started when Irfan chose to stay back in Australia after India’s last tour there. He subsequently proposed her in 2006. Subsequently, Shivangi made two trips to Irfan’s Vadodara home.

The relationship had earlier been kept under wrap because of resistance from the two families. While Pathan’s mother didn’t comment on the wedding, Irfan’s father, Mehboob Khan Pathan, said, “Jab miya biwi raazi, toh kya karega kaazi?” (If the bride and groom are ready to get married, what can one do?)

Kalki Koechlin Oozing Sensuality in Filmfare

Remember Kalki Koechlin? The same girl who debuted with Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Dev.D’ where she played the character of Chandramukhi. This Indian actress with French descent has also done some modeling assignments for smaller screen. Though she is well versed in Tamil, English and French, she had to learn Hindi for her role in Dev.D.

Kalki got rave reviews for her performance in Dev D. Hindustan Times read, “Kalki shows sparks in the scenes. Enter Chanda, the multilingual call girl who can seduce in Hindi, Tamil, English and French. With her bee-stung lips, unusual face and refreshing lack of acting guile, Kalki Koechlin imbues the part with a touching fragility.”

Kalki has also won the Hindu metro playwright award 2009 along with Prashant Prakash for their co-authored entry ‘Skeleton Woman.’ She had also acted in the play “Hair” directed by Ajaykrishnan.

Check out Kalki oozing sensuality in the latest issue of Filmfare magazine.

Has Katrina Kaif Started To Throw Starry Tantrums?

Rumours are rife in industry circleas that Katrina Kaif threw a lot of starry tantrums while shooting for the ad shoot of a famous designer luxury brand soon to be launched in India.

If sources are to be believed, Katrina was demanded and was paid a huge fee for the endorsement deal.

The sources further reveal, “But if the foreign agents who had sealed the deal with Katrina’s managers must have felt that they sailed through the tough part once she was on board then they seem to had underestimated Katrina’s ‘star’ power.

Katrina it is learnt had set a special demands and conditions list for the shoot of the ad campaign even before it began. Apparently, she was going to be flown to Paris for the shoot but Kat wasn’t happy with just that.

She seems to have told them that she would shoot only in a certain hotel where she wanted to stay. And that was not all. She also wanted to work with her own staff, stylist, make-up artist, hair dresser et al who would have to be flown to Paris with her. When they protested, Kats threw a tantrum till they relented.”

I want to Have Babies Soon: Kangana Ranaut

It seems Raaz -2 fame Kangana Ranaut break-up with her boyfriend Adyayan Suman has not effected her much as the Glamorous and sexy Kangana want to have babies as soon as possible. And no, not one or two but Gangster gal want to have a big family.Kangana seems to be living life queen-size. Wasting no tears and time over the past, the doe-eyed-beauty is busy making movies & planning babies. Before you jump to any conclusions, as per the current reports, in reality Kangana''s sudden maternal desire is nothing but a want for having a big family some day.But what's shocking is the status on a popular networking site account, which states that the long-legged lass desperately wants to have a bunch of children. And if the desire for baby wasn't enough to raise brows, Kangana tops it by adding that she wants several grandchildren too. Her status message reads: 'I'm in Switzerland and this place reminds my family and me of Manali. I can't wait to have kids and grandkids

The actress, who is currently shooting in Switzerland, is feeling down and out as she is missing her family. Maybe feeling gloomy that when her family is waiting in Mumbai, she is shooting in Switzerland. Well, dear start hunting for a beau first and kids will follow. Right guys?

I regret relationship with Ranbir : Deepika

Deepika Padukone has everything going for her in Bollywood. She has worked with top stars and big banners. But she does have one regret making her relationship with Ranbir Kapoor public.

"When we got into a relationship, we decided to be open about it. Otherwise there would be reports about us being spotted holding hands, kissing, hugging, etc. Since we were so clear about our relationship, we had nothing to hide. I thought people would respect that. But it didn't work out that way," Deepika told IANS.

Deepika was specially upset about the paparazzi pictures of her and Ranbir.

"We both have families and very respectable families. People who take pictures of us secretly must have families and boyfriends and girlfriends. We've now decided not to talk about our friendship. At the end of the day no one is going to see our films because we're a couple," said the actress who teamed up with Ranbir in Bachna Ae Haseeno.Any other film with Ranbir after Bachna Ae Haseeno?

"We get offers every day to act together, but we're waiting for the right opportunity. The script has to be special. But we're very clear about not mixing business with our relationship," she said.

Tell her there was no upward movement in Ranbir's graph as an actor from Saawariya to Bachna? and she protests: "His graph was already so high in Saawariya, where could he go? Bachna Ae Haseeno gave him a chance to do something totally different. I too want to get away from the glam sham.

"Of course, I want to wear good clothes and sing good songs. But I'd be uncomfortable doing just songs and dances. Beyond Sajid Khan's film I haven't signed any movie. Imtiaz Ali's films are very real relevant to today," she said.

Deepika has mainly worked with older actors - Shah Rukh, Akshay Kumar. In her next, Love Aaj Kal, she teams up with another senior actor Saif Ali Khan. But she is not complaining.

"Ranbir and I work like pals. But I wouldn't say I had more fun working with him. You are not on the sets to have fun. But yes, definitely the comfort level with him was much higher even when we weren't seeing each other. My other co-stars were a lot more mature and I was a lot more reserved with them. But I've to tell you, Shah Rukh completely pampered me," she said.

Talking about her Love Aaj Kal co-star Saif, she said: "Saif is reserved. I've heard he wasn't like this earlier. I believe he has calmed down a lot because of Kareena or whatever. Saif and I just did our work on Imtiaz Ali's sets and went our separate ways. That's the way I like it. I'm a very reserved person. I'm not here to make friends. But yes, Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba are now friends."

Deepika has signed Sajid Khan's full-fledged comedy Houseful.

"It's not just a few comic scenes here and there. It's a hardcore comic role. And I wonder how I'll manage it. I'll try. Sajid has a great sense of humour and I'd go by his vision. Sajid just told me to follow him. If my director has so much confidence in me, I can't let him down," said the actress, who has a very sober image.

"But that doesn't mean I don't have a sense of fun. I plan to have a ball doing Houseful. I'm a reserved person in real life, but that doesn't mean I can't be funny for the camera," she added.

So after working with sister Farah it's brother Sajid.

"I'm very fond of both of them. At a time when the entertainment industry wasn't too confident about me, Farah trusted me completely. She didn't even audition me. Farah was the one who spotted talent in me and cast me opposite Shah Rukh," she said.

Bipasha : Black Beauty From Ajay Devgan

If you have a problem getting through to Bipasha Basu it’s not a network problem. It’s her new phone, a swanky Blackberry gifted by her producer and co-star Ajay Devgan this week as a wrap-up gift for his leading lady.

And though Bipasha has lost all her numbers and she can’t identify any caller she just can’t get enough of her new phone.

“I love it! I’m going totally crazy with it. Though I’ve no numbers on it and am trying to figure it out, I just can’t get enough of it,” says the actress who finished shooting for Ajay Devgan’s comedy All The Best in Goa this week.

Devgan gifted the phone to Bipasha out of the blue (or shall we say,black?) on the last day of shooting for working round the clock including late nights and early mornings. In fact Bipasha kept off the phone to the extent of not even connecting with her boyfriend John Abraham who was limping around on crutches in Mumbai trying to promote his new film.

Apparently Bipasha also agreed to do an additional role in All The Best without charging a single penny extra.

Devgan known to be a generous prouducer had heard Bipasha mention she wanted a Blackberry.

Says the actress, “Yeah, Ajay knew I wanted it. In fact it was he who got me interested in. It is actually a gift in appreciation for working long hours and changing at lightning speed between shots when we had loads of work to finish. Ajay is a fabulous co-star,producer and co-star.”

Bipasha soon leaves for Hyderabad to shoot the songs for All The Best. On Saturday she also watched her boyfriend’s new film New York finally.

Amrita Rao Takes a Shortkut to Success

Amrita Rao says she is very happy with her new look in the new Sanjay Dutt-Akshaye Khanna starrer Shortkut. "This is the first time that I have gone ultra glam a the role but I had no inhibitions doing it," she says, "I was confident and wanted to do something different. The best of roles have walked my way and I have achieved creative satisfaction with films like Shyam Benegal's Welcome To Sajjanpur and Rajashri's Vivaah. So here I was trying to do something new and different. Not that I have not done glamorous roles earlier but this was the first time that I was literally bold and brash but the film has been shot very aesthetically."

Producer Anil Kapoor has been heaping praise on Amrita recently, comparing her to Madhuri Dixit. "I saw Madhuri (Dixit) in Amrita (Rao)," he confirms, "Not only does she have some resemblance to her, but she also has a similar innocence as well. I had seen Amrita in some portions of Vivaah and was very impressed. I knew then and there that this was it. For someone who looked very Indian, very conservative, and came with the kind of family look that was required for the role, Amrita was the apt choice."

Amrita is known to be very choosy about her roles: "Yes, I can never do a role in which I am not comfortable," she agrees, "But if you give me another item number like Deewar, I am game for it. In fact ‘Marhaba' was beautifully picturised, I believe there is a very thin but distinct line between being sensuous and crass."

Kareena is Mata Hari!

Get ready to see Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor do the same in Agent Vinod. Yes, you heard right. Agent Vinod will have several combat scenes between Saif and Kareena. Incidentally, Kareena plays a spy, just like Saif, in the film.

The decision was taken after Kareena was finalised for Saif’s home production. The actress, who has always wanted to play a full-on action star like Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, will undergo rigorous training to get into an athletic shape. Kareena is expected to not only have some super-slick, hand-to-hand, heart-in-the-mouth combats with Saif but also her adversaries.

Kareena will play an undercover agent from another country (apparently Pakistan). Her Mata Hari like role will have shades of Mala Sinha in Aankhen and Rehana Sultan in the 1977 film, Agent Vinod.

But director Sriram Raghavan clarifies that Agent Vinod is not a remake of either film. “It’s a spy drama, which will have its roots in the films you’ve mentioned. But the only similarity to the Rajshri espionage film with Mahendra Sandhu and Rehana Sultan is the title, which the Rajshris so graciously gave us,” he said.

In fact Sooraj Barjatya, who has worked with Saif in Hum Saath Saath Hain and Kareena in Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon, had absolutely no qualms parting with the title Agent Vinod.

Saif confirmed Kareena’s role and said, “She does play an undercover agent from another country. Kareena will do everything I do in the film, and she’ll do it even better. She will kick butt better than all the other girls in our industry, that’s for sure.”

Commenting on the films the couple plans to produce together, Saif said, “We’ll definitely be producing films together. It will give us a chance to grow as actors. The idea is for both of us to grow together as human beings and artistes. Although Kareena’s name is not in our production logo, she is as much the producer of Agent Vinod as I. I prefer not to have our names in the production logo. All I want to do is make great films, live healthy, eat good food, read comic books and novels, exercise and have Kareena by my side. I couldn’t have asked for more. I’m smiling like an idiot even as I speak.”

Sanjay Dutt To Stay Away From IIFA Awards

The big man Sanjay Dutt had his way he wouldn’t say no to any of his friends.

But then it hasn’t been easy managing his schedules in recent times. And for the sake of getting his schedules getting back on the right track Dutt has to do the unthinkable, and that includes turning down his dear friends, and an invitation to be part of an event being held in Macau right now.

Says a source from Goa where Dutt is currently shooting for Rohit Shetty’s All The Best, “A prominent representative Andre Timmins from Wizcraft in Macau came twice personally to Goa to invite Sanju. He was in two minds only because the Bachchans are such a prominent part of the event. “

Finally Dutt declined with a heavy heart.

Says the source, “He couldn’t allow producer Ajay Devgan to suffer any more. For two months Ajay waited patiently with his lavish set in Goa for Sanju to finish campaigning for the Samajwadi party. Now Sanju’s conscience wouldn’t allow him a day’s delay. He stayed back in Goa to shoot and allowed his leading lady Bipasha Basu to attend the event .”