Prachi dumps Kannada star's Bollywood debut

Kannada cinema's teen idol Diganth got a taste of Bollywood's temperamental diva brigade when Prachi Desai, riding high since the success of "Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai", opted out of his Hindi debut film at the eleventh hour.

The film, designed as a big romantic musical to give the Kannada heartthrob the right start in Bollywood, goes on floors in September, provided a suitable leading lady is found at this late stage.

"Everything was finalised. Diganth, who is a major star in Karnataka, has all the makings of a national star thanks to his Rajasthani background and his pan-India look," says a source close to the project.

"The producers P.J. Singh (of "London Dreams") and director Mani Shankar (of "Knockout") wanted to launch Diganth with a pretty fragile girl who would be able to look physically correct with the 28-year Kannada star. Prachi was finalised," he adds.

And then suddenly Prachi informed the makers that she was no longer doing the film, thereby creating panic.

Says the source, "A lot of resources have gone into pre-production. Diganth has been training to be equipped to take on competition from Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan. Everything was in place. But now the project is without a leading lady."

Incidentally, this is Prachi's second such misadventure with a southern leading man. Earlier, she opted out unceremoniously from the Tamil film "Thaidaiyaara Thaka", leaving the project high and dry at the last minute.

It is unclear what could have prompted Prachi to be so unprofessional with an established actor down south.

Ali Zafar missing from "Mere Brother ki Dulhan" promos

He may have tried to 'enlighten' the world with the whereabouts of Osama Bin laden in his first film, but musician and actor Ali Zafar's next is nothing like hit debut.

If Tere Bin Laden was offbeat cinema at its best, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan promises to be conventional, perhaps explaining why Ali seems a little unsure of 'fitting in'.

But with A-list co-stars like Katrina Kaif and Imran Khan, the actor and musician seems okay with playing second fiddle.

"I am a realistic person. I am just one film old whereas both Imran and Katrina are really big stars. I can't expect to receive as much attention as them, and frankly it's not even what I am looking for," said Ali. However, he doesn't deny that the promos that have been released do not give him as much space. He adds, "They have released a song with Imran and Katrina. I guess they have their own strategies to publicise the film." Interestingly, Ali has watched all the films of both stars. "I wanted to see the kind of work they have done," he says.

With the kind of appreciation that has come his way since his debut, Ali is more than confident that the length of the character is just subjective, and not a deterrent to his work as an actor.

"Acting is not the only thing in my life. Fame and stardom is secondary for me. I work to earn respect, be it as an actor or as a musician."

However, the one place he may not feel 'out of place' is on stage. "We are doing a series of concerts where Imran and Katrina will be jamming with me. That, I think, would be very exciting," he sums up.

Katrina rocks the nation with Dhunki

In 'Tees Maar Khan', Katrina set the stage on fire with her sizzling item number "Sheila Ki Jawani" and now Yash Raj Films has turned the hot British beauty into a dashing rockstar.

Katrina Kaif in 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' looks marvelous in its new track "Dhunki".

In Dhunki, Katrina features as a Delhi University student, who holds a concert in a fort without a legal permission. Shot in the locales of Agra and against the backdrop of Taj Mahal, Katrina looks stunning as ever in a tomboyish attire - loose hair, kohl eyes with funky accessories and a tattooed back.

Strumming stylishly on her electric guitar... Katrina is surely gonna rock with her "Dhunki"flavour.

"As soon as the fans heard that Katrina was shooting for Dhunki at Agra Fort, a crowd of 1000 plus gathered within a few minutes! All the crowd and mob shots shown in the song are authentic - the only way Katrina could safely leave the venue at the end of the shoot was when a team of police was called to escort her out and take her away in a police van," revealed the sources talking about the shooting experience of the song.

The shooting of Dhunki was one real hectic schedule for the team while it was a fabulous treat for public that one can literally see it in the song.

Catch Katrina in a never seen before '70's rockstar avatar' oozing unstoppable energy and charisma in Dhunki from the Imran Khan starrer 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan'.

Delhi Belly rocks the box office

While Aamir Khan's 'Delhi Belly' has opened to magnanimous figures, 'Bbuddah' started slow but picked up over the weekend.

The box-office seems to be buzzing with activity. After last week's solo release Double Dhamaal which opened to good numbers, the two releases of this week – Delhi Belly and Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap are keeping the ticket windows crowded.

Thanks to the immense hype surrounding the movie, Delhi Belly collected a whopping Rs 26.4 crore over the opening weekend. The day wise break-up is Friday – Rs 7.15 crore, Saturday – Rs 8.50 crore and Sunday – Rs 10.75 crore with numbers getting better each day. The budget of Delhi Belly is Rs 24 crores (including production, print and publicity) which means the film has already recovered its investment. With the positive buzz surrounding the film, the collections in coming days should immensely add to the revenues. And we have not even counted the non-theatrical avenues.

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap had a slow start on Friday but picked up over the weekend with major patronage from family audiences and Amitabh Bachchan fans. The opening weekend collection is around Rs 7.5 crores. Made in a controlled budget of approx Rs. 10 crores, the film has already recovered money through non-theatrical avenues. The satellite right has fetched the producers a whopping Rs 13.5 crores. So, overall Bbuddah... should be a profitable venture.

The coming week sees two very diverse genre releases. While Bhatts' Murder 2 caters to the adult audience with a staple dose of skin-show and sensationalism, UTV and Salman Khan's Chillar Party caters to the kids and young at heart. While Murder remains the most successful film from the Bhatt banner so far, it needs to be seen if the sequel can recreate the same magic at the box-office. Chillar Party promises to be one of those small-budget films which is big on story.

Ranbir-Deepika bond at movie screening

Ranbir Kapoor drove in with Karan Johar at the special screening of Aamir Khan Productions’ latest film Delhi Belly at Yashraj Studios but bumped into his ex girlfriend Deepika Padukone.

Now, since the film’s lead actor Imran Khan is a good friend of not just Ranbir (rumours of a friction between the two notwithstanding) and Deepika (his co-star in Break Ke Baad), he had invited both of them to the screening.

While Ranbir Kapoor came with Karan Johar, Deepika Padukone arrived with sister Anisha and dad Prakash Padukone. So when Ranbir stepped inside the auditorium, he was shocked to see Deepika at the screening. However, instead of walking by as if he hadn’t seen her, Ranbir, we hear, went up to Deepika and gracefully exchanged pleasantries.

Point to be noted is that ever since Ranbir and Deepika broke up, they don’t try to avoid each other when their paths cross.

As for Delhi Belly, sources say everyone at the screening liked the film. It can be recalled that Ranbir was first offered the lead role in Delhi Belly but he turned it down because of the film’s adult content. However, now after watching the effusive response of everyone after the film’s screening, Ranbir must be pursing his lips with regret. Not of no longer being with Deepika, but of having turned down the film.

"Bad Films just can't be saved" says Imran.

'Delhi Belly' has edged out 'Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap' by a huge margin and is en route to be a sure-shot success. This also brings an end to the entire pre-release conversations around the clash of the biggies which hasn't quite turned out. Wondering though whether all such talks were actually reasonable enough, especially considering the fact that the two films were of totally different genres, Imran is happy to shrug it all today.

"After all for how long can you keep wondering or worrying about the clash? Yes, this leads to hype and all but eventually a film speaks for itself. I have always felt that a good film cannot be stopped from doing well and the bad just cannot be saved," says Imran who now is enjoying his third success in a row after 'I Hate Luv Storys' and 'Break Ke Baad' last year.

Continuing with his reasoning, Imran adds, "Come on, let the fact be stated, if two films are good, they would both be successful despite releasing on the same day.

On the other hand if a film is bad, whether it is 'Delhi Belly' or any other, and it decides to arrive solo, it doesn't mean that it will definitely succeed. There is nothing like a free weekend."

Well, the statement couldn't have been better timed, now that the fate of both films is pretty much becoming clearer with every passing show.

Ra.one Vs Delhi Belly ?

The struggle to outdo each other between actors Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan is hotting up as both their films —Ra.One and Delhi Belly respectively — are ready to hit the box-office. Members of the film units have begun hurling accusations against each other.

The first direct missive apparently seems to have come from Anubhav Sinha, who’s the director of Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One. At a time when Aamir was hosting a success party for the success of his film’s song, DK Bose, Anubhav said, “I would be ashamed if my nine-year-old son sings that song… Aamir (Khan) is taking people for granted,” Anubhav reportedly said.

Ram Sampath, the music composer of the song, immediately hit back saying, “It's juvenile what Anubhav is saying. The first thing that struck me when I got to know about his comments was that it's sheer hypocrisy.He is being silly. People should get off their high horse that they are riding on and smell the coffee. This is the real world. We have created a song that the Censor Board has passed. How can somebody accuse our song like this? There is no basis,” Sampath reportedly said.

Soon after reports followed of Anubhav having defaulted on his payments by singer, Pratichee (former member of the girl-band Viva). When contacted the singer, it turned out that the singer was Sampath’s sister-in-law. “Anubhav made 50 per cent of the payment for the show (adding that she was commissioned for the project more than a year back). I decided to speak now as there are a lot of newcomers who are suffering because of people like Anubhav. I don’t think I will ever work with him,” said Pratichee, who also admitted to being the sister of singer Sona Mohapatra, Sampath’s wife.

While Shah Rukh’s camp is reportedly seething at this said to be below-the-belt attack, Aamir’s camp has released the film’s promotional song which has been directed by his wife, filmmaker Kiran Rao.

"Bhaag DK Bose" success party

The much talked about success party of the popular song "Bhaag DK Bose" from 'Delhi Belly' kicked off amidst the much awaited Mumbai rains.

Ronnie Screwvala and Kiran Rao thanked everyone present there to have braved the weather to be present there. In fact she added to the ambience and mood. Welcome monsoon.

Aamir Khan who is away shooting in Pondicherry also thanked everyone on the recorded video and regretted missing it.

Soon after that Ram Sampat and his team played unplugged versions of all songs.

Chetan Shashi, singer, of Saighal Blues started the performance. Then it went on to "Penchar Disco" n Ram narrated the history behind the song.

The groove then changed to "Bedardi Raja" and everyone enjoyed its desi touch to the core. And finally the actual '3 Rajas' aka Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunal came on stage for the grand finale song "Bhaag DK Bose". The song took an obvious second round on popular public demand!

The evening ended with an unheard rather funny version of "Penchar Disco".

An out and out a funny enjoyable evening with the Delhi Belly team, film releasing on 1st July, 2011.

DK Bose - clever use of profanity

DK Bose...DK Bose...DK Bose...say that repeatedly and you are sure to know which popular cuss word in the street lingo the title refers to.

“Bhaag D.K. Bose”, the song from Aamir Khan’s upcoming production Delhi Belly has already become a rage among the youth, never mind its whacky lyrics about sabun and zhaag. Now, those who didn’t pay much attention to the song’s title earlier are marvelling at the cleverness with which the lyricist has concealed a cuss word therein.

We hear that the song is inspired by Dolly Bindra who was very liberal at hurling profane expletives at the other contestants during her stint on Bigg Boss 4. One of her favourite cuss words, beeped out regularly, was “B**se DK”.

That inspired the creative team of Delhi Belly to come up with the title ‘D K Bose’, and music composer Ram Sampath set it to a killer grunge rock tune.

Well, the headbangers are already having a ball to the wackiest song of the season.

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan to release in September

The release date of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, starring Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar has been pushed from July to September 9.

The makers saw no point in releasing the film the same month as Imran Khan's Delhi Belly and Katrina Kaif's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

A source said, "MBKD is YRF's next big film. They decided to play it safe rather than battle it out with two other biggies starring their lead stars. Imran Khan's Delhi Belly releases July 1 and Katrina's ZNMD will be out on July 15. The overlapping of stars might confuse the audience."

Moreover, Imran and Katrina would also be required to promote their other films. As a result, there will be clash of dates and it could affect the publicity of their film.

Imran and Tony . .

They say that dog is a man's best friend… well, we say that PETA is any animal's best friend. The latest campaign from the nature loving society is with the young Bollywood heart-throb Imran Khan. The actor, who is all ready with his next film Delhi Belly, posed for PETA along with his best friend 'Tony' and Yes, he is a dog that really is.

The campaign that Imran is doing is to promote the adoption of stray dogs.

Why buy a friend when you can adopt one with love. All you need is a friend to change your life !

Its never late than ever. Adopt today!

Wanted: Katrina Kaif for an item song

Aamir Khan wants to add an item song to Delhi Belly, and nephew Imran Khan has a great suggestion -- Katrina Kaif.

Some were intimating that Aamir Khan himself do the item song but Imran had the much better and prettier idea. He thinks that the curvaceous Katrina Kaif should be the item girl in Delhi Belly. Why you may ask? Well Imran is quick to respond saying, "Katrina's jawaani is very attractive".

And for those who wonder why Katrina over Aamir, well Imran quips, "Of course, Katrina, she is more curvaceous", a deserved answer for a senseless comparison. Tees Maar Khan may not have done wonders but Sheila Ki Jawani sure did.

Imran Khan is currently filming Mere Brother Ki Dulhan with Katrina Kaif and has made it clear on many an occasion about how at ease at he is around his co-star. Her beauty definitely makes bonding easy!

While the search for the item girl continues, Imran and co. have launched the Bhaag DK Bose song video from Delhi Belly. The song has taken an innovative twist to turn a popular Bengali name into an expletive. DK Bose has connected with the youth and has become an instant hit on the Internet!

Who knows Aamir may drop the idea of an item song all together.

Delhi Belly's Contender

Aamir isn't worried about the release of Delhi Belly clashing with Big B's flick.

After having produced five hit films under his banner, Aamir Khan is extremely confident about his sixth home production 'Delhi Belly' that is touted to be a sex comedy. Aamir is busy promoting 'Delhi Belly' and is aware of the fact that his film has a strong contender.

Amitabh Bachchan's much awaited flick 'Bbuddah - Hoga Tera Baap' will also be releasing along side Delhi Belly and the film will see Big B once again returning as an angry man but this time, an old man. Directed by South India's renowned filmmaker Puri Jagannath, Bbuddah... has a strong buzz in the industry.

Imran's awkward onscreen smooch

Imran Khan has shed his innocent boy image to get into the skin of a spoilt brat for Delhi Belly. He is handsome but looks like a rogue; he has his charming ways with girls but is two-timing them in the film. He drinks like a fish and is addicted to porn. Yes, he is a rangeen Delhite and we won’t mind seeing him getting naughty and playing kissing game with girls.

Imran shares a messy liplock with newbie Poorna Jagannathan that too in a car. Though he looks comfortable getting cozy with the actress who is sitting on on the driver's seat of a car, his position looks a bit awkward. You can also see Imran bruised and bashed up with sullen face in the first look of the film. And besides kissing and getting entangled between two girls, Imran has also done a shocking lovemaking scene where he is shown going ‘down’, but everything is kept under the sheets.

Producer Aamir Khan too has warned his fans about the film. Aamir writes in his blog, “Aamir Khan Productions is known for its inspiring, clean, family entertainment. All that is about to change! Delhi Belly has the potential of, in a single stroke, destroying all the goodwill we have built in the last ten years.”

So, can we expect the unexpected?

Delhi Belly is directed by Abhinay Deo and its music is by Ram Sampath.

Imran drinks, swears, watches porn..

The first look of the Imran Khan-starrer Delhi Belly is a far cry from those of other films we get to see often. Rather than posing pretty in glad rags, Imran is bruised and bashed up, sulking and glowering at the camera.

The film stars Imran Khan along with comedian Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapoor. Poorna Jagannath and Shenaz Treasurywala are the actresses.

Abhinay Deo, the film’s director describes Delhi Belly as an “ensemble film” where instead of one character of the hero (Imran Khan) all the characters are equally important and have substantial footage.

Imran, we hear, plays a spoilt Delhiite. He drinks, swears, cheats on his girlfriend, is short tempered, and -- if anything was left -- is hooked to porn films.

The film is written by Akshat Verma and has been produced by Aamir Khan and Ronnie Screwala. It’s slated to release on July 1.

No Comparison please !

Sheila Ki Jawani is a rage among the youth. Katrina Kaif has been criticized for her inability to dance over the last few years and this song proved her critics wrong. The song has also found a place among top songs in music channels along with Munni Badnaam Hui from Dabangg. It is still topping the charts.

All is well aware about the cold war between Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone. Deepika did a special song in Dum Maaro Dum and the song was expected to do well and push Sheila Ki Jawani to the back seat. But nothing of that sort happened. The film sunk without trace and so was the song. When asked to respond to this observation, Kat condemned comparisons between the two songs.

"Every song has its own importance and each actress has her own plus points. We do what the choreographers want us to do. There is no place for comparison here," quips the stunner.

Katrina is currently busy with Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. and it is news that she was offered another item song for a whopping Rs. 3 crore that was reportedly declined by the actress.

Imran refuses to pose with bare women

The actor who was chosen to feature on a magazine cover apparently refused because he was asked to pose with semi-nude women.

Buzz is that Imran Khan was recently approached by a magazine to feature as their cover boy. Moreover the magazine that is known to feature only females on their cover wanted to make an exception for Imran Khan. Despite that Imran Khan denied being their cover boy.

The reason apparently is that the theme for the photo-shoot was debauchery where Imran Khan was required to shoot in company of naked women. The young actor seemed uncomfortable with such a shoot.

Also while the magazine thought that Imran Khan was the perfect choice for their theme, the actor, on the contrary felt that it was against the loyal man image, he is associated with. The actor, who recently got married to long-time girlfriend, Avantika Malik chose faith over fame.

"Mere Brother ki Dulhan" - First Look

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan is romantic comedy film that marks the writing and directing debut of Ali Abbas Zafar and stars Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar in the lead roles. Produced and distributed by Yash Raj Films, the film is a romantic comedy set around a love triangle.

Not much is currently known about the film other than it is a "topsy-turvy story" set amongst upper middle class families in northern India, and that Imran Khan plays a character who falls in love with his brother's (Ali Zafar) fiancée (Katrina Kaif).

It is set to release on 9 September 2011.

"The Imran - Ranbir" clash

Rockstar and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan are both scheduled for a same date release

Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan had just about started to be polite to one another again. And here's a news break; their films Rockstar and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan will release on September 9.

Stand back for fireworks again. Yup! both Ranbir and Imran's PR machineries will now get into an overdrive in an attempt to prove which of them is the bigger box office attraction. Anyway the important thing here is: how did this catastrophe happen? A trade source says, "Imtiaz Ali who is working with AR Rahman on the music of Rockstar had to push his release date back from July. The producers apparently, decided they would either come with Salman Khan's Bodyguard on Eid (August-end) or a fortnight after that. The trade advised them not to clash with Bodyguard because Salman's last two Eid releases Wanted and Dabangg have proved that he is invincible at that point.

So, Rockstar was preparing for a September 9 release. But even before they could announce the date, Aditya Chopra announced that he will release Mere Brother Ki Dulhan with Katrina Kaif and Imran on this date. So, now Ranbir and Imran will clash instead of Ranbir and Salman." Incidentally, Kat will also clash with her ex-boyfriend and his current love interest Nargis. Incidentally one thing that both Rockstar and MBKD have going for them is their good music tracks. Of course no one will hear the sweet sound of the music, because there will be total PR cacophony instead!

Katrina Kaif - Mere Brother ki Dulhan

"Mere brother ki Dulhan" is a "Topsy-Turvy story" set amongst upper middle class families in northern India, and that Imran Khan plays a character who falls in love with his brother's (Ali Zafar) fiancée (Katrina Kaif).

The movie will be directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra. The movie's soundtrack has been composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and is scheduled to hit screens in July 2011.