Mahesh Babu to make Bollywood debut with The Businessman

Telugu cinema's no.1 star Mahesh Babu seems to have struck gold in Mumbai. He has started brushing up his shaky Hindi with the help of his wife Namrata Shirodkar.

Finally, after years of refusing offers from Bollywood, the actor is on the verge of a belated Hindi debut. While other offers including one from Kookie Gulati are being crystallized, it looks like Telugu's hottest director Puri Jagannath who recently directed the Bachchan starrer Bbuddah… Hoga Terra Baap is all set to launch Mahesh Babu into Hindi films with the Hindi version of The Businessman.

Mahesh Babu is in fact in Mumbai right now shooting for the Telugu version of The Businessman. The film is being rush-completed for Pongal (Jan 14). The plan was to feature Abhishek Bachchan in the Hindi version, to be shot right after the Telugu version starring Mahesh Babu.

But Abhishek's dates have now gone into a major re-shuffle, thanks to the postponed schedules of some of his recent films. Mahesh Babu has now stepped into the Hindi version of the film.

Confirming this development, director Puri Jagannath says, "Yes, Abhishek is no longer doing the Hindi version of The Businessman. Mahesh Babu would now be doing the Hindi version. We'll be shooting the Hindi version right after the Telugu version. He's now practicing his Hindi. In fact both, he and I are trying to get a hang of Hindi."

Courtesy : Bollywood Hungama

I'm not banned in Tollywood: Genelia

Actress Genelia, who is currently shooting for Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya with Riteish Deshmukh, has denied reports that she was banned by the Movie Artistes Association (MAA) in Tollywood for not taking the membership in the association, despite several reminders! Talking about it at a fashion show, the actress said that she was not banned.

"I haven't been banned. On the contrary, I always maintain that I am so proud to be a part of five film industries. It gives me immense scope to perform, varied roles and great professionals to work with. My work requires me to travel a lot, and so some formalities and procedures take time. I'm already a part of the South Indian Association for Movie Artistes, and I believed every south industry fell under that. There's been some miscommunication, but my manager and I will sort it out," she said.

Eesha Koppikhar to work for the cause of girl child

Eesha Koppikhar seems to be a woman of many trades. Just days after announcing her arrival as a producer with the sequel of her critically acclaimed film Shabri, the 'Marathi mulgi' is now gearing up to bring about a change in society. Sources close to the actress claim that Eesha is really concerned about the situation of the girl child in India. The actress feels that living in metros like Mumbai and Delhi, we are unaware about the social evils borne by women under the pretext of tradition and customs.

The actress recently associated herself with the DY Patil Annual Achievers Award, which was a NGO initiative. Eesha feels social evils like child marriage and female foeticide must end and hence she plans to do all she can to help the cause. The actress adds, "It's sad that while we are doing so well in technology and other aspects, issues like education and protection of the girl child are unaddressed. I want to work for the betterment of the girl child and will do all I can to address these issues effectively."

The actress also has plans to spread a message for the general upliftment of the girl child through her films. Adds Eesha, "Films are an important medium in our country and if I can help a cause as important as this through cinema, then I don't see any harm in that."

Courtesy : Bollywood Hungama

Chaar Din Ki Chandni on Jan 13, 2012

After the successful Yamla Pagla Deewana, Samir Karnik is now ready with his next directorial venture Chaar Din Ki Chandni. The film stars Tusshar Kapoor, Kulraj Randhawa, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Johny Lever, Mukul Dev, Anita Raj, Sushant Singh and Chandrachur Singh.

Chaar Din Ki Chandni is a comedy laced with romance and is set against the backdrop of Rajasthan at a four-day wedding. A complete family entertainer, it revolves around a Rajput family and a family from Punjab, who are caught in a situation which creates a comedy of errors.

Chaar Din Ki Chandni is produced by Samir Karnik under the banner Top Angles Production while the co-producer and associate director is Ashish Kathpal. Other important credits include story by Babaji, lyrics by Sandeep Shrivastav, music by Sandesh Shandilya, RDB, Anaya, Shiv Hari, Abhishek Ray and Dr.Zeus. Cinematography is by Kabir Lal, editing by Mukesh Thakur, choreography by Bosco-Caeser, action by Analasru while the screenplay and dialogues are by Amit Masurkar and Nishant Hada.

The film's release has been fixed for the auspicious occasion of Lohri i.e. on 13th January 2012

Courtesy : Bollywood Hungama

AP High Court orders Censor Board to clear stand on The Dirty Picture

Justice Vilas V Afzalpurkar of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, on Wednesday has directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to state its stand regarding stalling the release of Ekta Kapoor's The Dirty Picture.

The Dirty Picture is said to be a biopic on South Indian actress Silk Smitha. Smitha, whose real name was Vijayalakshmi, acted in over 400 films over a span of 17 years. The actress allegedly committed suicide a few years ago. The Dirty Picture is produced by Balaji Telefilms and stars Vidya Balan reportedly playing a role based on Silk Smitha. The film directed by Milan Luthria also stars Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor and is due for release on December 2, 2011.

Vadlapatla Naga Prasad, the younger brother of the late actress, has asked the censor board not to clear the Vidya Balan-starrer for release. Prasad has claimed Smitha's character, played by Vidya, portrays her as a woman of loose morals through "indiscriminate sex scenes". He has charged the filmmakers with filling the film with unrealistic and obscene scenes rather than trying to portray the true picture. He said that the filmmakers hadn't even spoken to him to get to know the real Smitha. Prasad insisted that her private life was different from what it is being portrayed in the film.

Although Prasad claimed that he had served a notice to the censor board asking it to not certify the film at all, B Mayur Reddy, counsel for the censor board, told the court that they had not received any such notice. The judge, while asking the petitioner to serve a copy to the counsel, directed censor board to clear its stand within a week and deferred the case to coming Wednesday.

Courtesy : Bollywood Hungama

Genelia and Riteish getting married!

After 7 years of courtship and constant denial in the media, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'souza have finally accepted that they are in love and are all set to get married some time next year.

News had been doing the rounds that the couple will be getting married in February 2012 as wedding preparations are underway in the Deshmukh household, but it turned out that Ritiesh's brother Deeraj was the groom to be.

But another wedding is definitely on the cards for the Deshmukh family, but the dates are yet to be finalised.

In an interview to a leading daily, Riteish spilled the beans about his relationship and the fact that both families knew about it and had given their blessings.

Well what can we say except that we are indeed happy for the couple and we wish them a wonderful life ahead!

Happy Birthday Nirav Shah!

Nirav Shah, a young and energetic cinematographer who made heads turn for the movie Dhoom 2, his work in Billa and Madarasapattinam and several other hit movies celebrates his birthday today.

He is currently planning on building his own studio, which will be equipped with all the latest technologies. Nirav Shah has zeroed in on a 12-acre land off the Old Mahabalipuram Road. He also has plans to buy the nearby 8-acre plot when he expands this studio.

He is currently busy with Lingusamy's Vettai, Vishnuvardhan's Panjaa and Ajith's Billa 2.

We wish this energetic cinematographer a very happy birthday!

Boman Irani's son Danesh to get married

Boman Irani is a happy man these days and the reason is that his son Danesh is all set to get married. Danesh will be tying the knot with his sweetheart Rhea Chama at a private ceremony only for close family members.

However, Boman is planning to host a grand reception for all his friends and colleagues from the film industry on November 20.

Considering Boman's popularity, we are sure that this wedding reception will be a star-studded affair.

Courtesy : Bollywood Hungama

Juhi Chawla signed for Son Of Sardar

Ajay Devgn's film Son Of Sardar was in news sometime back for the acquisition of the title which originally belonged to Akshay Kumar. Now after roping in Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt for the film, news is that Juhi Chawla will also feature in it.

It is being said that Juhi will be cast opposite Sanjay Dutt in the film, though details of her role are being kept tightly under wraps.

Son Of Sardar is slated for a November release next year. The film is being directed by Ashwini Dheer.

Courtesy : Bollywood Hungama

Films should appeal to kids: Sreekar Prasad

Expressing his view on children's films at the 17th International Childrens Film Festival being held in Hyderabad, India's leading editor Sreekar Prasad, who edited movies in more than 13 languages including Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi, said that the films should be made in a way children will relate to them.

"These days there are a lot of movies that are coming up with such different subjects which do tend to influence children a lot. It is important to make films for them, which are fun, light and also are informative and entertaining," he further added.

Comparing the last film festival and the one held this year, Sreekar said, "There are more entries this year as compared to last year. There have been more children films in Indian cinema which have reached out to more audiences across the globe. Suddenly there seems to be more market for children's films, which was not the case earlier. Now we have a lot of multiplexes which are definitely catering to the increasing cinema needs. So, I think children's films are being treated the way they should be."