SoggyCornflakes - Bollywood

And that is true big-brother love and protection right there. Rumours that Soha Ali Khan is going out with fellow actor Siddharth (from Rang de Basanti fame) are actually true and things have gone far enough that Siddharth has met both Saif Ali Khan and Soha's parents, who apparently love the man...I wonder if they love the fact that he has a wife and maybe a child as well? That's like a built-in family already...extra bonus for Soha. A source (no, not my teddy, a real one) reports,

“It was during the shooting of Rang De Basanti that Soha and Siddharth became extremely close. They had been in a relationship for more than a year but couldn’t come out openly with it because he had gone through a divorce from his childhood girlfriend Meghna, last year. " "Siddharth is a reserved person, he liked Soha’s bubbly nature and positivity towards life. Gradually, they both discovered that they had more than a deep affection for each other. Saif asked Soha over to his Bandra apartment along with her boyfriend. When she arrived, she was surprised to see her parents present as well. Saif had called them over dinner to meet his little sister’s object of affection,"

So, actor? Check. Loving? Check. Smart? Check? Cheating man-whore? Check. Ah, love. Isn't it beautiful? Note: There are reports that Sidd is divorcing his wife, which still makes him a cheating man-whore though, just not one who's wife will come murder him and his lover. That how these filmi people work, right? Shoot first, ask questions later? Oh wait, that's the mafia...never mind.

Ever since Shahid Kapur ended his romance with Kareena Kapoor, the press have been linking him with every female specimen in India. Now it's Sania Mirza's turn. Zoom TV reports,

The news of spending ‘quality’ time with Sania sure came as a shocker for many of Shahid’s fans. Apparently, the two met in a Hotel in Bangalore. They had dinner together and later went up to his room. The Hotel staff even said that Shahid’s friend walked out of his room when the two walked in. As for Shahid, he says, he was in Bangalore to attend the housewarming party of a friend and happened to have dinner with Sania and friends at the same hotel as he was staying. He also said, let’s assume that we are dating; what is the problem?

This is pretty much the worst jodi ever, seeing that Shahid Kapur is a 5'4 dwarf while Sania Mirza looks like an Amazoness... from India... or something like that.

Ha! Did you see what I did there? I'm a freakin' word wizard baby! Long has been the rumor in Bollywood circles that the only reason Katrina Kaif is employed is due to the fact that she's doing the producer's friend (Or the guy that threatens the producer). Despite Katrina's repeated insistence that this is not the case, rumor's continue to dog her but she lost her cool on Zee Music when it was suggested that she only signs films after getting an A-Ok from (former?) boyfriend Salman Khan. Katrina irritably told the journalist,

“Salman is not my secretary”

Awww... Shucks. It must hurt knowing that the only reason you're getting big offers in Bollywood is because you're screwing the producer's buddy (Or the guy that threatens the producer). And don't say anything about Namastey London. The only thing that that movie proved was that Katrina can't speak Hindi very well and has the emotional range of a penguin. So there.

And I mean that in a completely non-sexual way. Yeah, yeah, I have a dirty mind, whatever. I've been hearing about this movie for so long and guess what? It's finally coming out. A Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor starrer was shot, but never released. Now it's almost ready, with some dubbing, Shahid and Kareena should be here in Milenge Milenge (We'll meet, we'll meet) in time for Valentine's day to wow you into the cinema's. Girls, perfect chance to drag your boyfriend to a mushy film to get him in the mood. Producer Boney Kapoor (is there too many Kapoor's in Bollywood? Are they the new Khan's?) doesn't have a problem sucking off the fame off the new-found couple (new-found meaning their on-screen chemistry rather than their tabloid-driven relationship).

"So be it. Perhaps it was destined that the most romantic film featuring Shahid and Kareena would come only after their relationship is over,"

And to reports that Shahid and Kareena were now too famous to dub for the film, they're not.

"They haven't given me any indication that they've any problem with dubbing for the film,"

And if they did...please, please don't release the film. I beg of you! Have you seen mis-dubbed films that come out after the actors are too famous or rich to acknowledge them? Has anyone seen Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke? That was a movie that Shah Rukh Khan totally refused to acknowledge and it was the most terrible excuse for a film I've ever seen, made even worse by the terrible dubbing on Shah Rukh's voice. Anyways, going off topic here. In more Shahid news, his father Pankaj Kapoor insists that Shahid has not been challenged enough and no one has tapped into his hidden hoards of immense talent. Thus, he will make a film that stars Shahid in a dramatic role.

"But I might direct my son Shahid soon. No one has tapped his talent properly as yet. I wish the filmmakers would give him a dramatic role. We might work together as director and actor. We're both trying to crack a project together,"

The new wannabe Hrithik Roshan-Rakesh Roshan?

Because she's always smiling and laughing while shooting...so how come people stare at me funny when I laugh and smile...ok, I know a funeral wasn't the best place to do it, but c'mon, it adds some cheer to proceedings. Anyways, after Namaste London, it's like people can't get enough of the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif 'jodhi', with the two appearing in Welcome (coming out in a few days) and Singh is King. Could those two make a cuter couple? Both of them pretty much annoy me, but for their fans, I won't diss them. Akki talks about his on-screen chemistry with Kat and brings down any rumours that the two are anything besides friends.

"Katrina is easy going and takes her work seriously but with a smile…. There is no reason not to have fun and shoot," "Katrina still exudes freshness in every film and that makes her likeable - a rare asset and a goldmine for any actor,"

He's even gone as far as recommending Kat to all producers he works with. Sweet gesture, but good move? How long before people get tired of seeing them paired on-screen? They're no Shah Rukh and Kajol.

Most people would answer...nothing. But anyone who's watched the two movies, will note a more-than-coincidental similarity in Akshay Kumar's 'Hare Rama, Hare Rama' in Bhool Bhulaiya and John Abraham's 'Ishk ka Kalma Pad Le' in Goal. And it really isn't a coincidence...both songs were sung by the same playback singer and weirdly enough, have the same tunes. Both songs were sung by Neeraj of the band Bombay Vikings, and the people from T-series don't really see any similarities or problems.

"The two songs belong to the same family. Otherwise they aren't the same. Even Thodasa pyar hua hai and Kuch kuch hota hai sounded similar. Yes, we did use the same voice, and we're very proud of Neeraj who has overnight become so popular. After Hare rama he's doing shows non-stop."

Pritam the music director of both films totally sees the similarities...well, kinda,

"While composing the two songs I never noticed they were similar. It was my wife who pointed out the similarities to me. Then it was too late. Once I realized the two songs sounded similar I wanted Mika and not Neeraj to sing Ishq ka kalma. But my suggestion was over-ridden by the music company. Never mind. One is a Bhajan and the other a love song. Also both the tunes are being used as promotional videos and not in the film. So it doesn't matter."

So there. Have a listen if you want to. The links send you to downloads of the songs. Aren't I sweet...this isn't going to get me in trouble, is it? You know what other songs were similar? There was a deleted song from Hum Tum, 'Yaara Yaara', which had the exact tune and frankly, was a better song than Fanaa's 'Chanda Chamke'. And there you go. A whole bunch of cool songs to listen to through the weekend...Have a good one.

Because in his next movie, he'll be playing a 17 year old, a 28 year old and a 35 year old. Talk about having to be a chameleon. The naughty, naked 'naacher' (Naacher being Tigger-Hindi for Dancer...you know, because all that alliteration sounds cool) will be playing a character in 3 different age settings in his next movie with Siddharth Anand. And his hair is also going to be different though the years...so any gal who liked his Beatles-wannabe look in Saawariya, get ready for something more modern and less gay. Ranbir was asked after his haircut what was going on and replied with,

"I've to look compatible with my leading ladies, and yes, this is my first of the three looks for my new film. Working with Siddarth is a very give-and-take thing. We've been friends from the time both of us were kids. His father is my dad's best friend and his mom and my mom are close friends. So naturally we had no choice but to be friends."

That's like being forced to play nice because you can totally tell on each other...you have each other's parents phone numbers! He'll also have 4 different female co-stars to woo, including Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone...so going from wailing loverboy to loose playboy? Nice!

Should Pakistani's rejoice or be sad that their Rawalpindi Express's next stop is Bollywood? Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is going to be taking a break from cricket and/or retiring in style. Instead of just marrying someone somewhat famous as other cricketers are wont to do, he decides that his next claim for stardom will be on the other side of the border in Bollywood. After Pakistan lost both the ODI and Test series in India recently, Shoaib is posed and in place to start his career in Bollywood. While I think he looks sleazy as hell, most girls tend to go gaga over him so I'm sure that will help in the publicity of his new movie. The cricketer come actor was previously rumoured to be in talks about doing a movie with Deepika Padukone, but has now signed on to do a movie with Hansika Motwani. I have to question the sanity behind this 'jodhi' however, since he's 35 and she's 16. Either she has to play his daughter or this movie is going to be a pedophiles dream. His new movie is titled Main Aur Meri Himmat (Me and my Perseverance) and will be a romantic comedy. Producer Nissha S Katyayann says,

"After making albums and music videos we decided to venture into film production. Our first film will be the Shoaib and Hansikaa starrer Main Aur Meri Himmat that will commence in January. It will be directed by debutant director Sangamitra Chaudhary." "The script demanded his presence. He will be seen in a very interesting role that will be completely different from his cricketer's image. We wanted a bubbly, young actress and Hansikaa fitted the bill."

So he won't be playing the awara, idiot, irresponsible playboy? I can live with that. After seeing the state of the Pakistan team and since he's missed out on signing for the ICL, maybe this is the best way to pay for his eventual fines?

And self-less and self-sacrificing and work-orientated...and maybe a little bit stupid. You know when there's a lot of pain in your body? That's a sign to stop and take it easy. Mr Amitabh Bachchan obviously doesn't get that though and thinks that enormous pain in your wrists are signs of great virility or something that's slightly more logical than that. On the sets of his latest movie Alladin, Amitabh injured his wrist during a dance sequence (in more technical terms, he tore his wrist ligament...that's not really technical, it's more accurate I guess). He didn't tell anyone though and it only became obvious that he was in serious pain when he burst into tears in the middle of a shoot. Just joking...about the tears anyways, it took a while for anyone to find out that he had hurt himself and he insisted that the show goes on...what a cliche! Director Sujay Ghosh is full of admiration however and says,

"Sir is in considerable pain. But he insists on continuing. Anyone else would have curled up and called off the shoot. But that's what makes him special. "When the injury occurred Thursday he didn't allow us to know what happened. Throughout the day he hid his pain and continued dancing. Only at the end of the day did we get to know what had happened."

Amitji hopes to be well in a weeks time however so he can continue to shimmy on-screen and delight us with his frollicking. Whoohoo! Did you see him in that Cadbury ad? How cool was he in that!?

Any teenager or student knows that surviving on minimum sleep is part and parcel of our lives yet new actor's haven't read their acting handbook (I'm sure that exists, right?) and have to tell the whole world when they lose some sleep. Here comes Ranbir Kapoor to tell us about the traumatic and horrifying flights he had to endure. Ranbir and Sonam Kapoor were both supposed to be in Mumbai on Saturday night for some event and Ranbir had to fly in from Amritsar where he was shooting for his newest movie, an untitled Siddharth Anand film. Since normal commercial flights aren't for him, Sony chartered a private jet for him that got him as far as Delhi...but the winter months bring brilliant bouts of fog in the subcontinent and Ranbit was unable to carry on to Mumbai because of the fog. So Ranbir really couldn't do much except fly back to Amritsar, landing at 4 a.m and continued shooting at 8 a.m Sunday morning. Wow Ranbir, we really feel your pain. Isn't this like the story about the toe-nail removal operation that the aunty next door tells you? Dull, long, pointless? You catch my drift.