SoggyCornflakes - Bollywood

That's not the most original of titles, but what can you do? Let's talk about Shahid so we can all have a good weekend. Shahid Kapoor has spoken out about Sania Mirza and Vidya Balan again and guess what he said? Um, the usual, that they're just friends.

"Vidya is my co-star and we are good friends. But this isn't your Bollywood kind of good friend. I mean, she's a nice girl, a fantastic co-star and one of the many friends I have," "Incidentally, Sania Mirza is also a friend and we meet, but there's no romance. I guess I'm an easy target because I'm single."

No, you're an easy target because you're drop-dead gorgeous...am I crossing the line here, from admiration to slight obsessiveness? Oh well, it's Shahid we're talking about here. In another cute story, Shahid was shooting in school in Pune recently and when it was recess, it's not hard to guess where those kids were. About 200 kids clambered around Shahid, demanding attention and refusing to go back to class once the break was over. Well, even if Shahid couldn't make them go, he did spend some time with them and told them to study hard and stay in school. Not exactly the most original of advice but it's good advice nonetheless and it's great that Shahid spent some time with the kids...lucky brats! And there we are for the week. I'm officially on holiday, so updating should become more regular now but I'm on a new life path here where I do the most important things first...so while I love you guys, family, friends, work, chores, keeping my room clean etc all come first...but then it's definitely SoggyCornflakes readers! Have a brilliant weekend!

Well, it might be because of the little fact that he's hot but whatever. It's not often that you get to hear actors sing, because after the nice voices that you hear in movies, reality may not be as melodious. But one of them who did give it a go is John Abraham, who sang live for an audience to promote his new film Aashayein. The story is told by Aashayein's executive producer,

"It was simply crazy," "We hadn't planned a big music launch and we certaintly had no clue there was another music launch (for Love Story 2050) the same evening. We just wanted to do something different. So we thought of making all the singers including John perform their tracks from Aashayein live on stage. We never thought there would be such a massive turn-out, or that John would take his first live performance so seriously." "I think we underestimated John's pull. And his pursuit of excellence. I thought he'd come on stage croon a few lines, shake his hips in tight trousers, blow kisses and melt into the night. No way. John arrived at 3 in the afternoon for the technical rehearsal. By the time the evening came he was fully prepared. And so was the audience. It was all calm peaceful and romantic with a 3,000-strong audience waiting quietly by the seaside." "And then it happened," "John sang Ab mujhko jeena. There was a deathly silence and then the roar 'Once More Once More' began.- until it grew into a deafening crescendo. Salim-Suleiman's band had already packed up and left. They had to be called back to unzip their equipment and accompany John's singing."

That sounds like fun and well done to John for not refusing the crowd...ah, this was a really simple post to write.

Because he totally knew that Jannat was going to be a hit and because of that, he had already put in the order for a new BMW. Let's start from the beginning....Emraan Hashmi was born 24th March 1979 and 29 years later, he made Jannat with Sonal Chauhan and apparently, that's all Emraan needed to start asking for more money. The actor has increased his price from Rs 1.5 crore (15 million) to Rs 5 crore (50 million) a movie, but he thinks he deserves it.

"And why not? Equations change every Friday. The sun has started shining for me. I seem to have had a solo hit at a time when only Akshay Kumar and the Khans seem to be getting the audiences in," "Ya, my price has gone up.I won't say drastically. Right now I can quote a higher price with some justification." "I've cut about fifteen cakes in the last one week. And I've just bought a new car BMW. I was so confident about Jannat that I had it delivered to my home on the day of its release."

And the sweetheart that he is, he insists that the Bhatts (who are related to him and basically made his career) will also have to pay more for him, because professionalism comes first, then blood. Ah, the charming monkey. Hey, and is it just me or is their bad grammar on that poster? Shouldn't it be "In search of Heaven" and not "...for Heaven"?

Another interview post because I'm just feeling too sick to update properly here. Akshaye Khanna hasn't been in the news for a while, possible because he's so boring, but since his new movie, Mere Baap Pehle Aap (My Father, You First) is coming out, the media wants to talk to him.

Q. What’s the most important part of this film? A. The most interesting part of the film was rebuking Paresh Rawal. Because, in my real life, I would never have chance to scream at my father. I think audience will have a great chance to watch a feel good movie after a long gap. You will certainly feel better with everything around you after watching the film. Q. Priyadarshan, Abbas Mastan and Anil Kapoor believe in your acting ability. Do you feel pressurized because of that? A. Not at all. Q. There was a somber relationship between father and son in Gandhi My Father and in Mere Baap Pehle Aap, the same relationship between a father and son is comic. Personally, which do you enjoy most? A. Actually, there is no special genre that I can enjoy personally. My job is the most important matter to me. I enjoy them while I face the camera. That’s all. Q. Getting little personal, how is your personal relationship with your father? A. My father is more friend than father to me. He is such a man who never imposes any of his decisions on anyone else; it may be his children or his wife. He accepts people from the core of his heart. Believe me; I have met more than thousand of my father’s friends. He is really a social being. Q. What’s the reason that you are still a bachelor? A. The answer is ‘freedom, freedom and only freedom’. I have no interest in marriage and I will never get married. I think I must not be answerable to anyone. I neither like to reply to anyone nor do I like to enquire anyone. Q. Please tell us about your forthcoming films. A. Along with Mere Baap Pehle Aap, there are films like Anil Kapoor’s Shortcut and an animated film Ab Dilli Door Nehi. I have dubbed for this film. It was a completely different experience from usual acting schedules.

And that's it, I'm done for today. Good night everyone, be back with more interesting news tomorrow. Hopefully the main one being that I'm not dying...I think I was having heart palpitations just now.

And so am I. What Harman Baweja is saying, in his very nice Hindi written by moi is that he's feeling sleepy. Harman recently gave an interview, where he describes his work schedule, which has become unbelievably hectic. So what exactly is keeping the poor guy busy?

"Promotion of Love Story 2050 is heating up and it is obvious that I make sure to give it my all. Apart from involving myself in round the clock promotion, I am also wrapping up the dubbing for the film. Now you have to sound fresh and energetic every time behind the mike so I do try to find means all the time to make sure that any tiredness doesn't reflect in my dialogue delivery", "While I am busy dubbing in the night, my day time goes into the shooting of Victory. The film is fast reaching the finishing line and again for being in front of the camera, one has to get the right expressions on with the key words being ‘looking fresh’",

No word on how he feels about acting with Amrita Rao but he did say that he's lucky to get four hours of sleep every night. Hah, I wish I could sympathise, but I got less than that last night, then I wrote an exam, then I went shopping...I'm not sure why I went shopping, but it was totally worth it except now my brain hurts...and my hand hurts. I wrote 10 pages in 2 hours!

It's not often that I get to write about Riya Sen, but today it's a double feature, involving her sister Raima Sen as well. For the first time, the two actresses will be working together for Vicky Chopra's Season's Greetings. You probably know him as the guy who made Fight Club: Members Only and he's cast the two sisters in the role of...well, sisters. Raima talks about the movie,

"Yes Riya and I are finally coming together as sisters. But I'm yet to hear the script, though I've given the nod. Though she's quite mad we're very much alike in most respects."

Riya continues, speaking about their relationship,

"Raima and I stay together in Mumbai. There is not a thing that we don't share. All our friends are common. If she likes someone, so do I. And if I dislike someone, she doesn't have a choice. Our friends say we should've been twins." "But we were pretty sure that that if and when we come together it would have to be as sisters,"

Um, that's nice? I'm not sure what exactly to say about this. What I would like to see is some sibling rivalry. And I'm done for today...next time I write, I'll be free as a bird. Whoohoo, exam tomorrow and then holidays, wish me luck.

Abhishek Bachchan has always been portrayed as having a good relationship with his father. This came across recently when Abhi left a very sweet comment on his Amitabh's blog (a refreshing change from the comments I read here). Until Sarkar Raj comes out, read the whole story here.

Maybe I should start calling Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan the 3 A's or AAA. Ok, I'm calling them AAA from right now and I'm copyrighting the phrase. Yesterday morning, while most of us were still warm in bed, the AAA's took a walk...a long walk...a four hour walk...a bare-footed walk...across Mumbai to visit the Siddhivinayak temple. I'm not exactly sure what was the purpose of the walk, although it's not for the success of Sarkar Raj. Amitabh Bachchan writes on his blog,

The walk last night or rather early this morning to SiddhiVinayak was fulfilling. Walking bare foot has its own hazards but where there is faith and resolve, obstacles seem to dwindle away. The tar roads, still warm from the aggressive sun in the day are fairly comfortable but the cobbled portions due to its uneveness causes some discomfort. The people were lovely. They come around, hundreds of them all walking in the same direction towards a common goal. There is excitement among them and smiles and a certain decorum. Intermittently, shouts of ‘Ganpati Bappa’ break the general silence. And the entire mass of people join in in unison -’Morya !’

Even I have to say, his post conveys a whole range of spiritual feeling. Read it, it sounds good. And basically, he did that whole walk because he wanted to thank God... In other AAA news, the 'Unforgettable Tour' is kicking off on the 18th of July and no, there is no Shahid Kapoor involved, but Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta and Madhuri Dixit will participate. Abhishek talks about the tour,

"Aishwarya will be performing on some of her most popular numbers, including on the 'Dola re..' number from 'Devdas' with Madhuri Dixit. I am particularly thrilled about performing on the item number 'Kajra re' from 'Bunty Aur Babli' with my dad and Aishwarya,"

And finally, the stories about the Bachchan and Khan rift continues, as Karan Johar celebrated his birthday a few days ago, inviting both the Bachchan's and the Khan's. Big A and Jaya didn't attend, but Abhi-Ash were around. But Ash refused to acknowledge Shah Rukh Khan and made her own little group in the corner, didn't circulate and Karan had to keep running from one place to another trying to be a good host... Poor guy, and it's pathetic how supposed "big stars" act like petulant kids.

Although this story is funny. Good morning all and it's still very cold here, just not as wet. Harry Baweja is not having a good day either, because Aamir Khan is creating problems for his movie. Love Story 2050 is supposed to come out on 4th July, and Harry had consulted with a lot of rival producers before setting this date. He had received the reassurance that his movie with debutante son Harman Baweja would open without any competition. Not anymore, because Aamir is thinking about releasing his nephew's movie on the exact same day. The source says,

"The Bawejas were shocked," "They had planned and strategised their film's release almost six months in advance. They had spoken to all their potential competitors from Salman Khan to Ram Gopal Varma to Apoorva Lakhia and Aziz Mirza to Yash Raj and Tips." "Harman called them up personally to make sure his film comes on a free Friday. Then suddenly Aamir showed up to create an almost 'Saawariya' - 'Om Shanti Om' crisis. The 'Jaane Tu' release was nowhere in sight when 'Love Story 2050' was announced. Suddenly, they came out of the blue," "Harry knows Aamir from the time he did B. Subhash's 'Love Love Love' where Harry was an assistant director. Ever since they've been in touch. Aamir told him he was indeed thinking of coming on July 4."

Though according to Harman, he isn't bothered and thinks it's healthy competition. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is the debut movie of Aamir Khan's nephew, Imran Khan (who just makes me think of the cricketer) and even though not much is known about the storyline, Aamir is doing the promotions and posters do show the release date as July 4. So I guess it will be war of the debutantes. There's a better way to settle this I think, they should make both guys fight each other in a tub of cornflakes...winner releases on the 4th.

Now imagine him saying that in a thick Austrian accent. Even though Shah Rukh Khan's and Juhi Chawla's team, the 'Kolkata Knight Riders' flopped out of the first IPL tournament after a promising start, Shah Rukh promises that they'll be back next season, and he's impressed with his team's performance, even though they couldn't make it past the first round. Shah Rukh and Juhi also had a little ceremony of their own where they presented their players with gold-plated helmets for their contribution. Oh my word, if that's what they get for losing, I can't imagine what they'd get for winning. I think there's lots of advantages to being in a celebrity-owned team, especially Shah Rukh's, who's starting to sound like the Oprah of the Bollywood world, you know, just without the counseling and talk-show. And in other Shah Rukh news, Kajol has finally signed on for My Name is Khan, which means that that jodi is back. Yay! Now I'm off to study...enjoy the rest of your day!