Nawazuddin's 'Babumoshai Bandookbaaz's shoot goes haywire

Bollywood filmmaker Kushan Nandy has scrapped the filming of Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer "Babumoshai Bandookbaaz" in West Bengal following problems with technicians from the state.

Nandy, who was shooting in Burdwan and Bolpur districts last week returned to Mumbai Wednesday in the aftermath of hurdles regarding hiring of local technicians.

"This is what actually happened to me. Extortion, blackmail and unit held hostage for 72 hours," Nandy tweeted Thursday.

According to reports, misunderstandings brewed up between the production team and the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India over payment of dues and dealing with more number of technicians than what was actually needed.

The incident comes at a time when top filmmakers from Mumbai like Shoojit Sircar, Dibakar Banerjee, Sujoy Ghosh and Imtiaz Ali have chosen Bengal as one of the shooting spots for their forthcoming flicks.

Moreover, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been pitching Bengal as a good shooting destination for Bollywood and Hollywood projects.

Ghosh, whose "Kahaani" became synonymous with Kolkata, had recently appreciated the fact that more and more Hindi films are being shot in the state.

"just met nawaz and kushan shooting in burdwan. so good to see so many hindi films being shot in west Bengala (sic)," Ghosh tweeted last week.

Earlier, Bikash Ranjan Mishra ("Chauranga") and Mrityunjay Devvrat ("Children of War") withdrew their film units from the state.

Mishra has sympathised with Nandy over the incident via Twitter.

Rati owes everything to K Balachander

Late veteran auteur K. Balachander will always hold a special place in Rati Agnihotri's heart. The actress says she was lucky to have had him as the director of her first Hindi movie, "Ek Duuje Ke Liye", which released in 1981.

For Rati, who is tending to her ailing mother, it's "very hard to believe" that Balachander is no more. He passed away at a Chennai hospital Tuesday.

Talking about a recent chance to meet Balachander, Rati said: "Just some days ago when I was shooting in Punjab, I got a call from Chennai asking, 'Can you come down to Chennai for a get-together?' They wanted to honour K. Balachanderji and Bharathi Rajaji by inviting all the actors and technicians that they had worked with in 1970s and 1980s."

"Coincidentally, I was launched in Tamil cinema by Bharathi Rajaji and in Hindi cinema by Balachanderji. I was very fortunate to have been launched by the best. I couldn't go for the commemorative event because I needed to be with my mom. Balachanderji meant so much to my career and to me as a person. He didn't only discover me for the Hindi cinema in 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye', he guided me through the film."

Rati's father had confidence in the filmmaker.

"I remember how I got this role. My dad was approached and we immediately agreed because the film was produced by the great L.V. Prasadji and directed by the stalwart, K. Balachanderji. 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye' was a remake of Balachanderji's Tamil film 'Maro Charitra'."

"My dad saw the original before saying yes to the remake. But I was not allowed to see 'Maro Charitra'. Balchanderji didn't want me to get influenced by the earlier film. So I had no idea what the film was all about."

"All I knew was I had a great producer, director and co-star Kamal Haasan," she said.

She was also scared of Balachander at that time.

"I remember when I first came on the sets, I was really scared of Balachanderji. I wondered if he was angry with me. He had these really huge eyes which would look straight at you. But he never ever shouted at me. Not once. I was so young, just 16, and so raw. I knew none of the emotions that I had to express."



But she was comforted.

"Balachanderji would come up to me, whisper comforting things in my ears, and I would do the scene. I'd just follow what he said. I was like a sponge, absorbing all that I was given. Balachanderji would talk to me in Tamil, then English. Prasadji, Balachanderji and Kamalji would pull up a chair and explain the scenes to me. That's how I managed."

"I couldn't have done it without these three great artistes to guide me through 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye'. Talent is all very well. But what really matters is luck. I was lucky to have Balachanderji as the director of my first Hindi film."

'For Here or To Go?' was challenging for Ali Fazal

Actor Ali Fazal, who features in Indo-American production "For Here or To Go?", says the project was challenging for him and that he's looking forward to its release in the New Year.

The reality-based drama film also stars Melanie Kannokada, Omi Vaidya, Amitosh Nagpal and Rajit Kapur in pivotal roles.

"'For Here or To Go?' is inspired from true events. Vineet Sinha, the producer of the film, is solely responsible for having me on the board of this challenging project which has a fairly new team taking charge," Ali said in a statement.

"I'm quite happy and looking forward to its release later next year," he added.

Directed by Rucha Humnabadkar, the film is said to be gearing up for a premiere at an international film festival early 2015.


Seen in Indian films such as "3 Idiots", "Fukrey" and "Bobby Jasoos", Ali, 28, will soon be seen in "Khamoshiyan".

He is also making his Hollywood debut with a role in the action thriller "Furious 7".

Is 'Ugly' a form of content-driven new-age cinema?

Actor Rahul Bhat, once popular for his stint in TV show "Heena", is glad that his long awaited film "Ugly" has released in theatres. He says he's confident the movie will be well-received as it is different from Bollywood's "standard masala fare".

"Audiences complain about the standard masala fare being churned out every Friday. 'Ugly' is content-driven new-age cinema. I am confident it will be well-received," Rahul said.

Rahul made his feature film debut 2002 with "Yeh Mohabbat Hai". This was followed by the atrocious comedy "Nayee Padosan", which mauled the Mehmood-Kishore Kumar-Sunil Dutt classic and almost finished off Rahul's Bollywood career.

He bounced back when Anurag Kashyap spotted him for a pivotal role in "Ugly". Those who saw Rahul in the film couldn't stop raving about him. In fact, Sudhir Mishra even signed Rahul as the protagonist in his "Devdas" remake on the basis of the actor's performance in "Ugly".


Tragically, "Ugly" became embroiled in a long dispute with the censor board with Kashyap's refusal to carry anti-smoking statutory warnings with the film. After almost two years of deadlock, Kashyap has relented and agreed to carry the statutory warning, and now "Ugly" releases Friday.

"After years of waiting, I've two films releasing -- 'Ugly' and 'Aur Devdas', with great directors (Kashyap and Sudhir Mishra). I couldn't ask for more. I'm so happy that 'Ugly' is finally releasing," he said, and added that he's proud of the film.

A working Christmas for Big B

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, currently busy shooting Bejoy Nambiar's 'Wazir', will celebrate Christmas on the sets of the film. The 72-year-old actor will be seen sharing screen with director-actor Farhan Akhtar and Aditi Rao Hydari in the upcoming drama. "Tomorrow though, here in Mumbai it will be on set for 'Wazir', and work. I suppose it is for the best to be so.

I would be working on New Year's too in the early years," Bachchan posted on his blog. Bachchan has had a very busy year. Although he had just one release- 'Bhoothnath Returns', he was occupied with his hosting duties on a popular gaming-reality show and shooting three films back-to-back.


He recently wrapped up shooting or R Balki's 'Shamitabh' and Shoojit Sircar's 'Piku'. He wished all his fans saying, "But tonight I wish all a most prosperous and Happy Christmas, and a beautiful New Year. May 2015 bring greater prosperity, love and peace among all of us and the world."

Arjun loves to trail a difficult path

Actor Arjun Kapoor says he wants to push and reinvent himself with each role because he finds challenging characters fascinating.

The 29-year-old star, who has starred in 'Ishaqzaade','2 States' and 'Finding Fanny' in his three-year-old career, says any character which is not close to his real-self excites him. "Any character that's not me appeals to me. It is boring to play yourself and it is not easy also beyond a point to be yourself in front of the camera.

Audience will be bored seeing me like that as I feel I am not that exciting to watch. "I want to discover new characters, new worlds and facets. I would like to do something which I have never done in life," Arjun told PTI in an interview. The actor has done a couple of action-drama films, 'Aurangzeb', 'Gunday' and his latest 'Tevar' but says he does not want to stick to the same genre.

"For me characters are important not genres. '2 States' was exciting because the character was very regular and it was exciting to play a hero in an ordinary man's body. "I agree people love me in action to a great degree because in my generation I am the only actor who has done a lot of action films. But that does not mean I am only going to do that so after 'Tevar'," he said. 'Tevar', produced by Arjun's father Boney Kapoor, is a remake of 2003 hit Telegu film 'Okkadu'. The actor says he watched the film before he became an actor and wanted to make a Hindi remake since then.

"'Tevar' is an action movie but it is actually a very fun film. It does not have heavy-action. There is a lot of humour in the film. I saw the original 'Okkadu' before I became an actor. My father likes making remakes so he asked me to watch it," he said.


Arjun, however, says that there is no compulsion for him to act in his father's production and he will only be a part of it, if he is interested in the role. "If I don't think I can do a role I will tell my dad about it. We are very clear in that sense.

There is no compulsion. Filmmaking is a serious business. My dad offered me a few things before 'Okkadu' but I wasn't ready for them," Arjun said. 'Tevar' co-starring Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee and directed by debutant Amit Sharma, releases on January 9, 2015.

Is Arbaaz really too lenient as producer?

Actor Arbaaz Khan has tasted success as a film producer, but he now feels he's too easy-going on his team when he's on the job.

"I go along with my team, but I am too lenient and not strict at all as a producer. In fact, professionalism in my team should increase," Arbaaz Khan told IANS while talking about how he handles this crucial aspect of filmmaking.

"At times, I give lot of liberty and facilities, but today filmmaking is also a business. It's important to make your film on a budget and on time. As a producer, we have to be strict about that," he added.

Arbaaz is currently busy promoting his film "Dolly Ki Doli". Directed by Abhishek Dogra, the film features Sonam Kapoor and Rajkumar Rao in key roles.



Arbaaz's wife Malaika Arora has co-produced their past films -- "Dabangg" and "Dabangg 2".

Talking about the importance of her presence, Arbaaz said: "Malaika is like a sounding board, and I take her opinion. Her opinion is unbiased...I feel she is very honest. When I finalise anything, I take her opinion."

Kapil too joins PM NaMo's brigade?

Stand-up comedian and host Kapil Sharma has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nominating him to carry forwad his Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and says he will dedicate himself to the cause.

"I thank PM @narendramodi Ji for this honour and responsibility. Will do my best for #swacchbharatabhiyaan," Kapil posted on Twitter Thursday.

The host of hugely popular TV show "Comedy Nights With Kapil" was Thursday named by the prime minister among nine people and organisations to spread the message of his Clean India campaign countrywide.

Modi made the announcement in Varanasi, where he inspected the progress of work at Assi Ghat.


Others named by Modi include Nagaland Governor Padmanabh Acharya, former police official Kiran Bedi, danseuse Sonal Mansingh, former Indian Cricket team captain Saurav Ganguly, Eenadu group owner Ramoji Rao and his team, the India Today group and its head Arun Poorie, the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) and the Mumbai Dabbawallas.

Earlier, Modi named actors Kamal Haasan, Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan and the team of popular TV serial "Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashma" for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.

Surveen makes beautiful prophesies about 'Ugly'?

Actress Surveen Chawla, who plays a C-grade item girl in "Ugly", hopes the movie finds a strong audience through a positive word of mouth.

Directed by Anurag Kashyap, "Ugly" releases Friday - a week after Aamir Khan-starrer "PK" hit the screens - and set the cash registers ringing at the Bollywood box office. While Surveen admits both films cater to different sets of audience, she is hopeful "Ugly" will grow.

"I am a huge fan of Rajkumar Hirani and both the films are extremely different. The audience of 'Ugly' is not same as that of 'PK'. 'Ugly' is film is for the niche audience. There is a different set of people who want to watch Anurag's films," Surveen said.

She is confident that if a film is good, it will do well.


"I am certain that 'Ugly' will grow through word of mouth," she added.

"Ugly" features Rahul Bhatt, Ronit Roy, Girish Kulkarni, Siddhanth Kapoor and Tejaswini Kolhapure in key roles.

Talking about her role in the film, Surveen, who started her career from the small screen, said: "My role is little grey and my character is that of a crazy girl. She is not a straight-faced woman. Every character is little bitchy and dark an this film. I am playing a C-grade item girl, who is very selfish and greedy. Hopefully, people will like it."

Even Hollywood actress Fagun Thakrar is Salman ki fan!

Famous actress Fagun Thakrar who has worked with a plethora of Hollywood actors is after all desi at heart. She has been a Salman Khan`s fan for the longest of time now.

The petite actress informs that she has been bhai`s fan since she could even talk! She remembers her mom saying that before she could even pronounce her name correct, she got his name correctly, such was her love and admiration towards the actor. She has watched all his movies and mildly follows his show Bigg Boss.

Fagun is here in India for a couple of months and is planning a meeting with the superstar.


Fagun has performed in several Shakespeare plays, including as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet before being chosen for Bhopal: A Prayer For Rain and Holby City. Having worked with veteran actors like Martin Sheen, Kal Penn and Mischa Barton etc., she has also appeared in a number of commercials representing some of the biggest cosmetic brands across the globe.

Fagun is currently working on her upcoming film Basmati Blues alongside Donald Sutherland.

When Sonali gave Upen a love bite

Sonali mere dumb or is this her fame game? The 'kantala' girl of Bigg Boss, Sonali Raut is to naive or is this beauty hiding a full proof strategy behind that innocent face.

Let's take a flash back! Sonali in the first week was not seen much and as a result she was evicted in the very first week. She returned to the house in next week and, Oh boy! she was back. Due to Gautam and Diandra tiff Sonali acted smart and increase her proximity with Gautam. Sonali had once proposed Gautam on the show, not only this, they also had some cozy moments, but it didn't last long, Sonali noticed Gautam didn't deny or accept her proposal, on seeing that he is not really showing any further interested in her, she changed her track and started increasing her proximity with Upen Patel.

However, Sonali and Upen do share a hate-love relation. From giving Upen a passionately kiss during a task (luxury budget) or sharing a cozy bed moment with him, Sonali had done it all.

Later, their (Upen -Sonali) equation changed, when Sonali pleaded Nigaar to save her instead of Upen. He was seriously offended and furious, this episode had triggered a huge fight between the two. And their relation hit the rocks. Albeit, Sonali did try to revive her friendship with Upen, but he did not pay any heap to her.


Recently, Sonali and Upen were again seen engrossed in love talks. During the luxury budget task Upen was joking around with his besties Dimpy and Karishma and he referred Sonali as her his girlfriend in front of them.

While, Sonali was sitting on the dinning table, Karishma noticed a red mark on Upen's neck. When Karishma inquired about the mark he admitted that Sonali had given it to him. Yes Sonali had given Upen a love bite! After the confession, Sonali started blushing.

Well, Well, Well! We don't know whether Sonali is an innocent girl searching for love inside the house or is this her game plan, we don't know what it is exactly, but all we know is whatever it is, it is surely working in her favour!

Working holidays for Aditi

While most of the industry takes a break during the yearend holidays, not everyone falls within that roster - one such being the classic beauty Aditi Rao Hydari. It is believed that Aditi will be spending the entire holiday season on sets of her films all of which are scheduled for a 2015 release.

"Aditi has quite an eclectic and anticipated line up to her credit : Wazir with Mr Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar, Aur Devdas by Sudhir Mishra, Fitoor by Abhishek Kapoor, The Legend of Michael Mishra by Manish Jha produced by Eyecandy Films and Guddu Rangeela by Subhash Kapoor. She has been shuttling schedules of her film shoots from Kashmir to Lucknow to Delhi to Mumbai to ensure she completes all within the stipulated time. Also, she has a personal belief of ensuring that she ends a year and starts the next on a working note - so that the work continues with as much vim and vigor in the year ahead" says an insider source.


Given that she has her entire schedule lined up, she also managed to make the most out of a break she got last weekend. She spent the weekend with school friends who were visiting her from Hyderabad and enjoyed some fantastic down time and geared herself up for a power packed work schedule.

Well looks like the young lass believes in ensuring she gives her work her all. Good going girl!

When Bollywood celebs used social media to clarify their stand

This year, quite a few stars, who found brickbats aimed in their direction, chose to stand up and explain their version on social media

It is not often that a star admits to or apologises for something that concerns them. And as social media has become a breeding ground for celebrity memes and jokes, stars are ridiculed for the slightest of faux pas and on several occasions, find themselves attracting unsolicited attention. But, there are some B-Town folk who have been sporting enough to take it in their stride or laugh at themselves while others don't mind taking a step down to explain the situation. hitlist takes a look at a few Bollywood faces who not only took on the brickbats gracefully this year but also attempted to clear the air around them...

When Anushka Sharma found her alleged lip job becoming a topic of discussion among netizens, she was prompt enough to log into her social media account and give out a fairly long explanation
Bugging the shutterbugs
Shraddha Kapoor was banned by press photographers in June for allegedly ignoring their requests for pictures during the promotions of her film 'Ek Villain'. It was said that the actress would either refuse to be clicked or look down.

Shraddha Kapoor

At times, her team accompanying her would prevent her from being snapped - once they kept the photojournalists waiting for more than two hours. That infuriated the shutterbugs, who decided to ban her. Finally, Shraddha organised a special meeting with the photographers and apologised to them.
Staying abreast
In September, Deepika Padukone decided to take on an English daily after it posted her cleavage-baring photos shot from a top angle on its website. Any other actress would not have reacted to the images, but Dippy decided to speak out.

Deepika Padukone

She posted: "Yes I am a woman. I have breasts. I have a cleavage. You got a problem?" The actress followed up her post with a longer response, part of which reads: "A character may demand that I be clothed from head to toe or be completely naked, and it will be my choice as an actor whether or not I take either. Understand that this is a ROLE and not REAL, and it is my job to portray whatever character I choose to play convincingly." Reactions and counter reactions followed, much to the amusement of netizens.
LOL and how
Alia Bhatt's goof-up on Karan Johar's chat show - naming Prithviraj Chavan as India's president - was perhaps talked about more than the Prez's election itself.

Alia Bhatt

After facing a barrage of jokes, she sportingly agreed to be part of a laugh-at-herself video that went viral in September. Made by a group of stand-up comedians All India Bakchod, the video was a hilarious take on Alia's IQ and showed her taking admission in a mental gym to strengthen her grey cells.
Gulping insults
This is something new in Bollywood. Stars willingly gulping down the insults thrown at them - although in jest. They also patiently listened to the controversies surrounding them. On the eve of the release of their film 'Kill Dil' in November, Ranveer Singh, Parineeti Chopra, Ali Zafar appeared in The Viral Fever's Barely Speaking with Arnub show.

Ranveer Singh, Parineeti and Ali

Its online video went viral as the host with attitude grilled the stars. He thought Ranveer was Rannvijay and even asked Parineeti what kind of a name she had. Normally, B-Town stars would squirm in their seats when asked such questions, but these young stars gallantly fielded the volley of uncomfortable questions.
Lip service
When Anushka Sharma along with her Bombay Velvet director, Anurag Kashyap, appeared on Karan Johar's chat show in February, her obviously enhanced lips took centrestage. That the actress got a (bad) lip job done became a talking point across social media platforms. Not many actresses would even admit that they had gone under the knife, but realising that she had been drawing a lot of attention over her changed look, Anushka decided to give her version of the story online.

Anushka Sharma

She wrote: "For a short while now I have been using a temporary lip enhancing tool and that along with make up techniques (I have learnt over the years) is the reason why there might be a change in the appearance of my lips. Having stated this fact let me very vehemently assure everyone that I have by no means gone 'under the knife' or done any kind of 'plastic surgery' or undergone any intrusive procedure."

According to the actress, the new look was for her upcoming film 'Bombay Velvet', a period drama where she plays a jazz singer of the 1960s. Anushka took to the social network to make the clarification as the story about her lips had taken "a scary direction and things had been 'blown out of proportion." What's more, she also mentioned that some of the jokes doing the rounds brought a smile to her lips.
Out of sight
Even though he was basking in the spotlight, Honey Singh decided to vanish from the public eye one fine day. While there have been intense speculations about his sudden disappearance, the rapper-singer took to social media to explain his stand.

Honey Singh
He wrote: "Dear well wishers and Fans, it's true that your desikalakar has not been keeping well and will be out of action for a while. Due to his illness, he has been advised strict bed rest. As a family, we are really thankful to a lot of people for supporting him and us during his illness. He shall be back real soon to do what he does best,i.e to entertain you all. Keep him in your prayers and keep supporting and loving apka apna Yo Yo Honey Singh."
Kicking a**
Sonakshi Sinha found herself as a contender for one of the biggest butts in Bollywood in a Twitter poll, courtesy the publicity-hungy Kamaal R Khan in November. B-Town stars would rather not talk about their derriere. But not Sona.

Sonakshi Sinha

She responded on Twitter calling KRK a "waste of space" who disrespects women and "deserves to be hung upside down and given 4 tight slaps." KRK then went into damage control mode and deleted the tweet and disqualified Sonakshi from his contest. Though KRK has irked several Bollywood celebrities in the past, they have preferred to ignore him.

Did Sumona quit CNWK?

Apparently the rumours are making the rounds that Manju aka Mrs Sharma aka Sumona Chakrawarti has quit Comedy Nights With Kapil !

In the last two weeks it has been witnessed, that Sumona has not been seen on the show. Earlier also, one of the most popular character of CNWK, Gutthi played by Sunil Grover walked out of the show.

According tho the grapevine, Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover had some ego issues as well as there were some financial issues. Though, the duo soon resolved their problem and Guthi made a comeback on the show. And now the abuzz is that Sumona Chakrawarti, who plays Kapil Sharma's wife on the show has gone missing!


But we would like to break the suspense and inform you that, ostensibly, Sumona has been traveling abroad. Sumona informed the media that she had been shooting for a film in London followed by a vacation in Amsterdam and Paris. However she is now back in town and is ready to resume her shoot for the show.

Besides father and fans, who else is gaga over Shraddha?

Model-actress Tejaswini Kolhapure says she is happy with the way her niece Shraddha Kapoor's career is shaping up in Bollywood.

Tejaswini, 34, who was last seen in a small role in Mani Ratnam's 'Raavan', said the 'Ek Villain' actress waited for seven years to get good roles. "I am proud of Shraddha because she has waited for seven years to get good roles.

But the beauty of it was she never slipped and went in a different direction. She has always been very focused," Tejaswini, who is the sister of Padmini Kolhapure, told PTI. Tejaswini, who is expecting her first child with director husband Pankaj Saraswat, has teamed up with Anurag Kashyap again in 'Ugly'.


The actress began her journey in Bollywood with Kashyap's murder mystery 'Paanch', which never released. "The film is good and I don't know why it is not releasing. But it gave me the confidence as an actress that I have done something good. Anurag is the person who had courage and confidence to cast me. I owe my new lease of career to him," she said.

Shabana finds Sharmila 'most gorgeous' 70-year-old

On the birthday of Sharmila Tagore, veteran actress and activist Shabana Azmi described the "Kashmir Ki Kali" star as "most gorgeous".

Sharmila, who was often seen on the big screen with late actor Rajesh Khanna in movies like "Aradhana", "Amar Prem" and "Daag: A Poem of Love", turned 70 Monday.

The mother of actors Saif and Soha Ali Khan and designer Saba was one of the top Bollywood actresses who flaunted a bikini on screen in "An Evening In Paris".

"Sharmila Tagore is the most gorgeous 70-year-old I know. Happy birthday Rinkudi and have a super year," Shabana tweeted Monday.



The two actresses worked together in films like "Doosri Dulhan" and "Namkeen".

Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee too sent out birthday wishes, tweeting: "Happy Birthday to one of the most beautiful and gorgeous actresses Sharmila Aunty. Many many happy returns of the day. Love."

Hema, Esha wish Dharmendra on 79th birthday

As Bollywood's evergreen star Dharmendra turned 79 today, his actress wife Hema Malini and daughter Esha wished him on the birthday.

Hema, who has been married to Dharmendra for 24 years now, took to Twitter to wish the star and thanked his fans for their greetings.

"Dharamji's b'day today and my thoughts are all with him as he is shooting in Punjab," Hema, 66, twitted.

"I must thank all his numerous fans from all over the world who have been sending best wishes for their hero's b'day to both of us. Thank you all!" she later added along with a photo of the actor from Punjab.

Hema is Dharmendra's second wife and the couple have two daughters -- Esha and Ahana Deol.



"Happy birthday papa. Love you," she tweeted along with an old black-and-white photo of Dharmendra.

Dharmendra is also father to Sunny, Bobby, Vijeeta and Ajeeta, his kids with first wife Prakash Kaur.

Karan Mehra's 'Badmaashiyaan' look inspired from Sherlock Holmes

For his upcoming film 'Badmaashiyaan', TV actor Karan Mehra is essaying the role of a detective and his look seems to be inspired by Sherlock Holmes.

The actor feels that as the most famous sleuth's look is well known, there will be an instant connect.

Meanwhile Karan, who is also part of a box cricket reality show, was hit by a ball leading to a swollen face. So his Sherlock Holmes styling will have to wait for a bit.

Haider monologue: Shahid's hottest selling act?

Shahid Kapoor was seen performing at many award functions last year. His songs from R..Rajkumar were high on frequency and his music of his films were on high frequency.

Shahid's stage performances at large are power packed and loved by audiences be it dancing or hosting (IIFA).

However this time around with the award season lurking around the corner Shahid has been receiving requests from organizers to perform the Haider Monologue on stage.

Shahid's performance in the film has received umpteenth accolades and especially the monologue was much talked about.

Taking from there a lot of award ceremony organizers have approached Shahid Kapoor to perform his monologue from Haider this season.

They are keen for Shahid to package the monologue in a small 10 - 12 minute skit and in the midst of it weave the monologue.



While Shahid's team has been discussing it with him and cajoling him to take it up the ace actor thinks otherwise.

Shahid feels rendering the monologue might be too emotionally draining for him and especially to do it an award show. Infact before this monologue he spent time alone and went over the lines again and again in solitude. Kashmir as a place also helped set the tone of the scene.

Haider was one of the most difficult films for Shahid. Shahid has performed with a lot of intensity and power and is one of his best performances of all times.

Eros International to distribute 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', 'Hero'

Kabir Khan's "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" and Nikhil Advani's "Hero" -- two maiden productions of Salman Khan Films banner - will be distributed globally by Eros International Media Ltd.

While "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is set for an Eid release in July 2015, "Hero", a modern day remake of Subhash Ghai's eponymous classic will see the launch of two new stars and is set to engage youth audiences when it releases in summer 2015.

"We're delighted to showcase this brilliant line-up to the global audience with our worldwide marketing, digital and distribution network," Jyoti Deshpande, Group CEO, Eros International, said in a statement.

"The combination of Salman, Kabir Khan, Eid and 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' not only promises fans and audiences larger than life entertainment, but we also look to it setting new box office records as Salman did this year.



"We're equally excited to launch bright new talent with 'Hero' and are positive the audiences will embrace Nikhil's interpretation of the classic musical romantic hit," Deshpande added.

"Hero" will mark the launch of two new faces in the film industry -- Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shety.

"We are happy to collaborate with Eros for both the films to fulfil our vision and ensure the maximum global exposure for our films," said Amar Butala of Salman Khan Films.