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Fardeen Khan who has been lying low on the film front is not actually on a break. According to our sources, the actor is working hard on his plan to remake the classic QURBANI and is busy getting things in place meanwhile.

According to reliable sources, "It has been a while since Fardeen has been trying to set his own production house in motion. But, the actor is taking his time as he has plans to roll out 5 to 6 films at a time. For the moment, Fardeen is trying to resurrect his earlier plan to remake QURBANI, a film that has been close to his heart and will be his tribute to his late father."

Lately, the reports that the actor has been thinking of getting into real estate business full time have been refuted by our source. It is known that Fardeen is very much on the comeback trail and is waiting for the right opportunity to leak his film plans.

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Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn being seen in diapers for RASCALS may have raised a chuckle or two. However in the film they are much more than playing grown up kids. If sources are to be believed, when the film was being written the mandate was to create scenes that bring back the memories of Amitabh Bachchan-Vinod Khanna combination.

"When it came to the pairing of these superstars, it was like bringing together fire and ice", says a source attached to the film, "Sanjay Dutt is known for his action hero image and Ajay Devgn has now excelled in being goofy and loveable. David Dhawan, the film's director, wanted to present Sanju baba and Ajay in a similar manner as Manmohan Desai did with Big B and Vinod Khanna."

The obvious reference points were films like AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY, PARVARISH and (old) HERA PHERI to name a few. Result was a cocktail that resulted in a film which is about two heroes who are constantly playing the game of one-upmanship.

"Yes, it was a conscious decision to revisit Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna of the era gone by", admits Dhawan who has already wrapped up over 80% of the film, "I have always maintained that Manji (Manmohan Desai) has been my 'guru'. And when you have Sanju and Ajay at your disposal, who are easily today's Bachchan and Khanna then why to look elsewhere?"

With camaraderie between Sanju and Ajay pretty much established since the days of ALL THE BEST, one waits to see how the actors have further cut loose in RASCALS which would be releasing late this year.

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Mumbai, April 25 (IANS) Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actress Kalki Koechlin's wedding date is finalised - the two will tie the knot April 30 at the latter's home in Ooty.

'They have invited just 40 of their close friends for their marriage. They will throw a big party once they return to Mumbai where the whole Bollywood will be invited,' said a source close to the couple.

Kalki, 28, confirmed the news that she is marrying Kashyap, 38, this year, but she had refused to reveal the wedding date as she wanted to keep it a private affair.

'Yes, we are getting married this year. I am not going to tell anyone the date, but I am getting married soon,' Kalki, who made her Bollywood debut with Kashyap's 'Dev D' (2009), told IANS. The two have been dating each other for long.

What took them so long to decide to get married?

'We are engaged since January this year. When you marry a star, it's really tough to find dates for marriage (laughs),' said Kalki.

The actress, of French descent, will be seen in Bejoy Nambiar's directorial debut 'Shaitan', which is produced by her fiance. Also, her much-talked about film, 'The Girl in Yellow Boots', which she has co-written with Kashyap, is also set to release this year.

This is second marriage for Kashyap who was earlier married to his college sweetheart Aarti and has daughter Aaliya with her. He is known for directing 'Black Friday' and 'Dev D', and also co-produced multiple award winning movie 'Udaan'.

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Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Music composer Anu Malik alleges that Pritam Chakraborty has lifted the entire tune of his 'Mohabaat naam hai kiska' from 'Ajnabee' and used it in the song 'Character dhila hai'.

The song features in director Anees Bazmee forthcoming movie 'Ready' and is picturised on Salman Khan and Zarine Khan.

'The full tempo, the full tune has been taken and ripped off,' Anu told IANS. 'I had liked the song and had called and congratulated Aneesji for such a fantastic song. Then I found that I was clapping for my own song,' he added.

Anu may file a suit for plagiarising his song.

'We have to take a legal opinion and then take a call. I will talk to my lawyer first as it is a straight rip-off of my song,' said Anu.

He wonders why Pritam didn't bother to give credit to R.D. Burman for using his composition in the title song of Rohan Sippy's 'Dum Maaro Dum'.

'First of all they copied Panchamda's tune and called it their own. 'Dum maro dum' is actually Panchamda's composition. They don't even give credit. It's terrible. You cannot copy other's composition and call it your own and then get away and get applause,' he said.

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Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja, who was convicted of raping his maid two years ago, as per the latest reports, has been granted bail by Bombay High Court. The bail was granted to the actor on Wednesday.

However, Shiney has been granted bail on payment of surety of Rs 50,000 to the sessions court and also been asked him not to leave the country without prior permission of the court.

A Mumbai sessions court had on March 30 sentenced the actor to seven years in jail after he was found guilty of raping his maid in June 2009.

Shiney was arrested on June 15, 2009, after preliminary medical tests on the 20-year girl confirmed sexual assault.

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New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) It may have surprised some that a superstitious person like Ekta Kapoor chose to release her next production 'Ragini MMS' on a day that happens to be Friday the 13th! But she has her remedy ready.

'I wanted to release 'Ragini MMS' on May 12 and I first took that date from the astrologer. But when I checked the day, I saw it was a Thursday. And Friday was Friday the 13th! So ... to get over my superstition, I am releasing the film in one theatre on the 12th for luck,' Kapoor told IANS.

She refused to divulge which state and theatre the movie would release in, for the fear that 'a lot of people might end up catching it there'.

However, the television tsarina is quite confident that the sensual paranormal film, featuring Rajkumar Yadav and Kainaz Motivala, will do well with the young audience.

'Ragini MMS', produced by Kapoor's Alt Entertainment, is about a couple who go on an adventurous weekend on the outskirts of Mumbai and end up in a house rigged with 24 cameras. There is also something paranormal about the house, which adds to the fear factor in the movie.

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Conventionally Bollywood's role in social change has been viewed with mixed emotions. While some filmmakers have always strived to make films to instill social change, others have argued that films need to entertain rather than preach.

Though these varied points of view exist side by side, what is heartening to see is the new Bollywood activism related to social issues that has been witnessed over the last few years. Take recent examples. NO ONE KILLED JESSICA was Bollywood's activism to bring to light social injustice. There are examples galore that show how Bollywood is increasingly shedding its stardom image to identify with the common politics of everyday life.

The latest example will be the Anna Hazare led public outcry where all the ranks and files of Bollywood united to pledge their support. It was a rare site to see Bollywood actors, filmmakers and other people associated with it join hands in support of the movement.

The fact that Bollywood prides itself for having the most popular icons on its side has used this advantage to spur some real social change. It is no longer limited to symbolic gestures. Bollywood activism can be felt in the streets of the country today and thanks to this gesture, the latest people's movement led by Anna Hazare has been co-authored in many ways by Bollywood and its new activist tribe.

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Imran Khan has competition from child actor Darsheel Safary, in the form of being pretty actress Manjari Fadnis' favorite co-star.

Sources tell us that the duo bonded so well on the sets of Disney's ZOKKOMON, that Manjari (who was seen opposite Imran in JAANE TU YA JAANE NA) has grown quite fond of Darsheel and is telling people he is now her most favorite co-star.

Both being Shiamak Davar students, they had a blast shooting the song and dance sequences, and were also responsible for playing many pranks on the hapless director we hear! Manjari also looked out for Darsheel as an older sister while filming, having continued their connection post shooting as well.

Watch out for this fun duo as ZOKKOMON releases 22nd April 2011.

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While RA.ONE is in its first leg of promotion, in parallel there is extensive work being done on the film's post production. This means that director Anubhav Sinha is neck deep into supervising finer details for the film which are being added shot-by-shot at various studios all across the globe. Meanwhile VFX department of Red Chillies (Shahrukh Khan's production house) is driving the entire show to ensure a view in totality.

"Red Chillies VFX team is the best in our country. Period", exclaims Anubhav whose earlier films like DUS and CASH have boasted of heavy duty VFX as well, "Jeff Kleiser is the best VFX supervisor that I could have got while people like Harry Hingorani and Ketan Yadav from Red Chillies are just superb. I could be convinced by a particular shot in the film but they find it difficult to convince themselves. Since they are at the helm of making the biggest Indian film ever, they know that the stakes are high, reputations are at stake and hence they are in no mood to compromise."

No wonder, despite the film's shoot being over late last year, there were as many as 9 months reserved for the extensive post production of RA.ONE.

"The team's standards are really high and folks involved are the masters of the game", says Anubhav with a sense of contentment in his voice, "These are the folks who have been associated with some of the best visual effects in many major films. When you have such people in your film and a producer (Shahrukh Khan) who goes all out to make it happen, you do end up reaffirming your own belief that there is indeed something special on the way."

We hope for the same as well Anubhav.

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Of late there has been a lot of enquiry about the six feet four inch tall, handsome hunk with lean, mean cool looks featuring in the promos of Abhishek Bachchan's upcoming release DUM MAARO DUM. Though he may be a newcomer in the Hind film industry but Rana Daggubati is indeed an established star in the South who shot to fame with just his first film LEADER and his presence in DUM MAARO DUM will work as a catalyst to enhance the box-office prospects of the film.

Rana Daggubati accepts that he had signed DMD even before the release of his first hit film down South, LEADER, and relates that Rohan Sippy, the director of DMD, saw the first promo of LEADER in 2009 and called him up and enquired if he was interested in doing his film. Rana went on to add that Rohan sent him the first draft of the film which he liked and immediately said 'yes', and since then life has indeed taken a beautiful turn. Rana vehemently denies any link up with co-star Bipasha Basu and clarifies that Bips has been very supportive and very sweet and that he respects her a lot and any rumour of an affair is preposterous and may be done in order to promote the film. Rana urged the people to watch DMD saying that such films are indeed rare even in the South and in Bollywood DUM MAARO DUM is a new experimentation in film-making which he is certain that the audience will enjoy and patronize.

Undoubtedly, from the promos we are sure that Rana Daggubati has hit the nail on the head as the film indeed appears to be quite different from run-of-the-mill stuff that we are being subjected to lately and come April 22nd and we hope that the audience accepts DMD wholeheartedly.

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After being written off for being a mere one film wonder, Asin is steadily making a comeback in the hearts of her audiences. Many give her forthcoming film READY the credit of bringing her back from obscurity into the spotlight once again.

That is one of the reasons why Asin is again the hot favourite of many big brands. If you look at her career graph, ever since her last film LONDON DREAMS flopped her career had almost come to a grinding halt. But, thanks to the hype associated with her upcoming film READY opposite Salman Khan, Asin is again the cynosure of many big brands and is seen as a selling star yet again.

According to industry observers, "Asin has bagged some envious ad brands of late. Thanks to the hype that her forthcoming film READY is commanding, Asin is already benefitting from it. The fact that READY is Salman's first release after the mega hit DABANGG has made it easier for Asin to attract attention. And given the Salman factor, the film has already generated huge attention when the fact is that it is still couple of months away from its release."

With READY giving Asin a new lease of life, let's hope this attention is here to stay.

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Akshay held a trial of his latest release THANK YOU for Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada. The screening took place on Friday at a theatre in the city of Brampton. This was the first ever Hindi film that the Canadian premier has watched and Akshay was super excited about it, as told by the sources. He even danced with Canadian PM's wife.

Akshay plays an Indo-Canadian detective in THANK YOU and hence the movie was shot in Canada. This was one of the major reasons why the actor was keen that the Canada PM watch the film. "Akshay has the highest regard for the PM," added a source close to the actor who also confirmed the presence of prominent Canadian and Indian dignitaries as well at the screening.

It is believed that Akshay Kumar was deeply impressed with the Prime Minister's apology to the Sikh Community three years ago for the Komagata Maru incident. It was one of the PM's first acts after coming to power. The actor, who continues to be the Canadian Tourism Commission's ambassador for India for the second year, will promote Canada in India as a tourist destination. "Harper wants Indo-Canadian relations to improve and Akshay welcomes that" added a source.

Interestingly, Akki refers to Canada as his second home.

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New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) If the train-catching sequence in the promo of Lara Dutta's debut production 'Chalo Dilli' gives you a sense of deja vu, it was meant to be! The actress admits that she took inspiration from 1995 blockbuster 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ)'.

'There is one scene in the film where I run to catch the train and Vinay's character Manu...he extends his hand to pull me onto the train. And, of course, we were inspired by DDLJ,' said Lara.

The iconic scene from DDLJ featured Bollywood's most loved romantic couple Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan. And now moviegoers will see Vinay and Lara reprising it in 'Chalo Dilli', a comedy film.

Lara, however, rules out there was ever an intent to outdo the chemistry of the original scene.

'In no way are we ever going to compete with a film like DDLJ. It's just that when somethings inspire you, you try and give an ode to them. So that scene is inspired by DDLJ, yet it is quite unique in its own,' she added.

The trailer of the movie was released alongside Abhinay Deo's 'Game'.

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Mumbai, April 7 (IANS) Actor Randhir Kapoor, son of legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor has revealed that after the debacle of his father's ambitious project 'Mera Naam Joker' in 1970, the family faced a major financial crunch.

'Mera Naam Joker' was a film about a clown who must make his audience laugh at the cost of his own sorrow.

'We were facing a financial crunch in the early 1970s because 'Mera Naam Joker' didn't work and we suffered huge losses because of that. 'Mera Naam Joker' was closest to my father's heart. He was very fond of that picture and he has made it with a lot of passion, great love and lots of money according to those days. But it flopped.'

'But as of today, that film is the biggest profit point for R.K films. Wherever it has screened in festivals or on TV, it earns money for us. It's a super duper hit for us. And I'm sure wherever my father is today, up above, he will be really proud of this film,' Randhir told reporters here.

The actor had got together with his other two brothers - Rishi and Rajiv Kapoor - to announce the Raj Kapoor retrospective that will take place in Toronto June 26 in association with the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) and Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Rishi Kapoor said: 'Our father was a great man both in his personal and professional life. His passion and love for cinema shines through in all his movies and he has made a place for himself in the hearts of cinema lovers all over India. I'm thrilled about this retrospective of his work and cannot wait to see it.'

A total of 15 iconic Raj Kapoor films will be screened during the retrospective including 'Aag', 'Awara', 'Shree 420' and 'Sangam' among others.

Also several pieces of memorabilia like costumes, cut-outs and props used during his films will be displayed.

A series of paintings inspired by Raj Kapoor films by Goa-based artist Seema Sardesai will also be showcased during the event.

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