It's not for the money or the fame that Shah Rukh Khan does stage shows, but to get up close and party with his fans.
“These shows are not a show of talent or some amazing skill that you possess. This is our way of partying with people who have shared so much love and happiness with us,” Shah Rukh Khan said in the course of a media interaction in Dubai ahead of his Temptation Reloaded stage show scheduled for Saturday night (October 25).
“I have been working for 21 years and I don’t really get the opportunity to thank each of my fans personally,” he said.
“I am old now,” he continued, “and it is quite difficult to do live shows. Some days, I get up and I say I don’t really have to do this. It is not for the money, not for the fame any more.”
Shah Rukh returns to Dubai after a gap of four years for a live stage show.
Dubai is part of the Temptation Reloaded world tour that the Bollywood star is doing along with Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor.
The tour started in Rotterdam, Holland in June and continued to Singapore.
The show will be compered by MTV video jockey Anusha Dandekar and choreographed by Ganesh Hegde of Lagaan fame.
Britain based desi-rapper Hard Kaur will also perform before the Dubai audience.
The show is being sponsored by Country Club Group of India, which has opened a new resort in Dubai this year.
According to the organisers, the show is expected to draw around 18,000 people at the Dubai Festival City Arena. Dubai is home to around 700,000 of the 1.5 million expatriate Indians in the United Arab Emirates.
Stage shows a way of partying with fans Shah Rukh
Hema Malini's Vijayaraje Scindia look decided in 48 hours
It took fashion designer Neeta Lulla just 48 hours of hard work to decide the right look for Bollywood 'dream girl' Hema Malini's forthcoming venture Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi in which she plays erstwhile Gwalior queen Vijayaraje Scindia.
"Actually we both had time constraints so I had to work round-the-clock to give Hemaji the look of the Rajmata. I did my own research and Hema ji also gave me a reference book, which helped me a lot," said Lulla.
Lulla is the one who gave Aishwarya Rai the ethereal look in Ashutosh Gowarikar's period drama Jodhaa Akbar. She was also behind Hema Malini's refreshing look in Ravi Chopra's "Baghban".
"I tried to give her a different look in Baghban and people loved the way she looked in the film. Hope people will like it this time too," the designer added.
Being directed by Gulbahar Singh, Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi went on floors recently and is being produced by the Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Smriti Trust
Vidya Balan learns to drive, thanks to Vishal Bharadwaj
After making sure Saif Ali Khan learnt the typical Uttar Pradesh dialect for Omkara, filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj forced actress Vidya Balan to overcome her road phobia for a driving scene in his next movie Ishqiya.
"Vidya has an acute road phobia. She was petrified at the thought of driving earlier, but not any more," said a source close to the film.
"Driving a car was something completely alien to her. But Vishal saw to it that she mastered the art and now is pretty comfortable maneuvering her car on the road," the source added.
The filmmaker is known to be particular about making his actors learn the required skills in reality rather than making them pretend on screen.
Anil Kapoor follows daughter on the catwalk
After daughter Sonam Kapoor, it was the turn of dad Anil Kapoor to walk the ramp, taking everyone by surprise on the concluding day of the Lakme Fashion Week.
Clad in grey military fatigues, Anil walked smartly down the ramp for young designer Kunal Rawal Friday (October 24) evening.
"When I saw myself in the monitor just before entering the ramp, I was surprised by the look that Kunal's costumes gave me. It showed me in a completely different style," Anil said. "I was very excited to walk the ramp with my new look, which has never been tried before."
"Young designers in India are doing a wonderful job and the whole world is looking up to them," said Anil. Kunal has designed costumes for Akshay Khanna and Arshad Warsi for Anil Kapoor's next production Shortcut, which also stars Amrita Rao.
About Kunal, the Bollywood actor said: "He is an upcoming designer who is extremely good. He has done very good work for my film and I think he is the future of the fashion industry. I am always there to encourage young designers like him."
Kunal's collection Expedition was in masculine colours - khaki, beige, brown, black, white with touches of leaf green and a bit of orange - along with some bold checks.
Kunal said: "Anil-ji has been associated with a strong masculine image which he has carried successfully over the years. So there cannot be anyone better than him to carry my outfits, which have been designed for the male who enjoys the outdoors."
Kunal used fabrics like cotton, linen and techno in his collection. He merged a few Indian embellishments, like the stylised Jodhpuri pants and jackets as well as the bandhgala style in his silhouette.
Embroidery and military motifs were noticeable on some of the shirts, trousers and jackets.
Sanjay Dutt lands Bollywood offers in Phuket too
While shooting for Blue in Phuket, Sanjay Dutt got several film offers and finally he zeroed on three films - Anees Bazmi's action comedy, Milan Luthria's underworld drama and Ramesh Sippy's next.
"Anees Bazmi has signed Sanjay for an action-comedy that will have two other heroes. Milan Luthria came and narrated a subject with the underworld in the backdrop. Baba has agreed to do that as well," said Dharam Oberoi, CEO of Sanjay Dutt Productions.
"Ekta Kapoor's uncle Ramesh Sippy too has pencilled in Sanjay for another project," added Oberoi.
David Dhawan too went to Phuket to meet Sanjay with a film offer. Clearly then, the actor is on a signing spree. "His dates are booked until the end of 2010. And 2011 is fast getting blocked. This is the best phase of Sanjay's life. And I'm so glad to be a part of it. He's enjoying life and working hard," Oberoi said.
Bazmi, Luthria and Sippy flew down to Phuket to finalise deals with Sanjay and the actor. Sanjay had all the visitors parked in a specially hired cruiser while he shot in the ocean. Ravi Walia too joined them.
Oberoi's actress-daughter Neha too flew in to give company to Sanjay's wife Maanyata. "The number of men there far exceeded the women. Maanyata bhabhi needed some female company, so I got Neha along."
Apparently, Maanyata and Oberoi's daughter get along exceedingly well and are now happy bonding in the blue expanse while Dutt shoots and meets up with filmmakers from Mumbai.
Bhandarkar plays safe, drops gay kissing scene from Fashion
Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar has dropped a gay kissing scene between actors Samir Soni and Anil Kumar from his forthcoming film Fashion before it went to the censor board. He, however, plans to restore it on DVD.
"What a beautifully-shot scene of intimacy it is between Samir and Anil. You forget their gender. They're just two people in love expressing their feelings," said Bhandarkar.
"I took it out before taking it to the censor board. I thought portraying a homosexual couple was bold enough. The kiss would have been too much. But now I'm planning to restore it on the DVD," the director said.
The film, which also stars Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Mugdha Godse and Arjan Bajwa, is releasing on October 29.
Samir, best remembered as Amitabh Bachchan's ungrateful son in Baghban, says he didn't face any nervousness or inhibition while doing it.
"Anil was more nervous than I could ever be. I wasn't nervous or anxious at all. Why should I be? I think too much hoo-ha is made in our country about sexual orientation. Isn't there enough violence and unrest being created against minority groups on the basis of religion? Do we need to get all heated up about what two grown-up men do in privacy?" he asked.
The gay kiss in Fashion happens in a car. "It's a very natural moment between two people in love. And I didn't have a moment's hesitation in doing it. Why should I? I don't have a girlfriend to be answerable to. I did think, 'Oh my god, what will my parents say?' But it's not me, it's my character kissing the person he loves.
"More than me it was Anil who was trembling in fear. I told him to chill as I was like his elder brother. I knew with Madhur at the helm it would be aesthetic. Did I feel repelled? No, I was okay," Samir said.
Tell him that many Indian actors have a problem playing gay and Samir shrugged: "See, I feel those who are homophobic would recoil from doing a gay role. But I'm extremely confident of my sexuality and had no qualms about playing gay. From my modeling days I've had gay friends who would discuss their boyfriends with me. So I'm very comfortable with homosexuality.
"I think we need to get over our prudery about these things. And archaic laws are only making things worse for gay people. They're either hiding or defiantly flaunting their homosexuality in their clothes and body language," the actor said.
Samir is all for scrapping outdated laws on homosexuality.
"I'm not very qualified to speak on the current controversy over the constitutional rights of homosexuals. But I do know every individual has the right to choose whom he or she wants to be with. I'm heterosexual. But I respect my gay friends and their right to live life the way they want. Playing a homosexual in Fashion, I realised love has no gender."
Canada-based Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta's Fire (1998) was perhaps the first mainstream Hindi film to show gay kissing - Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das kissed under the mosquito net in the controversial movie.
Yuvan Shankar Raja turns producer
Yuvan Shankar Raja is going to fulfill one of his dreams, to start his own production house. And the first film he will produce will be based on his story.
The film will be directed by S.D. Sabba, currently shooting Maa with Bhumika. The reason for Yuvan starting his own movie production house is to make a film in the way he wants and enjoy total freedom.
Mirchi Shiva of Chennai-28 and Saroja fame will play lead in this romantic musical comedy, which will have music by Yuvan himself.
The buzz is that Yuvan is producing the movie to get even with director Selvaraghavan, his one time good friend now bitter enemy. Selva had unceremoniously thrown him out of Aayirathil Oruvan and replaced him with G.V Prakash.
When asked what happened to his company White Elephants which he formed with Selvaraghavan and cameraman Aravind Krishna, Yuvan tongue-in-cheek said : " probably roaming in the forest". It can also be a indirect dig at Selva who has been going around the forest areas for the last 18 months trying to finish his Aayirathil Oruvan!
Happy Birthday To Asin
Asin is on cloud nine, as she celebrates her birthday today (Oct 26). She is just back in Mumbai from London and Paris after the long schedule of Vipul Shah’s London Dreams, her second film in Hindi.
A birthday special- Wish her, catch all the latest news, videos, and more!
She says: “I am glad to be back in Mumbai where I will be celebrating my birthday by having a quiet dinner as usual with my parents”.
In fact the unit of London Dreams had invited her for a wrap up party before she left London and the actress was overwhelmed to find that it was a surprise birthday party that Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan had arranged for her.
The entire cast and crew including the Cultural Minister who had given special permission for the unit to shoot there was present to wish Asin.
Says Asin: “I never thought that I would be able to come back to Mumbai on my birthday. The unit was so professional and well-planned that we wrapped up the shoot five days in advance and I was able to fly back to Mumbai and celebrate at home”.
Asin also confesses that she changed into a complete shopaholic during her shoot. Adds Asin: “It was a necessary evil that I had to indulge, as I explored all leading designer label stores in Paris and London from where I picked up designer shoes, dresses and sunglasses for my film as well as my personal use”.
Asin was also amazed when lots of Indians at Madame Tussauds in London came up to her and wanted to be photographed with her
