Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor are now considered to be the next star of Bollywood. These two newcomers are getting in to Bollywood through their first movie slated for release on the same 9 November. So, no doubt, there will have some hidden clash between the two newcomers. Even if not, media has created some hype over Deepika Padukone and Sanom Kapoor.

Deepika Padukone is coming with the mush awaited movie Om Shanti Om along with Shah Rukh Khan. On the other hand, Sonam Kapoor will get into Bollywood with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming movie Saawariya where she will be seen against another newcomer Ranbir Kapoor.

Deepika Padukone

It's difficult to hit the headlines if you have put just one step into this ever increasing Bollywood business but if your film belongs to one of the top five film makers of the Hindi film industry, you are sure to grab all eyeballs.

This is the story of the "cute" onscreen couple Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, who are exceedingly busy these days attending press conferences and social dos…all for their film, "Saawariyaa".

Due to release just before Diwali, this Sanjay Leela Bhansali film has already raised hopes with its lavishly shot film promos. Though the crew is unwilling to reveal the plot of the film, it surely seems to be a must watch.

The release of the film may still be a month away but the producers of the two films have set their marketing machineries in fuill swing in a bid to woo the cinegoers.

While 'Om Shanti Om' tied up with Shopper's Stop for the merchandising of it's costumes, it was Pantaloon that tied up for the merchandising of clothes worn in 'Saawariya'.

The producers of 'Om Shanti Om' Red Chillies is in the process of signing a deal for promotion of the film in association with brands like Nokia and the cosmetics company Maybelline.

At the same time, producers of 'Saawariya', Sony Columbia Tristar Films have signed a in-film merchandise deal with Kishore Biyani's Future Group which involves a 'Saawariya' range of menswear, home products and beauty products to be retailed at Big Bazaar stores.

Sony Pictures have also signed a Rs five-crore contest-based promotion with Neo Sports for the ongoing India-Australia cricket series.

Only time will tell who will emerge the winner in this "clash of the titans". However, the ultimate winner in all this will be the business of films in India which will witness a heightened curiosity among cinegoers for the films and consequently increasing number of them heading for the cinema halls.

They say that firstly, life imitates art. We simply second that. And thirdly, what we have achieved with the help of our graphics team is to interchange the leading ladies of two of the most eagerly awaited films. And the results were far more 'believable' from the originals. And that's NOT an exaggeration!

We have just got 'two-gether' Saawariya and Om Shanti Om, and gave them some 'art-tistic' touch, and look what happened!

In reel-life, Deepika stars with SRK in Om Shanti Om and Sonam Kapoor stars with Ranbir Kapoor in Saawariya. We have merely interchanged the heroines and the end product looks nothing short of a Masterpiece! The irony of the situation is that Ranbir and Deepika were, apparently, an item in real life. With so much happening (read 'rumors' and 'plot revelations' etc…) in and around OSO, we just hope that Farah might just seek Divine intervention and blessings from OSHO!

If you think the swap of actresses looks interesting or otherwise, post your opinion out

Music of Aaja Nachle serves to be special. And the reasons are more than one.

a) Aaja Nachle is THE comeback film of Madhuri Dixit. Of course, there is no question of a compromise when it comes to music here.
b) The film's title. When a movie itself screams 'come dance', it should have enough ammunition in it's soundtrack to make you dance indeed.
c) The Yash Raj factor. After Jhoom Barabar Jhoom they desperately need a hit soundtrack. The need of the situation is much more than a single super successful track (Chak De India) or a critically appreciated album (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag).

Do the composer duo Salim-Sulaiman and lyricist team of Piyush Mishra, Jaideep Sahni and Asif Ali Beg do well to get the desired results? The way it turns out eventually is that the album isn't quite 'special' (as one would have hoped) but does have a few tunes which should make you play them on for some time to come at least. In the nutshell, is it a superhit album in the wings for Yash Raj Films? Not quite as they may have to wait longer!
Title song 'Aaja Nachle is the kind of track that Madhuri Dixit fans would have been waiting to see her in! This Piyush Mishra song has all in it that gives Madhuri ample opportunity to get into a 'jhatak-matak' act which is bound to be lapped up by her fans worldwide. A stage performance, ' Aaja Nachle' has a controlled Sunidhi Chauhan singing with aplomb. She gets the right 'ada' in her rendition hence doing well to suit the kind of image that Madhuri has built over the years.

With strong Indian classical influence, Salim-Sulaiman get the Indian mood right for this song that has a rustic edge to it and reminds one of Madhuri's own ' Chane Ke Khet Mein' from Anjaam. A sure shot popular track in the kitty for Madhuri here. The only song to find a repeat version in the album, 'Aaja Nachle' is heard in a 'reprise' version at the end of the album which is thankfully different from oh-so-common fly-a-dozen remix versions!

After some 'naach-gaana', it is time to get into a romantic mood with 'Ishq Hua'. With a young feel to it, this Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal sung track is a mix of poetry and conventional Hindi movie lyrics by Jaideep Sahni (also the writer of the film), all of which makes for a good listening.

Salim-Sulaiman get the melody working for this soothing track which is quite easy on ears, courtesy some soft arrangements. 'Ishq Hua' has a Yash Raj stamp all over it and has a certain cute element to it which should make it popular amongst kids as well!

It is a delight to hear Richa Sharma sing 'Show Me Your Jalwa' which is an addictive song from the word GO. Inspite of a jingle feel to it which sets you thinking about such music being heard in countless ads, it is hard to ignore the sheer rhythm on which the song is based.

With Kailash Kher and Salim Merchant as Richa's male singing partners, 'Show Me Your Jalwa' by Jaideep Sahni is truly rustic in appeal and brings the feeling of a small town setting well in spite of the catch line of the song being in English. While Richa is just perfect in her rendition here, she also sets the right platform for Madhuri to actually 'show her jalwa'.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the man from whom one tends to expect a lot whenever his name appears in credits, croons 'O Re Piya'. Jaideep Sahni is at the helm of writing for third song in a row which is not really a kind of romantic number which one expects from Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. A situational track with shades of a 'qawalli' setting, ' O Re Piya' takes some time to register itself in the mind of a listener.

Yet another number which is easy on ears, 'O Re Piya' would be enjoyed more with the narrative rather than being played out loud before one has witnessed the situation in the film where the song appears. A song that boasts of good quality but doesn't quite make for a popular track in the offering.

If there is one thing that strikes most about 'Soniye Mil Ja', it is the sound of 'ahas' and 'ohos' which gets the celebration mood rolling. Madhuri Dixit's singing is another good reason to give ' Soniye Mil Ja' a hearing since she adds certain spunk to the proceedings with Sunidhi Chauhan pitching in with a bit as well.

A track about arrival of youth which in turn is a matter of celebration, ' Soniye Mil Ja' is yet another rooted number which finds its base in the interiors of the country and would be appreciated more after one has seen it with the movie. Also, Piyush Mishra's lyrics are different from 'pyaar-mohabbat' routine and instead talk about situations in simple words sans any complications with incidents from everyday life.

After 'Ishq Hua', 'Is Pal' is the second hardcore romantic track to arrive in the album. Yet again, the singing 'jodi' is the same with Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal though the lyricist changes from Jaideep Sahni to Piyush Mishra. In fact, the overall mood created by ' Is Pal' is similar to that of 'Ishq Hua' and if you a die hard romantic, it may not be a bad idea to put both the songs together in a repeat mood and play them for hours at stretch. No, 'Is Pal' may not be the next chartbuster track in the offering but those who swear by melodious music and love to be entertained with soothing numbers, this is just the right one!

An out and out situational track which is perhaps made for a situation for a stage performance in Aaja Nachle comes in the form of 'Koi Patthar Se Na Maare'. Musically, this one written by Piyush Mishra is the weakest of the lot musically as it hardly comes with a retention value. A slow moving pensive number with Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam at the helm, ' Koi Patthar Se Na Maare' gets poetic but tests the patience of a listener who till this point was enjoying a mix of melody and rhythm in the offering. Skip this one.

New find Sonia Saigal croons the English track ' Dance With Me' penned by Asif Ali Beg who in the past has written for films like Neal N Nikki, Dhoom 2 and Victoria No. 203 amongst others. Surprisingly, the dance number here isn't quite the kind which makes you go 'wow' and play the track in a repeat mode. The song sounds like an 80s disco track and even the arrangements are hardly the kind which suit the grandeur of a Yash Raj setting. Very average with all hopes centered on the eventual picturisation of the song!

In the end, one still feels that there could have been more to the film's soundtrack to make it outstanding, something which is not really the case. One misses the presence of something exceptional the music of Aaja Nachle; not quite an unreasonable demand to begin with! Of course 'Koi Patthar Se Na Maare' and 'Dance With Me' don't really make you go for that 'repeat' option but then there are definite hits like Aaja Nachle and 'Show Me Your Jalwa waiting to explode with good melodies like 'Ishq Hua' and 'Is Pal' sure to catch the fancy of those who are in love.

The big fight between the two Diwali releases Om Shanti Om and Saawariya continues. While their media lau-nches are going at par—if OSO's Deepika Padukone grooved on ZeeTV's SaReGa-MaPa Challenge 2007, then the Saawariya newbies Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor enthralled all on Amul Star Voice of India. If OSO tied up with Shopper's Stop to launch two clotheslines based on its theme, Saawariya has a merchandise tie-up from bed sheets to wardrobe with Future Group. However, on the music front, the scales as of now seem to be tipped slightly in favour of OSO.

That could also be courtesy its music release happening a week prior to Saawariya. "While OSO debuted by topping Planet M's national sales charts for two weeks, Saawariya was number one last week. However, current week's sales have once again put OSO on top riding on Dard-e-disco," reveals a source from the music retail chain Planet M, Mumbai. The top draw in the Saawariya album, however, happens to be it's mesmerising title track, which according to Monty is also director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's favourite song from the film.

While the producers battle it out for the release strategy for the two films, the music shops could not be happier with the clash. "There's been a 25 per cent boost on total album sales of Planet M nationally courtesy the sales of the music albums of OSO and Saawariya alone. The numbers are phenomenal. Both these albums have notched up a near 100 per cent rise in terms of sheer volumes over any film album released in the last six months," says Planet M sources.

For trivia enthusiasts, Team Vishal and Shekhar finished the OSO compositions in a week. On the other hand, for Saawariya's debut music director, Monty, it has been a two-and-a-half year journey with perfectionist director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. But making music for OSO was also not easy, especially when it came to musically match its protagonists' onscreen journey from the 1977 to 2007. "The songs are lavish, with Pyarelal bhai arranging the music for Dhoom tana like the elaborate orchestrations of yore. However, the title track, which was recorded in Prague with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, was the most challenging," says Shekhar.

The efforts are already showing on popularity charts. "OSO's music sales have been rocking. In fact, after Main Hoon Na, this is the only commercial film of a Shah Rukh album in a long time and was eagerly awaited by all his fans," says Vinod Bhanushali, VP, marketing and promotions, Super Cassettes Ind. Ltd.

This may be music for Team OSO but the real battle is still ahead on November 9, when the films finally release.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming movie, Saawariya is now rocking in Indian media. With its two star debutants, Sonam Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, all of them are now the headlines of news. Monty Sharma, music director of Saawariya, has already got lots of positive response from the fans for his impressive performance with the music tracks of Saawariya.

It is reported that Monty Sharma has taken two years to complete the songs of the movie. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has fame for his perfectionist mentality. He wants everything in the right place and in right combination. So, Monty had to work hard with the songs of the movie. Now, having seen lots of positive response for the audio tracks of Saawariya, Monty thinks that his efforts in Saawariya have paid off. Well, the movie will be released on 9 November and it is yet to see if Saawariya can live up to the expectations of Bollywood fans.

Shooting for Ugly Aur Pagli has been quite an experience for Mallika Sherawat. Recently, the actress and Ranvir Shorey were chased by a bull while riding a scooter for a scene.

Mallika, who was riding the scooter, froze when she realised that a bull was chasing them. What's worse is that it was her first time on a scooter. Even Ranvir, who was riding pillion, didn't know what to do.

Remembering the incident, Ranvir laughs, "While riding the scooter, Mallika was required to hoot loudly. When she started hooting, a bull on the streets got petrified, turned around and started chasing us. Mallika was so scared she threw her hands up in the air, saying 'I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do!' That's when I grabbed the handle of the bike and managed to save ourselves. Thankfully, the bull gave up and stopped following us. Neither of us were wearing red, but the bike was red."