Mumbai, Nov 16  Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and director Farah Khan Friday said "sorry" to Manoj Kumar for what he perceived as his humiliation in a scene in the recently-released "Om Shanti Om". But the legendary actor is reportedly unmoved.

According to Bollywood trade sources, Manoj Kumar has not accepted the apology yet.

"The two (Shah Rukh and Farah) will be required to do a lot more to convince him to forgive and forget," the trade sources told  Friday night.

Mumbai : Cine star Shahrukh Khan on Friday tendered an unqualified apology to thespian Manoj Kumar for making a spoof on the latter in his latest release `Om Shanti Om' while the film's director Farah Khan offered to delete the offending scene.

Addressing a hurriedly-called press conference here, Khan and Farah said they had no intention to hurt the veteran actor's sentiments and they were only making a parody.

Apologising to Kumar, the Bollywood superstar said "I was completely wrong...If if he is hurt, I apologise."

"I called him in the afternoon and the first thing he said to me was "it is no big deal, son", Khan said.

"People do parody...it is a done thing," Khan further said, adding Kumar had every right to say anything to him.

Khan's apology came soon after Kumar threatened to take legal action over a sequence in the hit movie, which spoofs the film world of 1970s.

Khan plays the lead role in the movie which is his home production under the banner of Red Chillies Entertainment.

Farah said she offered to delete the particular scene from the film but the veteran actor said there was no need for it.

Just as one thought that all the hype surrounding Om Shanti Om has slowly settled, here comes yet another interesting bit of news regarding the film. The 'Bharat' of Bollywood, Manoj Kumar, is really upset at the way he has been made fun of in the Shah Rukh Khan starrer and is even planning to sue Farah and Shah Rukh Khan.

Om Shanti Om, which is based on the Hindi film industry of the 70's shows a scene in which a Manoj Kumar look-alike is not allowed to enter the premiere of a film by the cops as they can't recognise him. Although Farah Khan had informed Manoj Kumar that she would be using a body-double of him, the actor claimed that never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would be portrayed in such bad light.

However, when contacted, Farah Khan was quite amused at the allegations and said that they never meant to show any disrespect and that she herself was a huge Manoj Kumar fan. She also added that it was all done in good humour.

Soha Ali Khan.

Mumbai,  Sharmila Tagore shocked all and sundry by wearing a two-piece bikini in An Evening in Paris, but she has a very different approach towards daughter Soha Ali Khan and tells her how to fight off the minimal-clothes menace.

"She told me that if producers want me to get into a bikini just because she did so once, I'm supposed to say, 'My mom made some mistakes. I won't repeat them.' There are some things which I don't need to be told not to do, just as I've my own list of dos," Soha told IANS

It took Soha's glamorous mother quite a long time to go from Satyajit Ray to a glamorous double role in Shakti Samanta's An Evening In Paris.

But Soha is already there in less than a year and will be seen in a double role in Aparna Sen's next.

"And the best part is mom too is part of the film. So it will be great fun to shoot. It will also be my first film with a female director, and I'm really looking forward to being directed by a woman," said Soha whose period love story "Khoya Khoya Chand" is ready to hit the screens soon.

Soha got rave reviews for her performance as the stifled bride in a feudal household in Rituparno Ghosh's Antarmahal. She had a lot of difficult, explicit scenes with Jackie Shroff in the movie.

"They may look difficult to the spectator. But they weren't that tough to do. Rituda showed me exactly what to do. My co-star Jackie was far more nervous and embarrassed than I was. He told my mother he'd never be able to do those scenes if she was around on the sets. We took every precaution. Everyone except the immediate crew and cast was ordered out of the sets. Rituda took good care of me. It didn't seem tough. "

Soha makes no bones about her aspirations as an actor.

"I'm not too old in the industry, still finding my way around. I can't say whether I'm cut out for 'Shaadi No. 1' or 'Antarmahal'. Ideally I'd like to do both kinds of cinema, just like my mom did. There're some things I won't be comfortable doing.

"Sometimes I feel I belong to another era. That's when 'Antarmahal' seems like my cup of tea. Then again I want to do a young contemporary girl's role because that's what I'm in real life. In 'Rang De Basanti', I played a young college-going girl. I like that."

Rani Mukerji.

Pune, Nov 14  The district collector of Ahmednagar, Umakant Dangat, Wednesday ordered an enquiry into the reported purchase of agricultural land by Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji.

Dangat told IANS: "Rani Mukerji's father had come here a few days ago to have the land registered in their names but the land was already allotted for farming purposes."

The district's sub divisional officer has sent an inquiry notice to Rani with respect to the land, which she had allegedly purchased from an agent named Sampat More in village Nimba Korchali, about 400 km from Mumbai.

Dangat said the size of the land is 11 guntas (one fourth of an acre). However, the cost of the land hasn't been determined yet.

Rani reportedly paid Rs 33 lakh in December 2005 for the farmland near Shirdi in Maharashtra, not realizing the land is non transferable.

She even registered the sale deed paying Rs 1.32 lakh stamp duty in the district tehsildar office. The tehsildar now says ownership of the land cannot be transferred to Rani since it is government land leased out to a farmer.

The deal has been scrapped by the district collector.

"They should have inquired before getting into a transaction," said Dangat.

The sub divisional officer will scrutinize the records of the parties involved and pass an order thereafter.

Sampat More is now reportedly willing to return the money to Rani. The land was purchased in the name of Rani's father Ram Mukherjee.

Seventeen other people in the area have been duped in land cases in a similar manner.

Here, in the wake of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya getting a royal flogging from critics, is a look at some other films that haven't managed to go the distance -- at least the distance expected from them.

Deepika padukone at the launch of Parachute oil.

Bollywood debutant star Deepika Padukone, brand ambassador for Parachute hair oil, unveiled the Parachute Massager at Taj President, Mumbai, Tuesday, November 13, afternoon.

Deepika looked presentable but understated in a belted brown skinny denims with white classic shirt, high heeled pumps and large silver hoops.

Following the success of Om Shanti Om (OSO), Deepika is being increasingly sought by the consumer industry to promote their products.

The Bangalore based model, who was recently in the capital to launch a designer clothing store, now commands a brand valuation of over Rs 80 lakh post-OSO. She was earlier paid Rs 15-20 lakh for every advertisement, reports the Economic Times.

Deepika padukone at the launch of Parachute oil.

"Her brand valuation is now in the bracket of top actresses. If not the same, her valuation is close to top actresses in the industry," says Pooja Dadlani, VP of Bling Entertainment, celebrity management agency for Deepika Padukone.

Deepika's big ticket endorsements include Liril, Close-Up, Levi's Strauss Signature, Limca, Maybelline and Kingfisher Airlines.

The buzz this year has revolved around Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor on the new comer end or Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra on the established star end. In the midst, Katrina Kaif's endearing screen presence has been noticed but not adequately acknowledged.

Katrina, 23, has delivered three back to back big hits this year with Namastey London, Partner and Apne, which is more than what Aishwarya Rai or Priyanka Chopra have done.

In all the three films her presence tended to linger in the mind a lot longer than say Vidya Balan's performance in a big hit like Heyy Babyy. We are saying this despite being unabashed Vidya Balan fans.

Yet the Indian press is inclined to treat Katrina more as a Salman accessory than one of the most outstanding talents of 2007.

Earlier this year Katrina and Salman appeared together on public platforms suggesting a deepening romance. There were persistent media stories that a wedding was in the offing with some reports pinning it on Christmas day.

"People have been writing about Salman and me for the past five years. There's no issue to talk about and that is what I've been saying all this while," Katrina says

It has now been quiet some time since a media story suggested a Salman - Katrina wedding is on the cards.

Going by public appearances, the romance, if it was ever there, has run its course.

Katrina says "I'm too young" for marriage.

"I have a lot of stuff to do before I get married. I'm trying to settle my family in London. And you never know how things turn out in the long run."

What Katrina has going for her is natural talent and good looks. Her screen presence is consistently endearing.

What she does not have going for her is her British accent. As long as she is playing a NRI it goes but when playing the role of a girl in India it is limiting.

In the past Katrina has used someone else's voice in her films but lately she has been keen to use her own. We are not very sure that is a good move on her part just yet.

Katrina's forthcoming films include Main Yuvraj in which she is paired for the first time opposite Salman Khan and Race in which she is paired opposite Akshaye Khanna.

Not the mane event... Lions for Lambs
 

MUMBAI: Saavn has partnered with the Bollywood Music and Fashion Awards, which is now in its eighth year.   With this new partnership, Saavn and the Bollywood Group deliver even more of the South Asian content to audiences.

Saavn is a web community and social network that connects people through a common interest - South Asian content. Members can take view Bollywood and other South Asian film, music, television, sports and events on Saavn.com.

The Bollywood Group will also showcase the Saavn and Verizon Wireless contest where Saavn and Verizon are flying one lucky winner and a guest to India to meet actor Shah Rukh Khan, with the "Verizon, Shah Rukh and YOU!" contest. The prize includes two roundtrip airline tickets from the United States to Mumbai for an exclusive meeting with Khan.

"Saavn and Bollywood Group share a common vision, and that is to bring the best of Bollywood to fans all over the world, be that through live shows, movie distribution or ringtones on cell phones. Together, we can increase the visibility of Bollywood to an even greater extent and we find that tremendously exciting," said Bollywood Group vice president Rajiv Dandona.