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.

Thumbs up! This pretty much sums up the review of the movie. To read what magic has Sanjay Leela Bhansali spun this time around, please click on 'Read more'.

Masha-Allah! What happens when a director who has given us Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas, and most importantly Black, wants to celebrate love and life? The answer is sheer poetry . Saawariya takes you into a world which has beauty dripping from each and every frame of the movie. The director has hit his audience in the secret corners of their heart for this is a movie which celebrates the various aspects of love: madness, jealousy, rage, wait and above all love itself. With Sanjay Leela Bhansali at the helm of affairs, he completely overpowers you with his vision, and this is where the negative reviews of the movie find birth: the movie can only be understood by people who have actually fallen in love. It is not your run of the mill boy-meets-girl-overcome-problems-happy-ending story. It is that fable which will tug you gently at the heart and may even leave you miffed with a few questions for the seemingly bizarre climax.

New in town singer Ranbir is a happy go lucky person who arrives in search of his own destination love. Sakina aka Sonam is a girl who is living in her past and after a chance encounter with Ranbir she is torn between her past and present. A lissome prostitute Gulabji, played by Rani Mukherji watches the ups and downs of their strange love and Iman is played by Salman Khan, in a short role as the man behind it all.

The last time any actor made such an impressive debut was Hrithik Roshan with Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, seven years back. Though he is not to be compared with the superstar Roshan, this time you have Ranbir Kapoor carrying a movie on his shoulders like no other newcomer in a long, long time. He is lovable with his desperately-in-love act, and gets your attention bang on. After watching the movie you will get to know why the whole industry sang praises for him on the premiere night. Though pretty (tall) gal Sonam isn't as impressive as Ranbir himself, she does her own act well. And then you have Zohra Sehgal who lends great support in a brilliant act, though you wish there was more of Begum Para to be seen in the movie. But it is Rani Mukherji who will surprise you with her guest appearance. She is so lovable in her act.

Based on the novel White Nights, Sanjay plays the entire story in night time without making you feel claustrophobic at any point. His vision is so captivating that each and every frame of the movie has something to look out for, be it the sets which are the best part virtually, or the costumes which are aptly donned by the stars in each shot and sequence alike. The movie has been entirely shot in night sequences which can be easily understood when Sanjay brings the dark corners to life and, when the climax is over, the viewer might get an inkling as to why the director chose to do his whole movie in such devoid of sunlight parts. The Venitian themed sets are visually very enriching and you just HAVE to watch them on the big screen, for you are sure to fall in love with t hem.The songs of the movie are short yet beautifully choreographed and take the story forward in most cases though three songs in quick succession during the start of the movie might irk some of the viewers. But it is the performances which capture you the most.

Here are some of the problems which have made Saawariya the bashing toy of a handful of critics - argument is that they don't know which part of the world is this picturesque town located. Who cares? There have been too many movies with completely artificial backdrops, but Sanjay's town will mesmerise you and make you crave for one to be there in real. Argument two - What is the reason for Salman and Sonam's love's survival for so long? In that case Veer from Veer Zaara was totally stupid to have virtually spent his whole life thinking that his sacrifice saved his love, and Devdas should have eloped with Paro putting an end to all the drama that ensued in Sanjay's own Devdas, singing to her "main tujhko bhaga laya hun tere ghar se, apne baap ke darr se". Argument three - Salman disappears suddenly, why? The movie is not about Salman. It is about a young lad Ranbir who looks at the bright side of life, spreads cheers around, and one day falls in love with a girl who isn't really his, and what follows is the many travails of love lost and love found. Salman in a very short cameo might be annoying to some viewers, but the movie was never meant to focus on his history and why he disappeared. Why does Rani lose her temper when Ranbir comes to her? So you are arguing that a good-at-heart prostitute shouldn't have enough intelligence to shoo away a broken heart so she can save him from falling in love with a plastic flower! The last argument, on the climax, can again be justified on the fact that the movie celebrates the moments between love lost and found, and lost again. When did Sanjay deliver run-of-the-mill stuff by the way? But in case you have seen Sanjay Leela Bhansali's previous movies, you won't be so baffled and this is probably the reason why the young audience in the age of changing soulmates like clothes, might find it difficult to associate with the movie.

And this is the movie which is meant to be watched by all those who have fallen in love, especially if their love wasn't successful or suffered a blow from life's own twists and tales. So if you have ever fallen in love, or even if you haven't, go and experience how love drives you crazy and how you savour each and ever moment that you spend, or spent with your Saawariya .

Not only is Farah Khan's OM SHANTI OM ruling the domestic box-office scene, it is also doing record breaking business in the Overseas.

As per the first weekend numbers, the Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Shreyas Talpade and Arjun Rampal starrer has grossed an unbelievable $1,764,131 in 3-days from the US. In doing so, OM SHANTI OM has smashed the previous weekend record, for a Hindi movie in the US. What is coincidental is that the record of $1,351,786 was previously held by another Shah Rukh Khan starrer, KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA (2006). It will be interesting to see if OM SHANTI OM can break the highest US grosser record of $3,129,779, also held by KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA.

OM SHANTI OM is also expected to break the current year record of $2,096,000, set by the Mani Ratnam's Abhishek, Aishwarya starrer, GURU. And that in less a week!

Coming to the performance of the other 'Diwali' release, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's SAAWARIYA, the movie has also performed very well. During the first weekend, the Ranbir-Sonam starrer has grossed a healthy $542,192 from the US.

American pop trio THE CHEETAH GIRLS are going Bollywood after deciding to film their third TV movie in India.
The Disney girl group wanted to shoot the film in an exotic location, so their fans could see what the Asian sub-continent looks like.
Singer Adrienne Bailon says, "On 12 January, we go to India. It's The Cheetah Girls in Bollywood.
"The cool thing about our jobs is that we're best friends and we get to travel. I think that for a lot of kids who may never be able to go to these places, we get to bring a whole new world into living rooms."