Putting an end to all the speculations as to who would star opposite Arjun Kapoor in YRF’s next project ‘Aurangjeb’, the production house has announced the name of Salma Agha’s daughter Sasha Agha as their female lead. Sasha’s original name is Zara Agha Khan. The 19- year-old Pakistani beauty will play a glamorous role in Aurangzeb, which is being directed by debutant director Atul Sabharwal. The film has Arjun in a double role and also features south Indian superstar Prithviraj. Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Amrita Singh also play important roles in the film.
Salma Agha had made her debut with B.R. Chopra’s Nikaah in 1982 and interestingly enough, her daughter is making a debut with YRF, the production house of B.R. Chopra’s younger brother Yash Chopra.
Sasha came in the news for all the wrong reasons last year when an MMS clip that allegedly featured her and struggler Ruslaan Mumtaaz engrossed in a passionate kiss went viral.
Meanwhile, Sasha is gearing up for her grand Bollywood debut. She is undertaking rigorous workouts, dance lessons and diction classes. The shooting of the movie began mid-August, and the movie is scheduled for an early 2013 release.
Sasha Agha
While Madhur Bhandarkar wanted to keep Shilpi Sharma under wraps as the surprise package of his ambitious project ‘Heroine’, we give you the ins and outs of this actress who is said to have given a promising performance in the film. Shilpa is not a debutant for Bollywood and has already worked in ‘Jo Bole So Nihaal’ and ‘Style’ and also endorsed several brands.
Bollywood has been a drawing factor for Shilpi who has no filmi background. She says, “I have always wanted to be a part of the film industry but I had no real connections. I didn’t know how I would get my first break.”
Expressing her gratitude to Bhandarkar for giving her this opportunity, Shilpi says, “Madhur happened to be a family friend and when he called me, he told me just one thing, that he wasn’t doing me a favour (by offering me this role) due to our family connections. And even though there were many others who could be considered, he felt that I suited the role perfectly and would do justice to the same.”
When Shilpi was given a call for the film, she had to leave for Delhi because of the father’s ill health. Madhur promised that he would wait for her return. Shilpi too k almost a month to come back and she thought that she had lost the opportunity. But the film got delayed due to unfortunate circumstances and the role fell into Shilpi’s hands.
Shilpi is all praises for her co-stars and says, “He (Arjun Rampal) made me feel very comfortable on the sets of the film and we got along really well. Initially, I was quite nervous mouthing my dialogues in front of him but later I managed them with ease.”
“Kareena is an amazing actress and seeing her act also makes you want to give your best,” she adds.
Well, the Bhatts believe strongly in their sequels. While their ‘Jism 2’ is showing great prospects in its first week at box-office and ‘Raaz 3’ ready to hit the screens, the Bhatts have already hinted at their intention of making the third sequel of ‘Jism’.
‘Jism’ had Bipasha Basu playing the seductress and was replaced by Sunny Leone in its sequel. However, Pooja Bhatt has hinted at the fact that ‘Jism 3’ may cast Nathalia Kaur in the lead. Nathalia has already made her debut in Bollywood with RGV’s ‘Department’. Moreover, Pooja Bhatt has also revealed that Nathalia was the mystery girl (and not Sunny Leone) under the wet sheet in the first poster of ‘Jism 2’. Pooja Bhatt also does not rule out the probability that Jism 3 will have not one but two actresses.
“When it was revealed that it was Nathalia who shot for the poster, Mahesh Bhatt saab texted me about casting her in the next installment. You just can’t ignore his suggestions,” Pooja Bhatt says adding that Sunny may or may not feature in ‘Jism 3’.
“It is too early to tell. When I was making the second film, everyone asked if Bipasha would be in it and now everyone is asking if Sunny will be in the next. The most exciting thing for me is to create a new fantasy,” she said.
Jackie Shroff’s son, Tiger Shroff, is all set for a grand debut in Bollywood with Sajid Nadiawala’s film, putting an end to the rumours which said that Aamir Khan would be the launching pad for Tiger Shroff. The film will be directed by Sabbir Khan. What caught our attention is the title of the film ‘Heropanti’ which bears a striking resemblance to Jackie’s debut film ‘Hero’.
Jackie Shroff made his debut in Bollywood thirty years back with Subhash Ghai’s Hero in 1982 and the film made him a superstar overnight.
Confirming the title of the film, director Sabbir Khan says, “Yes, the title is Heropanti and the title came from the character of the boy that Tiger plays. The character is little above the ordinary. In normal life, we all follow the set norms and rules. We do not move out of the box but Tiger is someone who is flamboyant and does what he wants to.”
Khan adds, “Also the fact is that he is Jaggudada’s son and we could not have got a more apt title. It was a title that Sajidbhai and I came up with. We are still finalising the female lead and will start the film next month.”
Kangana Ranaut has stepped into the role of a director with a short untitled film which has been shot in Los Angeles and revolves around the subject of a dog and a four year old boy. The story of the film has been written in collaboration with an Australian writer and has an all-American cast and crew.
Kangana underwent a lot of preparation for the best outcome. She not only held a number of workshops but also went through the subject of child psychology to help connect with the character of the kid in the film. She reveals, “It took six months of thorough groundwork. I was advised not to work with kids and animals, but my script demanded it. Kaden (the boy) is very little. We had to place hidden cameras, play games, and pretend to be aliens and trees in order to get him in the frame (laughs)! But it was fun, he is adorable. The dog was well-trained and not difficult to work with.”
Kangana feels that acting and directing both have appealed to her equally and she would not be able to point out which of the fields appeals her more. “This is like asking me to choose between apples and oranges… I love them both in a unique way…. But working with an international cast and crew was an amazing experience,” she says
Former Miss India Sarah Jane Dias Is making her Bollywood debut with the adult comedy ‘Kya Super Kool Hain Hum’. The actress is seen super excited and full of energy during the promotional events for the flick. However, one such promotional event at Faridabad in New Delhi turned out to be a nightmare for the newbie as she was struck by a stone on her face by one of the on lookers.
Incidentally, Sarah was on stage with co-stars Riteish Deshmukh, Tusshar Kapoor and Neha Sharma at the promotional event in Crown Interiorz Mall when a group of guys flung a sharp, pointed stone at the stars which hit Sarah’s face. Sarah immediately left the stage and the injury caused a swelling on her face. Both Sarah and Neha cancelled their performance owing to this unfortunate turn of events.
A disappointed Riteish addressed on stage saying, “This kind of behavior from the crowd was not expected. We are extremely disappointed.”
Later Sarah expressed her anger and frustration through her Twitter account where she wrote:
“A stone was thrown at me on stage in Faridabad, it hit and hurt my lip, for the first time in my life, I’m truly ashamed of our people.”
“It’s deeply disheartening to have to say horrible things about my country… but this was uncouth and had it have been someone ‘more important’ it would not have gone down well,” she added.
All we are waiting for is the movie to hit the screens. A good box office collection would probably be the best answer to such nuisance…..
Made under the direction of Rakesh Ranjan Kumar and with Imran Zahid in the lead role, forthcoming ‘Marksheet’ will see the launch of yet another foreign hottie in the tinsel town. Talking about Jeddah born and London bred Wardah Khan, the well-known model has bagged in a pivotal role in this flick which is based on the drawbacks on our current education system.
Wardah plays a girl who comes to India from New York and her role has a lot of sensuous appeal in it. Talking about her role in the project, Wardah says, “I play a girl who has come to India from New York. It’s a role I can relate to. My character is a very sensual woman.”
Wardah has her eyes set on playing longer innings in Bollywood for which she plans to improve her Hindi and shift base to Mumbai. “I always wanted to be an actress and be a part of Bollywood. Modelling was just the beginning of it. It is very tough to get into the film industry. I am glad I have made it finally,” she says.
Bipasha Basu and designer Rocky S are known to be old and very good friends in the industry. Bipasha has been the designer’s showstopper at many fashion shows including the recently held Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. So, when the designer launched his maiden production venture titled ‘Main Anna Nahin Hoon’, it came as a surprise when he did not take any of his star friends in the cast including Bipasha Basu. He, instead, chose to sign in actors like Prashant Narayanan, Rajendra Gupta, Rajesh Shirganpare and Sammer Dharman Adhikari for the lead roles.
Explaining the reason for signing lesser known actors and emphasizing on the fact that he has not had a fall out with Bips or anyone else, Rocky S said, “I wanted my first venture to be a small budget film, so that I could learn the ropes and move up eventually. In the past few years scores of small budget films with unknown but good actors have performed better. It’s basically the content that makes a film work.”
While the movie deals with exposing people’s hypocrisy as a society with regard to Anna’s agitation, Rocky stresses on the fact that he holds Anna Hazare in high esteem. “The film does not disrespect Anna in any way. He is shown to be an honest and great person in the film. The hypocrisy with which people approach his agitations is the crux of the film,” he says.
Rocky says that his next project would be an out and out commercial flick with big bidget and big names.
“My next venture will be a big budget film with the best names in the industry! Everything is yet under cover, as our team is working on it, and right now saying much about anything does not do it justice. The only thing constant is the director Manish Gupta with whom I’ve forged a long-working relationship. And I’m sure, together we can create landmark cinema,” he says.
Shoojit Sircar, the director of ‘Vicky Donor’, gave the industry and pretty and talented face with Yami Gautam. Now, the director is set to launch yet another new face with 38-year-old Sheetal Mallar debuting opposite John Abraham in his forthcoming ‘Jaffna’, a political thriller.
Sheetal is a known name in the modelling industry and is now keen on taking up photography as a career these days. So, when Shoojit came up to her with his unconventional love story, Sheetal was quite reluctant to accept the project. It was only after much persuasion that the director was able to convince her that she suited the role just perfectly.
We have seen Shoojit’s perfect choice with Yami in ‘Vicky Donor’. So, when he chooses a 38 year old model above all other young and talented Bollywood ladies, there must be a reason behind, we believe!!
Sheetal Mallar
Pantaloons Femina Miis India World 2012 Vanya Mishra from Chandigarh is awaiting her big test with the Miss World contest which will take place on August 18 contest in China. She is really motivated with Himangini Singh Yadu’s victory as Miss Asia Pacific and says, “Every win at an international pageant is a proud moment for India. At this time I’m just focussed on my Miss World title and I hope I win millions of heart with the win.”
“I am all set for D-day. The preparation is going in full swing. You are groomed from head to toe to compete with other representatives from different countries. I’m definitely going to put my best foot forward,” she said.
Vanya says that the grooming sessions were really tough for her as she had to manage with her engineering studies as well. “Well, definitely it’s difficult for a girl of my age to get into the mode of 13 days of strenuous grooming session. I am an engineering student, I can easily bunk my classes, but I was not allowed to bunk grooming sessions. It was difficult, but I am satisfied with the outcome. It helped in exploring hidden beauty,” she said.
As for her plans to enter Bollywood, Vanya says that she has other things to focus on at present. “I love glamour, but I haven’t given thought to entering Bollywood as of now. I was just the student and then I became Miss India, so it’s too early for me to plan future. I just expect and hope to win the international crown. My main focus is international pageant,” she said.
Karishma Tanna started her career with superhit telly soap ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and became a known face on the smaller screen. Then, she also did quite a few other television serials. She appeared on the silver screen with Akshay Kumar-Bobby Deol starrer ‘Dosti: Friends Forever’ in 2005 and also did a few films down South.
Now, the actress gets another big opportunity as she bags in the lead role opposite Vivek Oberoi in Soham Shah’s upcoming period drama which is based on the life of gangster Sharman Munjha. Karishma role is that of a simple Gujarati girl.
Karishma is all elated about the project and says, “I was keen to work with the makers of the film as well as Sanjay Dutt and Vivek as I knew that it would be a good experience.”
“We are all are playing Gujaratis in the film and I will be seen in chania cholis and ghagras,” she added.
Shraddha Kapoor, daughter of actor Shakti Kapoor and Shivangi Kolhapuri, made her Bollywood debut with ‘Teen Patti’ alongside Amitabh Bachchan. Then she had a three-film deal with YRF films under which she featured in ‘Luv Ka The End’ which was a disaster at the box-office. Then came a year long wait for Shraddha and there was no development at the YRF camp. Then, Shraddha got a call from Mahesh Bhatt’s production house and she was offered Aashiqui 2 which she accepted.
When things with ‘Aashiqui 2’ were being finalized, YRF offered Shraddha another flick ‘Aurangzeb’ opposite Arjun Kapoor, which also required the same dates. Shraddha made her choice and joined the Bhatt camp with Aashiqui 2 without taking the consent from her production company. As such YRF were extremely upset with her and have asked her to leave.
The spokesperson of YRF said, “Shraddha was not a part of Aurangzeb and she has parted ways amicably as we had no films to offer her at this stage.”
‘Aashiqui 2’ under Vishesh Films will feature Shraddha in a sensual and interesting role in the sequel. Shraddha confirms: “Yes, I am the new Aashiqui girl.”
Besides Shraddha, the sequel will star Aditya Roy Kapoor, who is best known for his work in films like Guzaarish (2010) and Action Replayy (2010).
