Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sakshi Singh Rawat marital life Bollywood celebrities, cricketers congratulate Dhoni

Many Bollywood celebrities and cricketers today wished Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sakshi Singh Rawat all the best for their marital life. Dhoni tied the wed-knot with childhood friend Sakshi tonight in a private ceremony attended only by family members and close friends, including a few of his team-mates, at a farmhouse, about 25 km from Dehradun. Bollywood actresses Bipasha Basu, Shilpa Shetty and legendary playback singer Asha Bhonsle congratulated Dhoni and Sakshi in their twitter account. ''Congratulations in order to Mahi and Sakshi, wishing them all the happiness and marital bliss forever..,'' Shilpa wrote on her twitter account. ''Wishing Mahi and Sakshi a very happy life together forever. Sad that I can't be there,'' wrote Bipasha. Bollywood actor John Abraham, a close friend of Dhoni, wrote, ''In Dehradun for Dhoni's marriage. All the best to couple.'' Meanwhile, Bhonsle, wrote ''Heard news that Dhoni got engaged. Best wishes to him.'' Dhoni's teammate Yuvraj Singh also wished him and Sakshi a great life ahead. ''Got to know Mahi is getting married! Congratulations Dhoni and Sakshi. Hope u have a great life together. God bless!! Mahi and family,'' Yuvraj wrote on his twitter page. Former skipper Kapil Dev also congratulated Dhoni. ''It is a fantastic news. I wish his married life can be much better than cricketing career,'' Kapil said.

Aamir creates confusion on Twitter

What do you expect when a big star like Aamir Khan join social networking site? Thousands of crazy fans trying to have a piece of him, right? That's what exactly happened on June 29 when Aamir joined the micro-blogging site Twitter. His followers almost touched 50,000 in just two days and over 70,000 on the third day, but there was lots of confusion among his fans.

Why? Because there were two usernames @aamir_khan and @aamir_khanAamir. It was difficult to find out which one was the real ID, as both were active and tweets were same. However, the truth slowly started surfacing with time. This is what the latest tweets on the latter username read, “this is not real aamir...real ID of aamir is @aamir_khan ...lolz,” adding, “# somebody made this account and deleted or changed his username...i just overtook this username...”


The tweets between Aamir Khan and other Bollywood actors also exposed his real Twitter ID. “Morning ! Told you of the 'madness' you would create .. barely 2 days and over 70,000 followers.. that's immense,” tweeted Amitabh Bachchan, to which Aamir replied, “Thanks to you, sir.”

I Hate Luv Storys - Review

The first thing that attracts you to I Hate Luv Storys is its title. Let's face it, we adore love stories... at least I do. We idolise the characters decades after the movies have come and gone. The songs that come on our lips instantly while playing a game of antakshri are romantic songs as well. In fact, the biggest moneyspinners, let's face it, have been love stories, right? So how can we 'hate' a love story?

Buzz up!
No matter how mushy or cheesy they are, we find love stories irresistible because of the tremendous rush we experience at the end. Some of us are big suckers for love sagas, aren't we? That's precisely the reason why this title (I Hate Luv Storys) nagged me no end every time I watched the promo of this film.


Helmed by first-timer Punit Malhotra, I Hate Luv Storys is aypical candyfloss romance with a story that's not jaw-droppingly different, let me forewarn you. But if you're young at heart or a diehard and hopeless romantic, you'd lap up I Hate Luv Storys like a kid laps up his fav candy.

Now to the vital question: If I Hate Luv Storys rests on a thin plot, what is it that drives the film for the next two hours? My answer to that is, four factors: The fresh pairing and chemistry between the lead cast, tremendous youth appeal, terrific music and magical moments that make a love story work.

Final word? The makers have never claimed that I Hate Luv Storys will change the face of Hindi cinema. Nor did they ever claim that I Hate Luv Storys will change the mindset of the viewer towards romantic films. So let's sit back and enjoy the fun ride. This one's by the youth, for the youth. It's this age-group that would come out smiling, cheering and rooting for this prem kahani.

'I hate love stories' is the maxim Jay (Imran Khan) lives by. But as an assistant director to Veer (Samir Soni), the most famous romantic film-maker of Indian film industry, Jay has little option but to live with larger than life, glossy, cinematic love on an everyday basis. Things only get worse when he is made to work under the new production designer on the film, Simran (Sonam Kapoor), with whom he shares the strangest first encounter.

Simran loves love stories, so much so that even her life has begun to resemble one. With her ideal job and the perfect boyfriend Raj (Samir Dattani), she lives a blissful, dreamy life. One that is rudely interrupted by Jay's cynicism.

Writer-director Punit Malhotra wins Round 1 by casting the right actors in the roles of Jay and Simran. In fact, it wouldn't be erroneous to state that the casting is the trump card of this film. But what Punit ought to know by now is that every story ought to have a strong grip to keep your attention arrested for the next two hours. In this case, the film rests on a waferthin plot, with not much movement in the story in the first hour. In fact, the story barely moves in the first part.

Yes, post-interval, the story does gather momentum and though you're well aware of the journey and what the culmination will be like, you don't mind the ride because you can't take your eyes off Imran and Sonam. Also, a love story works if one pines for the on-screen lovers and in I Hate Luv Storys, you genuinely want the duo to sort things out, which means that you're involved in their lives. Even the finale - it won't be fair on my part to reveal how this movie concludes - may be filmy or cliched, but let's face it, it works.

Let me draw parallels with another love story, also starring Imran Khan. Recall the finale of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, which had Imran riding a horse to reach his sweetheart (Genelia) at the airport. I distinctly recall, a lot of people found the end bizzare and rightly so. Can you imagine anyone galloping to the international airport in Mumbai? But I was truly surprised when I learnt that the youth were whistling and clapping all through. The finale is different here (no horses, please) and you exit the auditorium with a smile on your face.

Director Punit Malhotra is heavily inspired by Mills & Boon novels and several Bollywood films... love stories all. But like I pointed out earlier, Punit needs to polish his writing skills, although the director in him bails the writer out and takes the film to a different level. The sequences between Imran and Sonam are well penned, but the ones between Sonam and her parents or Sonam and Samir Dattani are half-baked. Directorially, Punit shows super-confidence in moulding the two actors in their respective parts, so much so that you get sucked into Jay and Simran's world after a while.

Director: Punit Malhotra
Cast: Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Sameer Dattani, Sameer Soni, Bruna Abdulla, Ketaki Dave, Anju Mahendroo

Singh Is Kinng 2 ready to roll

Before the brand runs out of steam Akshay Kumar has decided to run into the next installment of Singh Is Kinng. Vipul Shah who was in two minds, has decided to direct the sequel since Anees Bazmee seems too busy to do the needful.


Says Vipul, “Yes, after much planning and plotting and two years since the first film, we’ve finally cracked an idea that works. My writer Suresh Nair and I are happy with what we’ve come up with. And yes, I’ll be directing the sequel.”


Though Vipul is not willing to reveal much of the plot for the sequel at this juncture—at least not on record—it’s reliably learnt that the sequel would begin where the first Singh Is Kinng trailed off , namely in Australia and then move on to another country, apparently Canada which is Akshay’s second home.

Akshay’s haste to start Singh Is Kinng 2 has a root cause. While playing a mona Sardar in Patiala House in London last month, he was repeatedly asked by his Sikh fans in Great Britain when they’d get to see him as Singh again. Akshay immediately contacted Vipul from London and also urged him to direct the sequel.

Says Akshay “Yes, a lot of fans in the UK are eager to see us do a sequel to Singh Is Kinng again. And I’ve asked Vipul to get on with it.”

There is only one hitch. Singh’s queen Katrina is completely booked till next year. And the sequel cannot be made without her.

Laughs Vipul, “She won’t let me or Akshay make it without her. We’ll just have to see how her dates can be worked out.”

Kareena connected to her fans through her website

Kareena's official website www.kareenakapoor.me is now up and fans are already thronging the site. The site is inventively designed by Kareena and is easy to navigate.


On the home page, Kareena has written Post-it notes for her fans. These notes will be updated regularly. One of the notes reads, "Club Kareena is my official fan club. Check out Club Kareena on Face book and Twitter." Another note reads, "I am proud to be a part of the global 1GOAL campaign to support education for all." Kareena is the 1st Indian actress to be associated with FIFA 1 GOAL along with the likes of Global Celebrities like Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, Kevin Spacey and Hillary Clinton and a few others in their International campaign on Education for all.


Kareena says,”This is my own site, my own space. I like the idea of leaving Post-it notes for my fans. I have created a special fan book where fans can write to me directly. Also, 1GOAL campaign will reach a number of people who are not familiar with Indian cinema. This site will be a window to India and Indian cinema."

Kareena is India's highest-paid actress and the highest-paid endorser of brands.

The site lists 9 brands including global giants like Airtel, Anne French, Head and Shoulders, Sony Ericsson and Sony Vaio.

Sanju Baba to play Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has acted in several films since his debut in 1981. All the characters had different shades right from a young, charming boy in Rocky to a criminal in Khalnayak and a lovable goon again in Munnabhai MBBS. But, Sanju Baba is going to do something totally different this time. He is going to don the role of great historical figure Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The project is being kept under wraps now but it is certain that Sanjay Dutt will be playing the role of the great Maratha warrior. Nobody is speaking about the project on record, as Dutt is busy with other assignments and will take at least a year to come out of legal hassles.


According to a source close to the project, “No one can essay the flamboyant Maratha warrior better than Sanjay Dutt. He looks as brave as the warrior and can gallop on the screen with a sword in hand. We needed someone, who can look like the character of Russell Crowe in Robin Hood or Gladiator.”

But, Soham Shah, who is directing the film, denies Sanjay Dutt being their first and the last choice for playing Shivaji. He said, “For now, I will say that I can never imagine making a film without Sanjay Dutt. I am here only by his support and guidance. I can think of working on a big project like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj only because of his support and trust. Right now, I am preparing to direct a movie for Sanjay Dutt Productions. I will start working on the Shivaji project only after completing this one.”

Shivaji is the director’s dream project and he has been working on it for more than a year now. Soham added, “I want the film to appeal to people of all age groups. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj would have special effects like that of Hollywood’s Prince Of Persia.” Initially, the film was supposed to be in Hindi but Soham and the producers are trying to make the movie into a Hindi-Marathi bilingual.

Housefull deserves rave reviews

With a recollaboration of Heyy Babyy team, the recently released multi-starrer flick Housefull is all set to entertain the audiences this summer. While the film is getting rave reviews for its hilarious script, the stars' performances and the lively jokes, what makes the film more than just staple Bollywood masala is the extraordinary visual effects
(VFX) and (Digital Intermediate) DI executed by Mumbai-based Visual entertainment services Company, Prime Focus.


Talking about the vfx of the movie, Merzin Tavaria, Chief Creative Director at Prime Focus said, "Housefull is one of the most challenging films in terms of creatives and deliveries. The most important sequences being the Tiger sequence and the Monkey sequence. We had a couple of scenes which involved the lead actors interacting with a Tiger which was quite difficult to shoot in reality, that's one of the scenes where we have used VFX but the beauty of the shot is that it's so seamless that you can't make out the use of VFX and this helps, as it looks real and doesn't disturb the narrative.


Apart from the vfx, what added glitz to movie was the DI executed by the Prime Focus team.

Says DI head and Chief colorist Rohan Desai," Since Housefull is a romantic comedy, we have set the palette to bright-happy colours. We have maintained a very clean and consistent look for the entire movie.

Talking about the challenges Rohan said, "Most of the scenes in Housefull were shot in London where the weather is very erratic; as a result there were a lot of lighting challenges involved, with Digital Intermediate we achieved the required look and feel for the scenes and consistency in terms of skin tones and background. There were scenes where we had patches of clouds passing by that made the background change tones from dull to bright and dim again; We animated the colour grades and used DI to maintain consistency in terms of lighting," Desai added.

Housefull, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Sajid Khan, features Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal, Lara Dutta, Deepika Padukone and Jiah Khan.