Mumbai: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan seems to be in news once again. The actress has been the talk of the town after her pregnancy became public. This was of course followed by her controversy related to Madhur Bhandarkar’s film Heroine. Now, Aishwarya seems to be taking the center stage again, as she is all set to be honoured with the prestigious Officer Dan Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres by the French Government in New Delhi tomorrow, thus becoming the first Asian actress and the youngest Indian to win the honour.

This distinction is conferred on people who have achieved immense recognition, because of their contribution in the fields of arts, culture or literature. The previous winners of this awards (which happens to be the second highest civilian award in France and an equivalent Padma Vibhushan), include the likes of Robert Redford, George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Shah Rukh Khan.

The news of Ash being the recipient of this award was publicly declared by the French daily ‘Le Figaro’, which stated that, “She (Ash) is one of the most famous Indian actors in this country and outside the borders of India. Aishwarya will be made Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, Wednesday, July 13, by the Ambassador of France in New Delhi, Jerome Bonnafont. According to a statement from the embassy, the ceremony will be attended by the family of the young woman in full.”

Not many know the fact that Ash, who had earlier too been offered this award, had refused it then due to her father’s health issues.

Superstar Rajnikanth’s block buster Endhiran won a number of trophies at the IIFA awards including Best Make-up (Banu), Best Art Direction (Sabu Cyril) and Best Special Effects (Indian Artists).

The 12th International Indian Film Academy Awards 2011 has started in Toronto on Saturday with a bang. Most of the stars from Bollywood enjoyed the event and mingled with the fans easily.

Rajini’s Endhiran was honoured with three coveted awards, for make-up, art direction and special effects departments. The film which has Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in female lead was directed by Shankar and produced by Sun Pictures.

Best Direction went to director Karan Johar for My Name is Khan, a melodrama starring Shahrukh Khan about Muslims facing backlash after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Shahrukh Khan also won Best Performance in a Leading Role (Male) for playing a man suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome in My Name is Khan.

Till today, we have heard constant denials from them on their secret romance. Deepika has maintained that what she shares with Mallya Jr is nothing but a very close friendship. While they are always seen at social events together and Deepika is present at every IPL match to cheer the Royal Challengers Bangalore, they refuse to acknowledge that they are a couple.

The very public lip-lock however seems to tell a very different story. Does this mean that while they maintain the ‘no comments’ stance on their relationship, they have actually sealed it with a kiss? Or the lip lock was just a spontaneous show of affection?

Deepika - Sidhard in a Kinfisher promo: File photo

During Wednesday's IPL match...

A public lip lock!

-A BOS spl

The

The actor wears long hair and stuble, with a tattoo on his right forearm.

In the new film, the Don is in prison. The cops keep a close watch on him but he has already planned an escape.

Directed by Farhan Akhtar, the new film apparently has fantastic action. One of the car chase sequences in Berlin got so dangerous, it damaged an expensive camera. No one got hurt.

In Don 2, SRK’s character wants to capture the entire European market. So the actor wears a beefy look in the film.

And Don is no longer an Indian gangster, who is wanted in 11 countries. He is now a European gang lord.

Apparently, the film starts with Om Puri and Priyanka Chopra’s characters in a lift. Just when Om Puri says that he is going to retire, the lift door opens, and the two stand face-to-face with the Don. Om Puri’s wish of leaving the police force comes to an end abruptly.

Don 2 also stars Lara Dutta, Kunal Kapoor and Boman Irani. Hrithik Roshan will be seen in a cameo.

All

The story so far goes that Sanjay Dutt, who is known to be a fitness freak, was working out in the gym after the pack up, when a dumbbell feel on his right foot, thus injuring it. He then was immediately rushed to the Bangkok Pattaya hospital, where the doctors advised him to take complete rest for two days. Dutt, who spent his whole night with ice pack fermentations et al, was keen on finishing off the shoot as Kangna had to return to Mumbai. And due to this working, Sanju’s condition worsened and as a result of his ‘foot-work’, he developed a hairline crack.

But the irony of the story is that, while the doctors have advised rest to Sanjay Dutt, the actor, Sanjay Dutt, the producer of the said film, is finding it difficult to sit idle. But, as a dutiful friend, Ajay Devgn, who also stars in the film, has taken over the responsibilities from Dutt, and will be there to offer support till the time Sanjay is back on his feet.

AR Rahman and Asha Bhonsle together on Wednesday presented the Lifetime achievement award at the inaugural edition of the Global Indian Music Awards (GIMA) held in Mumbai to Latha Mangeshkar.

The sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle shared a stage after a long time.

Speaking at the event AR Rahman said, “If my father would have been alive today, he would have really felt nice. My mother used to tell me that my father had a picture of Lataji in a white sari.”

“After getting up in the morning, he used to look at that and compose songs. I’m so happy that I got the opportunity of presenting this award to her,” he added.

Filmmaker Priyadarshan, whose film social drama ‘Kanchivaram’ won a National Award, has roped in none other than Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan for his next “realistic” project, a film on AIDS.

The director revealed that Aamir has said yes to the film which deals with the disease and the social stigma attached to it.

“My next film is a meaningful and realistic take on AIDS. I have narrated the story to Aamir and he really liked it, though I have not presented him a bound script yet,” Priyadarshan told PTI at the sidelines of Delhi International Art Festival.

This will be the first time that the filmmaker will be working with Aamir but when asked about the one actor he wishes to work with, Priyadarshan did not wait before replying, “Big B“.

“I have worked with Mr Bachchan on advertisements but I want to shoot a feature film with him. It would be a great experience,” said the filmmaker.

AIDS is still a taboo topic in Bollywood though South Indian filmmaker Revathy and Onir had explored the subject in their films ‘Phir Milenge’ and ‘My Brother Nikhil’

While ‘Phir Milenge’ had a star studded cast including Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty and Abhishek Bachchan, ‘My Brother Nikhil’ starred Sanjay Suri, Juhi Chawla and Purab Kohli.

Priyadarshan who has directed superhit comedies like ’Hera Pheri’ and ‘Malamaal Weekly’ said that the National Award, his first ever, has inspired him to take risks with off—beat cinema.

“I finally got an award after 25 years in the industry and it is a great recognition. All those who thought that I could do nothing more than comedies and remakes have been proved wrong and you will see many more realistic films from my side,” said Priyadarshan.

The filmmaker is currently shooting for a yet-untitled film starring Ajay Devgan and Akshaye Khanna in Tamil Nadu, while Aamir Khan is working on his film ‘Three Idiots’ where he stars alongside Kareena Kapoor and R Madhavan.

The Big B of Bollywood will soon be the Bigg Boss. Amitabh Bachchan will be the ‘Pop Philosopher’ of Bigg Boss Season 3, and will appear on the show twice every week – on Fridays and Saturdays.

As the ‘Pop Philosopher’, Big B will bridge the gap between Bigg Boss participants and the viewers – by contextualising events, simplifying emotions and, most importantly, analysing developments that happen within the house.

“This is a show that has intrigued me immensely as a viewer – its format, its contestants and the psychological battle within the house,” said Amitabh Bachchan. “I am looking forward to my role that gives me the unique opportunity to help viewers decode emotions and comprehend simple philosophies of life [without getting philosophical].”

The show will be launched through a special music trailer with a song sung by Amitabh Bachchan and set to music by Vishal-Shekhar.

Koena Mithra, one of the hottest item girls in Bollywood is again captures the cover pages of movie magazines.

The last time we saw her on screen was in the item number from the hit Tamil flick Ayan and a little before that as a special guest on the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.

And now she`s back with a space dedicated all to herself. Now we know whereto go if we want to hear something candid and in-yer-face. From her bio to her latest videos, you can catch it all on her website.

The star looked quite demure at the launch of her website. Dressed in a sexy yet, classy white shift, she kept the event glamorous.

His directorial debut “Makdee” didn’t rake in the moolah but was widely appreciated. So were “Maqbool”, “The Blue Umbrella” and “Omkara” for their alternative climaxes and literary influences. Now with the huge success of his latest “Kaminey”, versatile filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj has also proved to be a box-office hit.

“Vishal has always been critically-acclaimed but commercially not that successful. For example, ‘Omkara’ was a lazy proposition business-wise… it didn’t even have a good opening. But the opening for ‘Kaminey’ has been huge and it has had a good first weekend too,” trade analysts say.

“He has proved his credentials with the movie that he is also commercially viable. At the end of the day everything boils down to how rosy your balance sheet looks because the stakes are very high and Vishal, after this film, has realised that it’s good to make critically-acclaimed films but it’s also necessary to strike a balance,” he said.

Film critic Omar Qureshi also had something similar to say.

“Vishal is now top of the ladder. He is multi-talented and is of a different league altogether post-’Kaminey’. He is a very intelligent filmmaker and versatile…who even writes, composes and sings apart from directing,” said Qureshi.

“He made a movie like ‘Maqbool’ with lesser-known stars and a great story and then graduated to A-list stars in ‘Omkara’. He then decided that he wanted to make an out-and-out big-budget masala movie and so graduated to level three and that too with a very intelligent film,” he added.

Bharadwaj started his Bollyood innings as a composer for Gulzar’s “Maachis” (1996) followed by movies like “Satya” (1998) and “Chachi 420″ (1998) before taking on the director’s mantle. He proved his genius with his movies and his versatility as a music composer, singer, writer and filmmaker.

Noteworthy is his association with poet-filmmaker Gulzar and singer Sukhwinder Singh in all his films. And he has successfully explored the best in actors like Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in “Omkara” and Shahid Kapoor in “Kaminey”.

“Vishal is a very dangerous director… It’s a challenge for an actor to work with him but at the same time it’s very fruitful too… he brings out a new talent in you every time he takes a shot,” Shahid had said of the director.

In “Kaminey”, Shahid plays morally-incompatible twins — one a ruffian with a lisp and the other a simpleton who stammers. Not only has he bagged accolades for his performance, the film has also changed his image — from the chocolate boy-next-door to an A-lister.

“With ‘Kaminey’, Vishal has given Bollywood its own Quentin Tarantino

and Guy Ritchie combo. He has proven that behind a media shy and quiet face lies a calculating mind. He is indeed Bollywood’s new maverick,” said an industry source.

“Kaminey” was also praised for its songs — specifically “Dhan tan tan” — and its cinematography.

“Vishal has been been a very underrated director for a long time and with ‘Kaminey’, he has taken entertainment to another level and that too without compromising on the aesthetic side. He is a supremely talented person,” said Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures that has produced and distributed the movie.

Bharadwaj’s future projects include “Ishqiya” and a movie with Hrithik Roshan.