Garam Gossip

Finally, the curtain seems to be rising for Ranbir Kapoor, the budding star-kin of Rishi and Neetu Kapoor. Many a big filmmaker was vying with each other to grab the youngster for their films, but eventually, the lucky maker turned out to be none other than Aditya Chopra, who has cast him in his next film, which will be a solo-hero romantic saga. Among the others in the race to sign Ranbir was Ravi Chopra. Now that he is all set to make his bow in Bollywood, all eyes are trained on Ranbir. Welcome aboard, boy!

Salman Khan - Shaad Ali: Friends turned foes?

Looks like Salman Khan has still not forgiven director Shaad Ali for standing by Vivek Oberoi during the Ash-Salman-Vivek fiasco. Remember the Vivek Oberoi press conference that he had called impromptu after receiving 41 calls from Salman. It was during this time that Shaad had stood by Vivek. Salman Khan and Shaad bumped into each other at a party thrown by choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant. Most Bollywood stars right from Kareena Kapoor to director Farhan Akhtar hit the dance floor, Salman chose to keep to himself. Shaad approached Salman in a slightly inebriated condition. Salman chose to ignore him. Shaad continued to pursue Salman. It was then that Salman lost his temper and snapped at Shaad. Vaibhavi Merchant confirmed the untoward incident. "It was just that they were slightly sozzled," she said.

Ritu approaches Akshay

In an interview to the press actor Akshay Kumar said that director Rituparno Ghosh had approached him for a film. "He had earlier approached me too. I was not open to do those kind of films then. I'm open to experimenting with films then," he said. Ritu has approached Akshay for his next film. "The talks are on. Once I sign the film it will be a known fact. I will not have to say anything," he said.

Bips: It's laughter time

The one role that Bipasha enjoys doing is comedy. That is the reason why she signed Phir Hera Pheri. "I have a sense of humour. Very few know that side of me. Till now I had done roles that were serious. Phir Hera Pheri gave me an opportunity to do something different." Besides Phir Hera Pheri Bipasha will also be seen in Barsaat with Bobby Deol and Aparhan with Ajay Devgan.

Ashwin Kumar's "Little Terrorist" for Oscar

Ashvin Kumar's Little Terrorist has been nominated for an Oscar in the Short Film (Live Action) category. Little Terrorist is about crossing boundaries and is based on the true story of a Pakistani boy who crosses the LoC after his cricket ball lands on a minefield in Indian territory. But the real USP of Little Terrorist probably lies in its topicality. Post-9/11, the dynamics of the world have changed. The little terrorist in my film is the boy — a terrorist in the eyes of the authorities. Made on a shoe-string budget.