Shaadi ke laddoo!

Finally! Parveen Shahani and Emraan Hashmi pic/ Sujeet Jaiswal

On December 14, Emraan Hashmi will tie the knot with his longtime girlfriend Parveen Shahani. HiTLIST had earlier reported about their hush-hush engagement on April 6 this year. Emraan's mother, Maherahh, had said then, "It wasn't a formal engagement and according to Sindhi rites (from Paveen's side of the family). As is our tradition, the formal engagement or nikah will take place just before the wedding."

Now, we've got all the juicy details on the low-profile wedding, which is less than a month away!

Designer clothes
Says Emraan, "I'm feeling surprisingly calm about the wedding. I'm looking forward to taking my relationship with Parveen to the next level."

Parveen is a teacher by profession, and is far removed from the glitzy world of Bollywood. Says a source close to Emraan, "There will be a nikaah followed by a registration ceremony on December 14. The sangeet and mehendi ceremony will be held on December 12 and 13 at the Taj and J W Marriott, followed by the reception on December 15. The nikah will be a private ceremony, most probably at Emraan's home."

Vikram Phadnis has been roped in to design outfits for the bride and groom. He says, "The outfits will be Indian for both. Parveen's ensemble is a combination of lehengas, ghaghra cholis and saris, while Emraan's is yet to be decided. It will be something that he is comfortable in, but there will be different clothes for different occasions."

Shopping spree
And what's Emraan's contribution to the biggest event yet in his life? He says, "Right now, I am looking at beach resorts on the net for my honeymoon. I think they are very romantic. That's my only contribution till now," he grins mischievously.

Emraan has just returned from the shooting of Train in Bangkok, and is currently "finding my bearings." He also stars in Awarapan and Subhash Ghai's Good Boy Bad Boy.

Says the source, "In April this year, Emraan took his mom and Parveen trousseau shopping in London, and then again in Bangkok and Hong Kong, where he was shooting for Train. Most of the wedding trousseau has been bought from these places."

The wedding cards have been printed and will be sent out in a week's time. What about the guests? "Emraan and Parveen don't want it to be a big affair. They want relatives, friends and Emraan's friends like Aditya Dutt and Mohit Suri to attend."

And will Emraan invite his Murder co-star? Says the source, "No. Mallika (Sherawat) and Emraan don't talk to each other."
So that's that then!

'I am used to criticism'

The Aishwarya Rai-starrer, Umrao Jaan, released over the weekend amidst reports of a poor opening and a thumbs-down by the critics. We put director J P Dutta in the hot seat.

talking it all in his stride: Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan with J P Dutta

Is it true that Abhishek walked out of the Dubai premiere because he didn't like the film?
Not at all. Abhishek, Ash and I went to Dubai on November 2 for the press conference, red carpet and premiere. We had to catch a flight back to India so we had to leave before the film got over. I was with them at the press conference and the red carpet, we inaugurated the premiere, spoke to people and asked them to give feedback and then left the venue.

Was this the first time they were seeing the film?
No. There was a screening for Mr Bachchan and his family along with Aishwarya and her family, and Amar Singh and Anu Malik, in Film City on September 31. Both families loved the film, including Abhishek and Aishwarya. Jaya Bachchan told my wife Bindiya that the film made her cry. The reaction from Ash's parents humbled me. I am glad that they felt that I could bring out their daughter's talent so well.

What is the best compliment that you received?
One of the best compliments that I received was from my father, who hugged me after seeing the film. You have to remember that we come from a west-Pakistan background, where men do not show emotions. So it came as a great surprise to me that he loved the film so much.

But the film has taken a very slow opening…
The film definitely took a slow start but it has picked up all over the country. I have never doubted that my film will do well at the box office. My cast has out done itself and compliments are pouring in from all over the country. I am used to criticism. I have faced criticism even during Border and LOC. I was told they were a complete flop by trade people and film critics, but Border became the biggest hit of 1997. As for Umrao Jaan, we've been getting reports that it's houseful in UP, Rajasthan and Gujarat. It was houseful in the metros and other theatres in Mumbai as well. Many critics pulled the film down, but the audiences' is the ultimate reaction. When they are appreciating my film, I'm not worried about the rest.

People have said that the film lacks authenticity.
During the shoot, I engaged a couple of historians as well as an old lady who was from the kothas of Lucknow. They guided us about the customs and the adas of that era.

Why shoot in Jaipur?
I didn't shoot there because it was cheaper. Umrao Jaan cost me Rs 20 crore. We had a jeweller coming and going with the jewellery every evening, as it was very costly. That again wasn't cheap. The reason I chose Jaipur was because I wanted opulent sets, which weren't available to me in Lucknow. I shot almost 80 per cent of my film in Lucknow's gallis, but I needed to shoot in palatial monuments too. And some of the places in Lucknow haven't been maintained well. Jaipur's Rambagh palace perfect.