Headline News

Aishwarya Rai refuses endorsement in America

She has a long list of endorsements to her credit. But this time Aishwarya Rai refused a brand endorsement. The product in question is Ganga mineral water and she was asked to endorse it in America. She declined the offer since she felt that it would be wrong to portray that the Ganga has come to America. She would have hurt the feelings of many Indians. Her representatives believe that she has a certain image and the products she is associated with are chosen carefully. It is not a money matter, but a responsibility she has towards her fans.

In spite of enjoying international success, here is one actress who hasn't forgotten her roots.

D'damas launches jewellery line inspired by Zinda

Tuesday night saw the launch of D'damas's latest jewellery collection, inspired by the film Zinda, at a suburban five star hotel in Mumbai. Although, the main event started three hours later than the scheduled time, it was quite a spectacle. Sanjay Gupta, Sanjay Dutt, John Abraham and Lara Dutta were present at the occasion. The show kicked off with a performance by Shibani Kashyp, followed by a fashion show. The grand finale was in the form of a performance by the Pakistani band Strings. They were joined by Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham on stage. Representatives at D'damas believe that their line 'Glitterati', inspired by Zinda, is synonymous with Bollywood itself. The association will definitely prove to be beneficial for the jewellery brand as well as the movie.

'Jaana' - The story behind the story

Almost thirty years ago, reputed writers Mirza Brothers were planning to make a film with Rishi Kapoor. Tahir Husain, Aamir Khan's father, was supposed to produce the project then. The project fell through due to certain reasons.

Later, Ramanand Sagar took up their script and the super-star then, Rajesh Khanna, was assigned the lead role. Unfortunately, the producer passed away and the project got aborted.

Subsequently, the greatest Showman, Raj Kapoor, showed a keen interest in the script. But his only shart was, the writers should change the ending. Mirza Brothers didn't budge and the project never got made. Now, three decades later, Mirza Brothers have finally realized their dream.

Mirza Brothers — who have written the scripts of popular films such as KASME VAADE [Amitabh, Randhir], LOVE STORY [Kumar Gaurav], AAP KE DEEWANE [Rishi Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan], DHANWAN [Rajesh Khanna, Rakesh Roshan] and ZAKHMEE [Sunil Dutt] — have not only scripted their new film, which is titled JAANA – LET'S FALL IN LOVE, but Shahrukh Mirza [one of the three Mirza Brothers] and his son Farhan have jointly directed the film. The film introduces Shahrukh's younger son Rehan Khan in the lead with Anjana Sukhani [HUMDUM, SALAAM-E-ISHQ] along with Rajesh Khanna and Zeenat Aman essaying key roles.

Shot entirely in Nainital, the producers [Tess Mirza Films P. Ltd.] have made a 30-minute showreel of JAANA – LET'S FALL IN LOVE, which gives the viewer an insight into the film. And the first thing you notice is that Rehan is an exceptional dancer. The youngster has all it takes to be a sought-after name: He's proficient in acting, has very good screen presence and delivers dialogues effectively.

The Mirzas describe JAANA – LET'S FALL IN LOVE as 'a love story with a story.' "It's not the routine boy meets girl saga you encounter every second week," Shahrukh Mirza informs me, "And though we didn't agree to Raj Kapoor's suggestion then [the change of climax], we've done it now. We've incorporated Raj-saab's suggestions and modified the ending of the film."

JAANA – LET'S FALL IN LOVE is slated for a March 2006 release.

Kunika starts Beauty Spa

Actress and social activist Kunika Sadanand Lall launched her first business venture Exhale, a unisex salon, spa and institute, amidst great fanfare along with partner Shekhar Dadarkar, in Goregaon, Mumbai. The Sunday brunch [January 8] saw a list of celebrities from various fields who came together to celebrate the birth of Exhale.

Among those present were Jagjit Singh, Sanobar Kabir, Deepak Qazir, Shweta Keswani, Channel [V] veejay Juhi, Deepshikha, Rakesh Bedi, Isha Murad, Amit Behl, Rakesh and Delnaaz Paul, Rajeev Paul, Kabir Sadanand and Supriya Karnik.

After being an actress in Bollywood for almost eighteen years, Kunika is now working towards her dream of being associated with the three most important things for an individual -- health, beauty and food. With the launch of Exhale, she will focus on the inner and outer beauty of individuals. She also plans to start a health food caf for the health conscious people.

Exhale is Kunika's first business joint venture with the owner of S.D. Constructions, Shekhar Dadarkar, an architect and developer.

Exhale will have under one roof various facilities including yoga, beauty care, hair care, bridal make up, aroma therapy, personal grooming, ayurvedic massage, steam and anti-ageing treatments. All this and more spread over 3000 sq. ft. area with dedicated, professionally trained staff and well equipped hi-tech machines that provide holistic health and beauty care at affordable rates.

Govinda connection in 'Shikhar'

The final release of 2005, SHIKHAR, has failed to connect with moviegoers and various versions, explanations and theories are doing the rounds of the industry. But John M. Matthan, the man behind this Ajay Devgan-Shahid Kapoor starrer, has come up with his own reasons for the non-response to the film. And the reasons are entirely different from those attributed by the know-alls.

Over to Matthan:

"I haven't completely written off the film yet. I am hoping that it might pick up with word of mouth publicity in days to come. But I'd like to admit that I fell short of funds when it came to promoting the film during the final days. The promotion costs have roughly shot up to Rs. 2 crores and if I had that kind of money on hand, it would've ensured a heady start for the film thanks to the aggressive promotion I would've otherwise opted for.

"When I started writing SHIKHAR, the movie-going experience was entirely different then. There weren't multiplexes at that point of time, but when I eventually started filming, multiplexes had sprung up all over the country. With multiplexes coming in, a sizable section of moviegoers was created gradually. Had I kept the multiplex audience in mind while writing the script, the business prospects would've been different.

"On hindsight, I think the goings-on became a bit too serious in the latter half of the film. Initially, when I wrote the script, I wanted to balance the serious issue with light moments. In fact, I was keen to cast Govinda in the role that Ajay Devgan eventually portrayed in the film. But I changed my mind when I shot an ad film with him.

"His [Govinda] sense of timing was perfect, but I didn't agree to his latecoming attitude. That put me off and I decided to approach Ajay. Though Ajay gave his best to the film, his image of a serious guy and the way the role developed subsequently gave the film a serious look."