You can watch Abhishek Bachchan again

You can watch Abhishek Bachchan again

If you missed the performance of Abhishek Bachchan at the 51st Filmfare Awards last week, then don't be disappointed.

There was a furore over the accidental or not-so-accidental blackening out of Abhishek's performance during the live telecast last week.

In a decision, seen as a major damage control exercise, Sony will re-telecast the Filmfare Awards this Saturday, March 4, from 8 p.m.

The decision has been taken at the highest quarters at Sony Entertainment following the outrage expressed over the bizarre occurrence.

Sony's official spokesperson Anupama Mandloi, however, tones down the purpose of the damage control exercise.

She says: "Of course we have taken the decision to re-telecast the Filmfare Awards because Abhishek Bachchan's performance couldn't be seen by our viewers. But the other performances like Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai were also vital to the shows. And those who missed the earlier telecast would have the chance to catch all the live excitement."

What measures are being taken to ensure that the telecasting fiasco on Saturday doesn't recur?

"We can only do what we have to do. Namely telecast the event. Since we had no hand in the break of signal on Saturday we can only hope it won't happen this time," says Anupama.

Abhishek's father Amitabh Bachchan had said: "Every time he came on stage the TV went blank saying 'No Signal'. And just as he went off, the telecast returned to normal. It happened twice — once when he went up to get his award for best supporting actor and then during his live act.

"This happened all over the country. We received complaints about Abhishek's blacked-out presence from Delhi, Chennai, Patna…"

Abhishek had got the Filmfare Award for best supporting actor for Sarkar and had performed his hit rap number 'Right Here Right Now' from Bluffmaster . Both could not be seen.

Amrita.. take on SRK and dream man

Plain Jane Bollywood actress Amrita Rao talks about a perfect life partner and who she loves working with in reel life.

In an age, when the film industry thrives on sex bombs, do you think your next-door-girl image will work for you?
I want my homely image to go in public because often people think that actresses have a very high profile life. But I want them to realize that many of us even after becoming celebrities have simple life like any other person. I want to change public opinion about stars. I give credit to my family for bringing me up with social values which keep me simple and down-to-earth.

Are you involved with someone in the industry?
No, I am single and have nothing in mind except for my career. I want to exploit the opportunities that are coming in my way and don't want to just squander away my time in anything else.

What kind of a man would you want as your life partner?
I will prefer someone who is motivating and has a very good sense of humor. If I get someone who can boost my morale and at the same time keep me in good humour, it will be great. Then I think I don't have to wait for anything further.

Which actor do you like working with?
I feel that Shahrukh Khan is very comfortable and easy to work with, as he never intimidates the newcomers. He is quite co-operative with others.

Enjoying anonymity in the US.. Madhuri

Only a really great role will tempt Bollywood superstar Madhuri Dixit away from motherhood and back to acting, the actress said in an interview published Friday.

Dixit was Bollywood's leading lady in the 1990s, but she slowly gave up acting after her marriage in 1999 to an Indian surgeon based in Denver, Colorado and the birth of her two sons.

''Unless I get a role that I am interested in, I will not act,'' she told the Mumbai Mirror newspaper. Bombay, India's entertainment capital, is also known as Mumbai.

Dixit is on a monthlong vacation in India visiting her parents. She drew cheers from fans and Bollywood colleagues last week at a film awards function in Bombay where she performed a dance sequence to hit songs from her old movies.

But Dixit says although she misses acting, she will make a comeback only if it's a ''substantial'' film that is shot in the United States. Bollywood movies are increasingly being shot in locations abroad, particularly the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia.

She said motherhood was the best thing that had happened to her and she enjoyed changing diapers and pushing a stroller around in the streets without attracting any attention. ''I think I am enjoying myself more in the U.S. because people don't recognize me and I am not mobbed,'' Dixit said.

Her last hit movie was ''Devdas'' in 2002 where she played a courtesan in a saga of doomed love.

Bollywood star denies Rai romance

Bollywood's rising star, Abhishek Bachchan, says media reports linking him with Aishwarya Rai and other actresses are disrespectful to women in the movie industry.

Indian newspapers recently reported that a wedding between Rai and Bachchan was in the cards.

The two have just completed filming "Umrao Jaan," a period movie based on a courtesan's search for love. They are heading to Brazil to shoot "Dhoom 2," a sequel to their successful film.

Bachchan told Filmfare magazine that it was work as usual with Rai. "I find it very disrespectful when people talk about women like that," he said in an interview in the magazine's March issue. "It's like I get up in the morning and wonder, "Who have they linked me with today?' "

He described himself and Rai, who starred in 2004's "Bride & Prejudice," as professionals.

"Aishwarya is a great co-star — "Umrao Jaan' is our third film together and it is work as usual on the sets," Bachchan said.

Rai, a superstar in India, has acted in more than 30 movies, served on the Cannes Film Festival jury and has been featured in ad campaigns for leading cosmetic and jewelry companies.

Bachchan played lead roles in last year's blockbuster movies, including "Dhoom (Big Bang)" and "Sarkar (Boss)."

Akshay for Guide remake

The season of remakes has just begun! Latest to join the bandwagon is Ritupo*no Ghosh has been roped in by PNC to direct Rahgir, which is reportedly a remake of Vijay Anand's classic Guide. Though the producers PNC deny that it is a remake, the story of the film is based on R K Narayan's book The Guide. But, the bigger surprise is the cast.

Guess who will play the lead characters? While Akshay Kumar has been approached to play Dev Anand's role, actress Vidya Balan is likely to play the character of Rosie. When asked about roping in Akshay, Pritish Nandy says that Akshay has had little opportunity to show his versatile acting skills. "If he does Rahgir, it will be wonderful to see him in a film that gives him the opportunity to demonstrate his histrionic talents." Even director Ghosh is excited to have Akshay in his film as he has tried to have Akki in his film many times.

The filmmakers want to show the film at some of the biggest film festivals before releasing it in India. The project is yet to be finalized and hence the producers refuse to divulge any further details of the film. It is scheduled to begin in the next few months.

Star react to the budget

"The usual perception is that the budget does not affect the stars. In fact, it is the other way round. The budget does affect the stars," said Hrithik Roshan. Hrihtik Roshan voiced concern over the rising petrol prices.

Preity said that she was glad the education for girls was being made freely available. "Girls in villages aren't sent to school. I hope that after the budget parents send their girls to school," she said.

Priety also said that it would work in people's favor if the procedure to pay taxes is made simpler. Lara Dutta said that she was glad that three universities were given additional allocations. Saif said that since they would have to pay higher tax, he expected smooth and clean roads.

Sushmita Sen.. car confiscated

More and more actors are making headlines for the wrong reasons! Sushmita Sen is the latest to join the list. Sush's car got confiscated by The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

Her Land-cruiser has been reported to be manufactured in 1998 and was imported in March 2005. Sushmita had reported the price to be 36 lakh rupees. In reality, the car was manufactured in 2003 and is priced at 56 lakh rupees. The actress is being asked to pay the pending duty of 20 lakh rupees as customs.

Sen had bought the car in May 2005 when the vehicle was brought in India. However, the transfer of residence (TR) scheme mandates that the vehicle can be sold only after two years of personal use by the importer. Earlier, actors Suniel Shetty, Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt have got their priced possessions under the law's hands.

Manish Malhotra.. Script first

Some months ago, the industry was abuzz with the news that designer Manish Malhotra was to try his hands at filmmaking.

Things had already begun working for that project when we were recently informed of Manish working on a new script altogether. Produced by Suneel Darshan, the film is apparently going to be a multi-starrer with four heroes in the lead roles.

According to Suneel, a two- week session on the script begins on 5th March and the shooting of the film won't start until they are very sure about the script. Both the director & the producer are in no hurry to start the film & prefer getting the script perfect first. Now that's the first step towards perfection, isn't it?