New Delhi: Soha Ali Khan has dabbled in a variety of roles in her four-year-old career but says it is the spunk factor in a character that attracts her the most.
“Generally, female roles in commercial films don`t offer much scope to showcase talent. While choosing my roles, I make sure that the role has some spunk in it,” Soha told IANS.
She will soon be seen in an unusual pairing with seasoned actor Irrfan Khan in the light-hearted comedy “Dil Kabaddi”. Releasing Dec 5, the film will see her as a cosmetic surgeon armed with a compulsive cleanliness disorder.
“When you have done one kind of role, you obviously want to do something else. My idea is to play a character or to have a scene or an emotion or a moment in a film, whereby you can perform or do something different,” she said.
On being asked about the kind of roles or films she is inclined towards, Soha said: “It`s difficult to specify one thing, but I appreciate working with directors like Rituparno Ghosh and Sudhir Mishra who make female-oriented films.
“All their women are strong, ambitious and passionate and that needs to be more accurately reflected in Indian films. Bollywood is slowly perhaps getting there but still not there.”
The young actress, who was noticed in films like “Rang De Basanti”, “Khoya Khoya Chand” and more recently “Mumbai Meri Jaan”, added she misses the days of yesteryear actors like Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rehman.
“In those days, they were really worshipped heroines. They used to play strong roles but such strong portrayals of a woman are rare in today`s films,” she said.
Though Soha lamented the dearth of quality cinema nowadays, she is happy with the work she has been doing. “I have been quite blessed to work with good co-actors and directors,” she said.

(Mumbai) Actress Sonali Bendre, who is currently seen on television as a judge on music reality show Indian Idol, says she won’t be returning to Bollywood any time soon as her son needs her more than the film industry.
“Nothing will make me come back to films. My three-year-old needs me more. I want to be home for my child. I’m definitely not looking at a commitment that will take me away from home,” said Sonali.
A source from the sets of Indian Idol said that Sonali is the first one to zip out of the studio to her little one as soon as shooting wraps up.

(New Delhi) “I wish to fill my eyes today with flaming anger of the redness of the blood of the innocents of my countrymen,” writes Amitabh Bachchan in his latest blog posted on late Saturday.
Reacting to the way, the media responded to his comment on keeping a gun under his pillow, Big B asserted, “It is a pity that the intellectual media portrays the incident of the gun under my pillow as one of ridicule and mirth. Of one that reflects a fear on my part. That makes an absurd simile with my characters on screen and that of the real.”
“The act of pulling out my revolver is a symbolic metaphor, a figure of speech, to demonstrate my complete loss in faith in the system and in the governance, in providing me, a citizen of India, with my rightful sense of security. It is to demonstrate that now I shall have to personally look after my family and myself and not depend on the state. A state that is just so miserably incapable of protecting its citizens,” added Big B further in his blog.
Lamenting the way people across the country are urging others to show solidarity for the blast victims by lighting candles in windows Amitabh Bachchan vehemently added, “NO !! Excuse me ! I will not do that!”
“This is no time to demonstrate gesture. This is the time for me to listen to a leader that shall strongly assure me of what needs to be done and will do it ! This is the time for each citizen of this country to act and behave in a dictated disciplined profile. This is the time for those that lead, to educate us all in a common curriculum bearing a common code of conduct, ” commented Big B further.
Remembering Lata Mangeshkar’s immortal song Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon which someone referred in a condolence message, Amitabh Bachchan concluded, “I have the highest regard and respect for those brave jawans that gave up their lives in the last few days, so that we could be secure and I do respect the emotions in the song, which coerce me to fill my eyes with tears for those who sacrificed their lives for the nation..”

Vidya Balan

Okay, now here’s another one about our Plain Jane-turned-glam doll, Vidya Balan.

The girl we hear is actually following in the footsteps of Shah Rukh Khan. One minute, she isn’t getting six-pack abs, but like King Khan, she too is a night bird! In short, like an owl, Ms Balan likes to work at night and that’s the raaz of her high energy levels. Oh really? We never knew, she had any. Anyways, we hear that she just loves shooting for night schedules. “She feels that energy levels are high during the night rather than in the day. During the day the heat saps her making her energy levels go down.
She likes shooting in the nights,” says her friend and adds “Vidya is at her chirpiest in the night,” Wokay, Wokay, point taken. But someone needs to tell Ms Balan that a pretty girl like her should get her beauty sleep at night and not waste her energy khaali phokat.

Neha Dhupia

She emerged from the blue waters in a gold bikini in her debut film Qayamat, which released five years ago.
The culture police wrote her off, and her seniors and fellow contemporaries didn’t take to her two-piece ‘hip’ avatar very kindly. “The actresses who didn’t want to show skin, and swore that they’d never wear bikinis and swimsuits then, are doing just that these days. People are hypocritical, and have double-standards,” says Neha Dhupia, shrugging.
“And those who reprimanded me are applauding them like there’s no tomorrow! But you know what? I don’t think wearing a two-piece is cool anymore. I’ve been there, done that years ago!” claims the actor who has shifted from the show-substantial-skin mode to more serious cinema!
A compromise on hard-core commercial flicks, may have brought with it lesser fame, money and close to zero GQ (Glam Quotient)? “Maybe, but the satisfaction is immense, and the contentment I derive from my work today is multifold. Being a part of simple, beautiful films like Mithya, Maharathi, Dasvidaniya… and working with the likes of Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Paresh Rawal… has given me more than what money ever could. They’re stalwarts and they do no wrong!
“I’ve dabbled in ‘commercial films’ at the beginning of my career,” explains Neha, “But priorities change over time. Yes, I could’ve made an obnoxious amount of money by taking up more commercially viable projects. But what am I going to do with so much money? I’m earning enough,” she says.
Working with actors who are twice her age, and not necessarily conventionally good-looking, boyfriend Ritwik Bhattacharya must be heaving a sigh of relief. “Listen, if I’m working with Naseer and Paresh, I’ve also worked with the Akshay Kumars, Ajay Devgans and Emraan Hashmis. But I’ll never give Ritwik a reason to feel insecure. Not even if I get to do a film with Brad Pitt,” winks Neha!

New Delhi: Bollywood star Aamir Khan on Friday wrote on his blog that politicians may try to use the Mumbai terror attack to their own advantage and stressed that terrorists have no religion.
“I dread to think of how various political parties are now going to try and use this tragedy to further their political careers. At least now they should learn to not divide people and instead become responsible leaders,” wrote Aamir on his blog www.aamirkhan.com/blog.
“When will these politicians realise and admit that terrorists have no religion. Terrorists are not Hindu or Muslim or Christian. They are not people of religion or god. They are people who have gone totally sick in their head and have to be dealt with in that manner,” he added.
Aamir went on to write about how the tragedy that struck the financial capital Wednesday night and spilled over into Friday has exposed how “ill-equipped we are as a society as far as proper leaders go”.
“We desperately need young, dynamic, honest, intelligent and upright leaders, who actually care for the country,” he opined.
Militants struck in at least 10 places in Mumbai, killing at least 125 people and injuring 327 people besides holding scores of people hostage inside two luxury hotels since Wednesday night.
The actor has been actively keeping a tab on the proceedings of the rescue operations in the city through television. He shared that it was shocking and heart breaking for him to see various locations there turned into a war zone.
“At this moment I pray that the brave officers of the Mumbai Police, the Indian Army, Navy, the NSG and the various other security forces dealing with the situation are able to end this crisis as soon as possible,” Aamir wrote.
Aamir extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed and of those who had been held hostage since Wednesday night.
He made a special mention of the “brave officers of the Mumbai Police” who lost their lives leading from the front to take on the terrorists. He also wrote about Anti Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare, who was one among the three top officials who laid down their lives while fighting terror.
The actor-turned-filmmaker has urged countrymen to have faith and signed off with “Jai Hind”.

Mumbai, Bollywood actor Ashish Chowdhary’s sister and brother-in-law, who were held hostage at the Oberoi Trident Hotel in Mumbai since Wednesday night have been killed in the terror attack. Among the many people who were awaiting the release of their family members from the clutches of the terrorists, Ashish had also been waiting for his sister and brother in law to be released, outside the hotel ever since he came to know about the terrorist attacks.
The actor broke down outside the Oberoi Trident Hotel after hearing the news of his sister and brother in law’s demise. The couple was reportedly shot in the leg first and then straight in the head.
Ashish’s sister Monica and her husband had been inside the hotel along with many hostages for all Read the full story

 Sreedhar Pillai, TNN
The former Miss World features on the list of the top ten celebrities in the country, after her recent back-to-back hits Fashion and Dostana. Here’s what she told Chennai Times when she was in the city for a Tag Heuer campaign.
After your recent hits Fashion and Dostana, the media is suddenly going ga-ga over you. Bollywood pundits have anointed you as the new number one at the box office. How do you feel about it?
Firstly, I don’t believe in numbers. This ‘numero uno’ position is all media created and the industry treats you well if you churn out hits. Believe me, I have worked with the same passion in a few of my earlier films that were not as successful as my recent ones. I think my time is good and God has been kind to me.
Are you spiritual?
I’m a very spiritual person who believes in destiny and faith. I’m an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. After my recent hits, the first thing I did was to visit a temple in Mumbai, a sort of thanksgiving.
How closely do you identify with the Meghana Mathur character in Fashion as you have also been a super model?
To be honest, I could not relate to Megna as it is not me. After winning the Miss World title, thanks to God and my parents, I had my feet on the ground despite the huge success. My modelling days lasted hardly six months before I ventured into movies. The only similarity between Meghana and Priyanka are that they come from small towns.
Many consider your performance in Fashion to be your best till date. You have proved yourself to be an actress of substance…
Thank you. I have been receiving a lot of accolades for my performance as Megna Mathur and all credit goes to Madhur Bhandarkar who made it possible. I did a lot of homework for the character by going to fashion shows and interacting with models and those in the fashion industry. I have been getting a lot of appreciation even from Chennai for Fashion and Dostana.
Tell us about Dostana and Neha Melwani, the current flavour in Bollywood.
Dostana will remain one of my all time favourites. I had a ball doing the film in Miami.
Many of my relatives live in US. So it was one big picnic for me, my brother and parents. And as the only girl on the sets, it was great fun working in a film where Abhishek and John pretend to be gays.
Your make-up and styling in the film have become the envy of other actresses in the industry. How did you look so good in the film?
I would like to give full credit to Micky Contractor for his make-up, hair and styling, Manish Malhotra for his clothes, director Tarun Mansukhani for conceiving my character and Karan Johar for giving me the film. And of course, without Ayananka Bose’s camera and lighting, I would not have looked smashing.
Do you regret your debut film Tamizhan in Kollywood?
I have no regrets because, like I said earlier, it is all fate. I would like to add that it was not the best of the films to make a debut for a young girl who was hardly 20 and did not know the industry. Now, I feel it was a learning experience.
But producers here still claim that they are trying to rope you in for their projects with big money. Please comment…
I will only go by the script for any film I do as money is not part of the criteria when it comes to doing movies. Yes, they have been offering me ridiculous amounts but it is not my cup of tea at the moment.
Shah Rukh Khan says you are the “sexiest Indian actress”. What do you say?
I think it is a very nice compliment, coming from one of the greatest actors in the country. We had a blast working together in Don, and now, I’m doing a special appearance in his Billoo Barber.
On your forthcoming films…
I’m doing Kaminey with Shahid Kapoor directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. In the film, I play a Maharashtrian college girl and it’s an action comedy. Then, there is Ashutosh Gowarikar’s romantic comedy What’s your Rashee?, with Harman Baweja.

Priyanka Chopra

At the fag end of the year, Priyanka Chopra has emerged as the numero uno actress in Bollywood

IndiaGlitz

Priyanka Chopra

Not so happening was this actress until she hopped with back-to-back super hits of Fashion and Dostana. Former Miss World and a successful actress Priyanka Chopra fled with successful colors as stylish icon with her best looks in Madhur Bandharkar’s Fashion and Manish’s well designed costumes in Dostana. Carrying off with her best attitudes before lens, Priyanka Chopra is now spotted on the cover of a top-charting international magazine Blender that has been launched in India for first time.
Earlier, before three years she shot to fame internationally appearing as the month’s celebrity on cover of Maxim. Of course, King Khan of Bollywood commented her as ‘The Sexiest Indian Actress’ that she considers to be the best compliments. Blender is all about latest trends and happenings in World of Music with recent launches of i-Pods and technologies developed over cyber-space.
As off to everyone, those who didn’t get to know about Priyanka’s musical interest can glimpse it through the pages grabbing a copy. International singers like Britney Spears, Leona Lewis and well-acclaimed musical superstars were featured on the exclusive covers and now it’s Priyanka on the list…

Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti was to be Raveena Tandon’s dream comeback but the actress quit the project once she learnt that she would have to play Ajay Devgan’s mother.
“You can’t blame me for saying no to playing mother to an actor with whom I co-starred in so many films. But I had a bigger reason for my refusal. The film required me to leave Mumbai for two months at a stretch. Both my children are too young to be left behind for such a long time, especially since they don’t even go to school yet,” Raveena said.
Raveena was expected to play the role of an all-powerful politician in director Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti, inspired by late prime minister Indira Gandhi’s life and times. Raveena was to play Ranbir Kapoor’s Read the full story