The world’s mad about Madhuri

Dhak-dhak girl Madhuri Dixit is evidently as popular abroad as she is in India. The actress will soon be felicitated at the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, where two of her films — Dil Toh Pagal Hai and Mrityudand — will be screened. She is also scheduled to be part of a discussion on Indian cinema there. While most actresses drop off the face of planet Bollywood after marriage, Madhuri’s movie kitty is quickly filling up. After her comeback with Yashraj Films’ Aaja Nach Le, she is considering offers from a slew of filmmakers. Among these is Suraj Barjatya, who wants to reunite Mads and Salman Khan in Prem Vivah.

Now, fans’ hearts are going dhak-dhak with suspense about which film she’ll be seen in next!

Bollywood focus: Arbaaz Khan

Since then, his roles have not been substantial. ...However, no matter how meager the role is , his films did manage to create a stir in the box-office...

Born on the 4th of August 1967 in Mumbai, Arbaaz Khan is noted script writer, Salim Khan’s son. He is brother of actors Salman Khan and Sohail Khan.

Arbaaz made his debut in the film Daraar. He played the negative role of a psychotic wife–beater top the hilt. He even won the Filmfare Best Villain Award for his performance in Daraar.

Since then, his roles have not been substantial. However, no matter how meager the role is , his films did manage to create a stir in the box-office. Be it Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Garv: Pride and Honour or Qayamat: City Under Threat, all were hits.

Besides these, he has also played supporting roles in movies like Malamaal Weekly and Bhagam Bhag. Another talked about film in which he had a supporting role was Shootout at Lokhandwala.

As for his personal life, he is married to the leggy VJ-cum-model-cum-item girl, Malaika Arora. The couple has a son named Arhaan.

Saif-Bebo: Lovebirds or party animals?

Hand-in-hand they walked into Manish Malhotra’s show and they continued doing so at the postparty on Saturday night for the Lakme Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2008. We’re talking about Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, the ‘it’ couple around town. While the two were very late for the show, they arrived pretty early at the party, in fact, one of the very first to arrive!
But then, like most of the other guests who hung around at the venue to catch the action of the high-powered Arjun Khanna show, they decided to go straight to the party. Joining them in their fun and games were the likes of Gauri Khan and Urmila Matondkar. The steady stream of guests also included Simone Singh and Fahad Samar and a whole bunch of models, most of whom were on partyhopping mode.

Neil Nitin to romance Bipasha

Age may be just a number, but Bollywood is cashing in on it! Nowadays, the filmi world is busy exploring the chemistry between heroes and older women. First, we heard of the sweet ‘n’ surprising Shahid Kapoor-Vidya Balan pairing in Kismet Konnection. Now it’s time for Bips Basu to create sparks with a younger Neil Nitin Mukesh. The film, titled Freeze, has Bipasha playing a DJ and Neil a photographer. Apparently, Bips was initially reluctant to take on the film due to the age difference between the lead characters. In fact, it was precisely due to this reason that she refused to do the sequel to Raaz.

However, boyfriend John Abraham has persuaded her to take it up. Bips isn’t getting any younger, and it’s pretty hard to ‘freeze’ time! So, why not?

Bollywood focus:Sushmita sen

Zoom wishes Sushmita Sen a very happy birthday! Sushmita’s victory in Miss Universe 1994 put India on the beauty map of the world. More crowns and beauty queens followed, but Sushmita became a benchmark for them. And Bollywood had to follow.

Sushmita’s victory in Miss Universe 1994 put India on the beauty map of the world. More crowns and beauty queens followed, but Sushmita became a benchmark for them. And Bollywood had to follow.

Strangely, Sushmita’s debut film was Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Dastak’, where she enacted her real life role (that of Miss Universe) onscreen. Sen had everything - dashing looks, ambition, talent, and a fiercely intelligent mind that could intimidate most erudite men from the industry; her only hitch was that she was a trifle taller than most Bollywood actors at that point of time. She carried her towering height and lean physique with poise and elegance, though offers didn’t come by, a dime a dozen. In 1999, for the first time Sushmita Sen received applause for her performance in ‘Biwi No. 1’ with Salman and Karisma Kapoor – it was then that she woke to an interesting revelation about her knack for comedy. In 2001 she attempted another David Dhawan so-called laugh-riot, ‘Kyo Ki Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta’, the results of which weren’t funny at all; of course, the critics had the last laugh.

But Sushmita wasn’t here to simply tickle funny bones and make her way into the highest echelons of the glamour biz; her intensity and perceptive sensibilities gradually emanated from the screen. In 2002 she starred in Meghna Gulzar’s debut vehicle, ‘Filhaal’, a strong woman-oriented subject. The film didn’t go down well the masses, but Sushmita received a sack full of accolades for her portrayal as a surrogate mother.

In 2003, ‘Samay – When Time Strikes’ followed, a thriller where she played the protagonist – a cop in common-wo(man’s) clothes. Here again she evaded the archetypical role of posing as a heroic cop’s love-interest; she was the officer-in-control. In Manisha Koirala’s ‘Paisa Vasool’, Susmita played the role of a crass woman for the first time. Though the film bombed at the BO, she walked away once again with the bouquets, leaving behind the brickbats for others to bear.

Bollywood finally woke up to a serious actress in Sushmita Sen and received offers such as Farah Khan’s ‘Main Hoon Na’ and Mahesh Manjrekar's 'It Was Raining That Night' (the English version of his earlier production, 'Astitva'), which is in her native languages of Bengali and English.

Sushmita’s professional life might be packed with a houseful of films, bustling with other activities, or blossoming with love (with her string of high-profile liaisons), but her first priority is her adopted daughter, Renee, who, Sushmita says, is the joy of her life.

Akshay Kumar’s underwater stunt

Recently, Akshay Kumar shot for an underwater sequence for Nagesh Kukunoor’s 8 x 10. Akki is known for his daredevil ways when it comes to performing stunts. The sequence — one of its kind in Bollywood, apparently —required Akshay, tied up with chains, to fight another actor underwater. Obviously, Akshay wouldn’t let anybody convince him to use a body double or a stuntman. He promptly went to Bangkok and did a special course. Akshay plays a superhero without supernatural powers in the film. What he has proved, be it an ad film or feature film, is he likes to be in control.

Bollywood Focus: Aarti Chabria

Aarti was born on the 21st of November 1982 into a sindhi-speaking family, which did not have any links to the film world of the Bollywood film industry. So it was a total surprise when she entered the filmi dunya.

Aarti was born on the 21st of November 1982 into a sindhi-speaking family, which did not have any links to the film world of the Bollywood film industry. So it was a total surprise when she entered the filmi dunya.

Aarti completed her education and was catapulted to fame when she won the crown of Miss India in the year 2000. it was then that she got into shooting for ads and she did a total of approximately 200 ads, starting with Krack Cream and moving on to Amul. Later she also did music videos for Sukhwindar Singh and Adnan Sami. This is when she was realized by the film industry for her talent and stunning good looks.

Aarti is fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi, Sindhi and Gujrati, and hence had no language problems where ever she went. Her debut was in the film Tum Se Aach Kaun Hai in ’02 opposite Nakul Kapoor. However the movie failed to make an impression on the Box Office. But prior to this she was also in Akansha and Lajja in 1989 and ’01 respectively.

Later Vikram Bhatt signed her on for the multi starrer Awara Pagal Deewana opposite Akshay Kumar. She has also done Raja Bhaiyya with Govinda and other comedy flicks.

When asked about how she felt about entering Bollywood without a godfather the actress said that she really doesn’t mind. She says that she was born to act and that it was her destiny to be here. She thoroughly enjoys herself while acting by saying that she gets to go places, work with handsome men while being paid to do all this.

Besides the main stream Bollywood movies she has also done a Kannada film Pritisonaba. She says that the people down south are so organized that it is really easy to go ahead as per schedule. Aarti has a bit of a problem at first with her language but eventually she started to understand it.

Her latest venture was that of a bar dancer in the much acclaimed Shootout At Lokhandwala. Her performance in the film, though brief, was quite appreciated. Since then, she has been approached with many film offers as well as brand endorsements.