Asin says No to Abhishek, Deepika Padukone says Yes

Amidst the tribulation of bitter spilt Deepika Padukone has a reason to smile. With Asin out of Ashutosh Gowariker's Khelein Gay Hum Jee Jaan Se, Deepika Padukone is all set to star opposite Abhishek Bachchan in the film.

Ashu who is known to portray actresses in a beautiful way in his films zeroed in on Dippy after cautuious Asin stepped out of the running citing date problems. Though he also considered Genelia D’Souza and Sonam Kapoor for the role but in the end it was Deepika who got lucky.

The news about Deepika being a part of the film was confirmed by Ashutosh’s wife, Sunita.

A source says,"Deepika is more than happy to be working with Ashu sir and immediately grabbed the role. For the first time, she is paired with Abhishek and is very excited to be working in a period film (the film is about the Chittagong Uprising). She has already started preparing for her role.”

Since Bachchan Jr is part of the film, rumours were rife that Aishwarya Rai would be signed too but both Ashu and Ash later denied it. Deepika begins shooting for the film in Goa with AB Jr this Monday.

Deepika is Hrithik’s next heroine hrithik Rakesh Roshan is all set to make the sequel to his last flick Krissh after he gets over with his current p

Rakesh Roshan is all set to make the sequel to his last flick Krissh after he gets over with his current project Kites.

A source reveals, “After the success of ‘Krrish’, the Roshans decided to go ahead with the sequel of the movie. Their first priority was to finish with ‘Kites’ and then work on ‘Krrish 2’. ‘Kites’ is almost done and is in the post-production stage. Rakesh Roashan`s production house FilmKraft is working on ‘Krrish 2’. They are at an infant stage and still working on script and the star cast, but it obviously includes Hrithik as the actor.”

“The layout of the script is ready and it will see Hrithik in a superhero avatar once again. He will be seen saving the Seven Wonders of the World, so naturally the film will be shot extensively at various foreign locations. Hrithik will undergo physical training once again for the role. Like the prequel, this too will have SFX and a big crew of foreign technicians.”

Deepika is slated to play the role of Hrithik’s love interest in Krissh 2.

Asin getting too close to her enemies!

Seems like the Bollywood honeymoon is still not over for Asin Thottumkal, as the sinfully delicious actress seriously feels that actress can compete for the same roles and still be friends.

After being in news for sharing a dozen SMS everyday with Ranbir Kapoor’s girlfriend Deepika Padukone, Asin is hitting the airwaves again for being buddies with Anil Kapoor’s little girl, Sonam Kapoor.

Being friends with Deepika and Sonam connects her with two of the most influential Kapoor clan of the Bollywood industry. Asin is a smart girl who knows to connect with the right people to move up in Bollywood.

At 23, Asin may be young, but she is definitely not naïve. A superstar down south long before Deepika and Sonam even signed their first films, Asin has been doing movies ever since she was 15 years old. She is well aware that her competitions in Bollywood are the young breed of actresses, not the established ones.

All this talk of being friends with Deepika and Sonam, doesn’t go down too well if one remembers Asin’s spat with Genelia. Ms Congeniality Asin gets her claws out at the mention of Genelia.

Asin seems to be following the saying 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

Deepika wants Salman

Though Deepika Padukone debuted with Shahrukh Khan with ‘Om Shanti Om’, she expressed her desire to work with his rival Salman Khan. She said that she would love to work with Salman Khan.

Deepika at the same time finds herself lucky to work with the big names of the industry like Saif Ali Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar at the onset of her career.

"I'm so new in the industry and I have been very lucky to have got the opportunity to work with the biggest names in the industry. I have worked with SRK, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan and now I would like to work with Salman," says Deepika, who is currently basking in joy with the success of Love Aaj Kal.

She further adds, "I feel Salman is a very honest person. He is genuine about what he feels and what I have read and known about him, he seems to be very caring."

Putting aside the rumor of Ranbir Kapoor getting well with Katrina Kaif, Deepika places Salman at the top and even remarked that he is a caring person.

Deepika is the new Katrina

If you are the kind who has regularly watched Hindi movies over the years, you can summarise the storyline of most movies into one line: boy meets girl, boy loses girl and boy wins girl again. Most Hindi films are essentially versions of this story line (or what the director of the movie may tell you treatment bilkul alag hai.)

Now what would you say about a movie which twists this entire logic on its head. Boy loses girl in the beginning, boy loses girl at the interval, boy loses girl again after interval and boy wins girl, finally, in the end, after the girl has gone ahead and married the second hero.

Well that it is different. Hmmm, almost. In a nutshell that is the story of Imitiaz Ali’s much awaited Love Aaj Kal. The movie works over most its two hours running time except towards the end when it really drags and of course whenever Deepika Padukone tries to act.

What works for the movie? Some semblance of a new storyline.

Great visuals (human as well as natural. You know what I mean.)

Great music backed by some real good lyrics. My favourite being the song Chor Bazaari, which has some brilliant lyrics.

Rishi Kapoor is excellent as usual (For a guy who barely acted for most of his career as a hero, he is having a real good second innings in Bollywood, with some excellent roles in movies like Hum Tum, Luck By Chance and now Love Aaj Kal. For the record he won a National Award for his debut role in Mera Naam Joker, when he was barely 18).

There are some real good oneliners in the first half, which I won’t reveal here.

Then there is Shweta Gulati playing the young Harleen (the girl who Rishi Kapoor’s character is in love with), who looks fantastic. She has been kept under the wraps, so don’t know what her name is. But she clearly reminded me of Bhagyashree in Maine Pyar Kiya. (How many hearts fluttered when she said hota hai, hota hai)

Oh and you must look out for this yesteryear actress, towards the end, who makes her comeback, after nearly 30 years away from the movies.

What doesn’t work for the movie?There is very little chemistry between Saif and Deepika. Now that means two things. Either Kareena should have been the heroine or Ranbir should have been the hero.

Some really corny lines in the second half. Sample this: “Love-who knows what love is. I haven’t figured out that one as yet.” In these portions Imitiaz Ali who has written the movie as well, has clearly been inspired by the Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar school of film making. (Remember when Shahrukh Khan says in Dil To Pagal Hai to Madhuri towards the end “Rahul,naam to yaad rahega na” and when he tells Kajol in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai “Tum nahi samjhogi Anjali Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”. That for me is the corniest line written ever.)

The major weakness of the movie is : Deepika Padukone, for sure. She can’t act for nuts. Her first film Om Shaanti Om did not need her to act. Her second movie Bachna Ae Haseeno had two other non acting heroines (Minisha Lamba and Bipasha Basu) which of course allowed her to share the blame.

But this movie rests solely on her and Saif Ali Khan. Saif is pretty decent continuing with his Hum Tum act. Deepika though is a disaster, and that makes what would have been a very good movie, a pretty average movie.

You can make out how much difficulty she has had just mouthing her dialogues. As friend who works in the film industry puts it “These days we say cut as soon as the actresses are able to complete their lines without any mistakes.” So that rules out any space for them getting their emotions right as well, while acting.

Deepika Padukone clearly belongs to that category. You can make out that she tries hard to emote, but her dialogue delivery clearly lets her down. I guess we can safely say “Deepika is the new Katrina.” And given that, she has a bright future. Who wants heroines to act anyway?

Akshay takes good care of Deepika!

He not only made sure Deepika was looked after, but also persuaded her to stay away from shooting.

While Deepika was resting, alternative scenes that didn't require her were shot.

"I'm recovering. I was bedridden for three days. And yes, I did return to the set on Saturday. I had to shoot. But I'm not sure whether it was the wisest of decisions, considering it was malaria," Deepika told IANS from London.

Akshay and Deepika earlier teamed up for "Chandni Chowk To China", which turned out to be a box office dud. But the film's failure hasn't affected their friendship.

"I'm lucky to be surrounded by gallant men. Whether it's my dad, Ranbir (Kapoor), Akshay, Shah Rukh Khan or any of my co-stars, I haven't so far encountered any ill-behaved men," said Deepika whose next release is "Love Aaj Kal".

Directed by Imtiaz Ali, "Love Aaj Kal" hits the screens Friday. And Saif Ali Khan, who plays Deepika's cynical love interest in the romantic saga, also gets high marks from Deepika, though she admits they aren't close friends.

In the movie, Saif plays a guy who doesn't believe in romantic love whereas Deepika is a die-hard romantic both in the film and in real life.

"He (Saif) also believes in love and realises it when he can't do without the girl. So I guess there's a romantic in all of us. It just needs to be tapped. But you need to experience that journey

from disbelief to love, like I have in real life.

"So many times I advice people on their love life. I can always tell the difference between those who understand and don't understand the value of true love," she said.

Deepika, too hot to handle

Now, Ranbir’s girlfriend Deepika Padukone is following his footsteps. Recently, Deepika shot for a soap ad in Chennai. She had to get up close and very personal with model Rakesh Bapat in the sizzling ad. As both the actors hardly knew each other they took at least 45 retakes before they got the right moves. To make things easy for Deepika, director Pradeep Sarkar played the title track of Bachna Ae Haseeno instead of the ad jingle so that Deepika could shed her inhibitions.

A source, who was present on the sets, said, “Yes, we took almost 50 retakes. The ad was shot under a shower and had to be filmed keeping certain technicalities in mind because the product (soap) had to be the focal point. After several retakes, director Pradeep Sarkar and cameraman Anil Mehta suddenly came up with the idea of playing Deepika’s favourite song. They played the title song of Bachna Ae Haseeno so that Deepika could feel comfortable enough to shoot. Deepika obviously loves the song

and it made matters much easier for everybody present on the sets.”

Pradeep Sarkar said, “Yes, I played the song to make Deepika feel good. It helped in getting all the right moves.”

When asked about the number of retakes, Sarkar said, “I only finalise a take when it’s right. There are many retakes and different shots when one is shooting an ad film. My edit process if still on so I won’t know the exact number of takes.”

Deepika remained unavailable for comment.

Deepika kissing Saif?

This piece of news will surely make Kareena Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor fume in anger if it turns out true. The grapevine is abuzz with the news that Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan have done some intimate scenes in Love Aaj Kal including a kiss.

However, Deepika denied that the film has lip-locking scene. She said that the particular scene looks like a kiss but just a cheat in reality.

Saif is leaving no stone unturned to make his debut home production Love Aaj Kal a big success. He is flying off to England along with Deepika to promote the film at the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup. Kareena too has decided to skip the IIFA Awards function in order to be with Saif.

Watch out for this latest on screen pair!

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