Kajol not part of Ajay Devgan’s next venture

Mumbai, Kajol, who is busy shooting for her friend Karan Johar’s upcoming film “My Name Is Khan”, will not be a part of her actor husband Ajay Devgan’s new directorial venture.

“I’m directing a film in mid-2009. There is no role for Kajol in my next film. The leading lady’s role in that film doesn’t suit her,” Devgan told IANS.

His directorial debut “U Me Aur Hum” was critically praised for its brave portrayal of the ravages of Alzheimer’s.

Devgan, who has not done an action film for long now, said: “My next film as a director would be an action film with an undercurrent of dark humour. Even Milan Luthria’s film that I’m acting in is an action film. I believe audiences want to see me back in action. In fact when I made my entry balanced between two speeding cars in ‘Golmaal Returns’ people immediately remembered my entry in my first film ‘Phool Aur Kante’. The action in my directorial venture will be something unusual.”

Recalling how he broke many of his bones while performing stunts, the actor said: “Action scenes have become much safer now. Earlier we had to do it all by ourselves. Now when you jump from the fifth floor you’re harnessed. Earlier you just did it, or didn’t.”

He also complained of the stories being made out of his bonding with actor Salman Khan. The two actors recently completed shooting for Vipul Shah’s “London Dreams” in which Devgan plays a musician.

“We always have been friends ever since we did ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ together. But we didn’t go out partying and pubbing every night together, as was reported. And he didn’t present me with any paintings. Where did that come from? I’m right now neck-deep in producing my next film and putting together my next directorial venture,” Devgan said.

Devgan, who altered his looks for “London Dreams”, said: “I needed to look cooler. So I cut my hair, grew a stubble. Salman and I play very close friends, so naturally we had to have a certain amount of bonding between us. But that’s it. What I really enjoyed was shooting in London at one go. No distractions. Vipul is one of the most organised filmmakers I’ve worked with. And I didn’t get much of a chance to miss my family. Kajol and my daughter came for a visit.”

Hot Bipasha Basu real reason for global warming

Macau, Bipasha Basu should be India’s environment minister because she was “the real reason for global warming all over the world.”

This was the choice of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards hosts Boman Irani and Riteish Deshmukh who unveiled their dream cabinet before a packed auditorium at the Chinese resort here as the annual event marked its 10th anniversary.

The comic duo announced their choice that they said should have been appointed by Bollywood after the recent elections, much to the delight of the 15,000 strong crowd here Saturday night.

Director Ashutosh Gowariker should be agriculture minister for what he had done for the rural community with his hit film “Lagaan”; Raakesh Roshan, the coal minister because his successful film “Koyla” had shown that he knows everything there is to know about the black product; and Katrina Kaif should be the youth affairs minister because every youth wanted to talk to her, the pair added.

Aamir Khan should be home minister because all he did for eleven months in every year was sit at home and then just release a single film in the last month.

Akshay Kumar, shown on screen with his face on a Rs1,000 note, should be the finance minister because with the money he makes he could finance almost the entire population.

“Slumdog Millionaire” star Freida Pinto would do well in the post of minister for overseas and foreign affairs because she knew exactly how to start an affair abroad, Irani jested.

Always on the defensive, Salman Khan would make the ideal defence minister and Malika Sherawat could occupy the new position of minister for the upliftment of the downtrodden.

Others in the Irani/Deshmukh cabinet would be Sunny Deol as law and transport minister ; Yash and Aditya Chopra of ‘Punjab Power’ fame for their film “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi” as joint power ministers; and Viveik Oberoi as telecommunications minister because he knew how to make calls quickly when necessary.

Review of Kal Kissne Dekha

Film: “Kal Kissne Dekha”
Cast: Jaccky Bhagnani, Vishali Desai, Rishi Kapoor, Archana Puran Singh
Director: Vivek Sharma
Rating: **

Kal Kiss….sounds like something we would rather do today. Since the film had the word ‘kiss’ tucked into its title, we waited patiently for the young couple to share at least one chaste kiss.

Alas, the closest debutants Jaccky Bhagnani and Vaishali Desai come to a kiss is a coquettish collision on the college campus where our simple, robust, prankster hero from Chandigarh, with a few vital tips from his Bebe back home (Archana Puran Singh, wonder how Kirron Kher missed out on this one) teaches the campus b**** a lesson or two in social etiquette and basic good manners.

Bebe did it for Shah Rukh in “Duplicate” and “Om Shanti Om”. “Kal Kissne Dekha” has nothing to give the audience except a two-hour-plus show reel for the newcomer from his indulgent producer-father.

As a vehicle for Jaccky’s aptitude this is a harmless, inoffensive, sometimes fun but never funny (in spite of concerted attempts at humour) vehicle.

Sadly, the audience at the moment is in no mood to indulge the producer-father. It expects much more than just indulgent trivia from large-screen entertainment.

The writing skills displayed in young Bhagnani’s launch pad range from the intentionally funny to the abysmally tacky.

The eye-confectionary is innocuous as long as the simple boy with the innocent smile (with incredibly white over-decalcified teeth) and the campus female-brat fight it out through a primeval mating game interspersed with ‘cool’ songs and dances with enough colours to put a mammoth carnival to shame.

The serious stuff ends up being embarrassing in its clumsiness. Casting Rishi Kapoor as a college professor who moonlights as a terrorist is a bomb of an idea.

Please, yaar! We know Kapoor is the last word in versatility. But you can’t have him smirking under makeup planting bombs randomly all over Mumbai.

‘A Wince-Day’, anybody?

Interpolating extremism in a college romance is an extremely careless thing to do. We can’t have terrorism as a potboiler formula. Worse, we can’t have Riteish Deshmukh as a funny don bumbling all over shopping malls and dance floors with his army of two henchmen, one effeminiate and the other indeterminate. Both hugely annoying, like their boss.

The same is more or less true of the film. While director Vivek Sharma could wring a few moist-eyed scenes from his audience in his film about a friendly ghost “Bhootnath”, the closest we come to any emotion while watching “Kal Kissne Dekha” is impatience.

It’s fine for an indulgent father to throw a party to introduce his son. But must we be invited as peering guests looking desperately for that fun spot in the proceedings where even the music is of the most unpalatable variety?

All said and done, the debutants are easy on the eyes. Vaishali is leggy and moves well to the screechy music. Jaccky conveys the earnestness of the boy next door who will help an old lady across the street with a jig and a smile, hoping some producer is watching his good deed of the day. You never know.

Kangana Ranaut to put on 25 Kilos for IIFA

Kangana Ranaut is known for her wafer thin figure, but will soon be adding 25 kilos. Well, it’s a gown that will give Kangana those extra kilos. The actor who will be seen gracing the IIFA ceremony has decided to go the fairytale way. Kangana who was amazed by the gowns at the Oscars asked designer friend Rick Roy to make one fairytale gown for Bollywood’s big night.
Rick Roy who is back to being friends with Kangana used about 250 meters of pink fabric and embellishments. We know that Kangana can carry off any look to the T. But with so much weight to carry on her fragile shoulders we hope she wouldn’t trip on the green carpet. With Adhyayan out of Kangana’s life again, here’s a chance for tinsel town men to be chivalrous and impress Kangana.