Bipasha Basu to take John on a holiday to Capri

Bipasha Basu has fallen in love all over again. And this time it's for keeps. On a recent shooting spell in Italy she was captivated by the idyllic town of Capri and decided to revisit the place for a holiday with beau John Abraham.

'It's so restful and lovely. It's not a place to work. It's a place to holiday. And I'm taking John,' Bipasha, whose shot recently released 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' in Italy, told IANS.

Bipasha feels the hotel she stayed in at Capri was one of the best experiences of her life.

'It's called JK Place. The biggest celebrities of the world visit there. I had the best room overlooking the ocean. It was the most gorgeous suite I had ever stayed in. I didn't want to work. I wanted to call my boyfriend over for a holiday.'

Otherwise Italy was great fun.

'We finished work very fast everyday and went sightseeing in a big group to Rome. Capri was very cute and small. We were shooting in a villa. We were all together all the time. I remember we couldn't get any chicken in Italy. There was other kind of meat that I don't eat. When I finally got chicken, I was so happy. Me, who's almost a diehard vegetarian!'

Bipasha is now getting her house renovated and will plan this holiday as soon as John returns from Philadelphia were he's shooting for Kabeer Khan's 'New York'.

'I've rented a place close to where I live. I'll shift to that place while my house is being renovated. It took me a while to find the rented place. At the moment, the rented place is being done up, so I can move into it while renovation starts in my house.

'I'm waiting for the other place to be ready. But in the meanwhile I'm staying in my own place without a bed in a makeshift corner while the workers get busy hammers and tongs. So you see, I'm not in a very happy state of mind. A good time to take a holiday.'

'God Tussi Great Ho' is not a remake of any film: Rumy Jafry

Dismissing rumours that his film "God Tussi Great Ho", which releases Friday, is a remake of popular Hollywood movie "Bruce Almighty", writer-director Rumy Jafry says his directorial debut has been inspired by an Indian folktale.

"My film is not at all any movie's remake. It is inspired from a village folk tale about a Brahmin. It is a modern version of a desi (Indian) story. It is a commercial film that leaves a message with humour," Jafry told IANS over the telephone from Mumbai.

"God Tussi Great Ho" is a humorous take on the story of a man, played by Salman Khan, who curses god for his failures. What happens to him when god, played by Amitabh Bachchan, hands over his power to him and asks him to run earth for seven days is what the film all about.

"I'm waiting for the film to release so that audiences can see for themselves what it's about. Even Sanjay Dutt was surprised after watching the film at a preview. He told me that he had previously thought it was a remake of the English film."

Commenting upon pre-release speculation, Jafry said: "It is a custom in the industry to predict and guess the story of a film after seeing the initial rushes.

"Considering the title of my film and that Amitabh Bachchan is playing the almighty who wears only white clothes, everyone concluded that it is a copy of the Hollywood comedy. However, no one noticed that even Rishi Kapoor played god and wore only white clothes in 'Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic'."

Jafry, who started out in Bollywood as a writer, says he always wanted to make a debut with a mega film and has achieved that by casting Amitabh, Salman and Priyanka Chopra.

"I wanted to direct a film that no one had ever attempted to. Considering the technical aspects I have used in the film, 'God Tussi...' also has special effects to keep audiences glued to their seat," he said.

Directing the multi-starrer was smooth sailing for Jafry.

"I didn't face any problem while directing the film. The film went very smoothly as Amitabh and Salman had already been pushing me to direct a film for a long time."

Jafry has been in the industry for more than 15 years now, so what took him so long to wield the megaphone?

"I didn't take up direction earlier because I wanted to learn its technical aspects. Also, I needed to find the right subject I wanted to work on."

Jafry, who has scripted romantic comedies like "Mujhse Shaadi Karogi", "Hero No.1" and "Coolie No.1", says he will continue to write scripts even though direction is his new passion.

"Writing is my first love. If I get an exciting offer, I'll definitely do it. As of now, my entire focus is on direction. Every person looks for a change. However, I'll write at least one film every year," he shared.

Vipul Shah's "Singh Is Kinng" that was released last week and is still bringing in the bucks at the box-office is expected to be a tough competitor to 'God Tussi Great Ho". But Jafry is not perturbed.

"I don't fear any movie. My movie is also commercial but different. Giving audiences a paisa vasoool (complete satisfaction) film has always been my forte," he asserted.

Jafry is now also directing his second project titled "Life Partner" with producers-turned-directors duo Abbas-Mustan that is slated to release next year.

Nandita Das' directorial debut to be premiered at Toronto fest

Nandita Das' directorial debut 'Firaaq', based on the 2002 Godhra incident in Gujarat, will be screened at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), starting Sep 4.

The film, produced by the Percept Picture Company (PPC), has been selected in the Contemporary World Cinema Premiere category of the fest. Nandita is excited with her first film going to the TIFF.

'I have been attending TIFF since 'Fire' in 1996. It is a film lover's festival and I am pleased that 'Firaaq' will have its world premiere there,' said Nandita in a statement.

'Festivals are very important to garner attention and international buyers for the film. I am also looking forward to share this film with people in India. This time competition will be tough as many films by seasoned directors are contending for the place,' she added.

'Firaaq" is set for October release in India.

Nandita's two films were showcased at the TIFF last year - Santosh Sivan' Santhosh Sivan's 'Before the Rains' and Adoor Gopalkrishnan's 'Nallu Penangal' and both were appreciated.

'Firaaq' has a bevy of top-rung actors, including Paresh Rawal,Naseeruddin Shah,Tisca Chopra, Deepti Naval, Raghuvir Yadav and Sanjay Suri.

Shehmat Khan, a fourth-standard boy from Hyderabad, also plays an important role in the movie.

'It was a dream to work with so many good actors. They were very supportive. I think being an actor myself, I struck a special chord with each of my actors, who have given their best in the film,' Nandita said.

The message Nandita wants to convey through the movie is that violence is no solution to a social problem. It only leaves a trail of destruction, socially and psychologically.

Apart from 'Firaaq', another PPC-produced film titled 'Kanjivaram' will be screened at the nine-day film fest.

Navya Nair goes for Plastic Surgery

Actress Navya Nair looks much prettier than she was spotted during her debut in Tamil Cinema. So curious to know about it, some of the media channels published a false story that she underwent plastic surgery.

Speaking about this, actress Navya Nair says that before few days, she was hurt on her face while shooting for a Malayalam film. This caused a blatant injury below her lips and so she decided to go for Plastic surgery.

Also added that she spoke about this openly to few journalists during an interview and they have published a different story now.

Rajinikanth and Vijay together?

After the recent release of 'Kuselan', the remake of the Malayalam super hit 'Katha Parayumpol', there is a whiff in the air about another possible Malayalam remake in Tamil.

According to reports, plans are on to remake the Malayalam film 'One Way Ticket' that had Prithiviraj in the lead and Mammootty in a cameo as himself. The story was about Mammooty, a superstar in films, coming down to a village to save his ardent fan's love life.

A big banner that produces Tamil films is said to have bought the rights for this movie and is ready to remake the film with Vijay in the lead role. The reports also add that superstar Rajinikanth has been approached to play the cameo. Official confirmation is not out yet and it is not known if Rajinikanth will give the nod.

An interesting point to note is that Rajinikanth has been remaking quite a number of Malayalam hits. 'Muthu' was the remake of 'Thenmavin Kombathu' and 'Chandramukhi', the remake of the Malayalam classic 'Manichithra Thaazhu'.

With recent reports that have come in saying that 'Kuselan' has managed only a lukewarm opening, the decision and announcement about remaking 'One Way Ticket' might go under the scanner.

Aishwarya Danush to pair with actor Jeeva

Aishwarya Dhanush, daughter of Rajnikanth and wife of actor Danush, will be pairing with actor Jeeva as the other judge for the show to be telecast in Vijay TV.

The stage is set for Garnier Fructis Jodi No.1 Season 3 on Vijay TV with the eight contesting teams ready for the competition.

The eight jodis - Rajesh and Suhasini, Sarath Chandra-Preethi, Mahendran-Hema, Sanjay-Pooja, Nethran-Aruna Devi, Venkat-Nisha, Tinku-Santhoshi and Ravindran-Pooja would be making their first performance in front of the judges.

The folk round being the first competitive round, the teams have been preparing with gusto for it. It is one of the most popular rounds on the show.

The first judge on the show is actor Jeeva, while the other will be Aishwarya Dhanush.

10 reasons why Bollywood rocks!

Bollywood is like that Omigod-I-can't-make-up-my-mind-about-him boy in your class.
There are times you just simply hate his crazy guts (or lack of them), complete disregard for logic and bullheaded tendency to go overboard. And there are occasions when he totally floors you by being his batty, unique, indescribable self.

Most of us, movie fanatics, harbour this love-hate sentiment towards Hindi films and everything extraordinary (or absurd if you will) they stand for. But there are some qualities exclusive to Bollywood alone, which makes its 'lydat wonly' attitude so much fun. 1 Ding dong o' baby sing a song!

Songs and dances act like oxygen to Bollywood. And so when Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam's Nandini (played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) says 'We have songs for all occasions,' she isn't far from the truth. Whether X is sick, sad, happy, bored, constipated (Aati nahi, remember?), dreaming or dead (Bhoot hoon main, anyone?), there's a mandatory song to cheer, chill and chide.

Needless to say, in most cases, it will be picturised with a hefty dose of grandiose, flamboyance and mathematical precision (four dancers in red to X's right. four to his left. Eight behind him, in blue outfits. So on and so forth).

When on this topic, can rain songs and item numbers be far behind? Bollywood's love for this wet, hot and sultry weather is legendary. From Madhubala to Priyanka Chopra, every heroine has been through the dripping sari routine.

Chiranjeevi Was Shot By Puri In Bangkok

Chiranjeevi is going to appear in the film 'Chirutha'. If this is true, it's certainly the delight for all Chiru fans. The gossip says that Chiranjeevi was shot by Puri Jagannath when he went to Thailand secretly. It is said that Chiru is going to appear for a moment in a dance sequence with Ram Charan Teja.

In the film 'Shankardada Zinadabad', there was huge response in the theater when Pawan Kalyan was appeared on screen. Now how the response would be if Chiru himself appears as guest in dance?

We got no other information other than this. Get glued to know more.