Shilpa plans her Bollywood comeback

Namrata Shirodkar's sister talks about her return to Mumbai and plans of getting back to films after 11 long years

Last seen in MF Husain's Gajagamini,actress Shilpa Shirodkar is back in Mumbai.Putting up at Santacruz,Shilpa is now looking for a fresh start in Bollywood.And her husband Aparesh and 8-year-old daughter Anushka too have shifted base from London,to be by her side.
Talking to Mumbai Mirror about her decision to shift back home,Shilpa revealed that it wasn't for her career but her daughter Anushka that she came back to Mumbai."My mom never treated me and Chimoos (her sister Namrata Shirodkar) as stars at home.She maintained that we wouldn't be acting forever.She told us about marriage and motherhood.And all that has stayed with me.So,I am not back because I am Bollywood struck,"said the actress.
"Apart from the fact that I wanted to be closer to my sister,I felt that Anushka should grow up in India.I was not feeling complete.I wanted my daughter to know where her parents come from.I want her to spend quality time with her grandparents (Aparesh's parents),"she added.
While quitting films had been a decision taken by Shilpa herself,her wish to comeback to Bollywood is also her own."Aparesh never stopped me from working in movies.I had an arranged marriage.I wanted to give it some time... to know my husband better.Once that happened,I found myself pregnant.However,I had never lost touch with Mumbai.I tried to visit at least once a year.But now that I am back for good,I definitely want to face the camera again,"revealed Shilpa.
Shilpa is also quite open to all kind of roles including a stint on television."I am not expecting to get what I left behind in 2000.Though I think I am not that old to play Shahid Kapoor or Ranbir Kapoor's mum,if the script is good,why not I have no reservations to meet up to the grueling long hours of work on TV shows either.Indian television has big these days.It's good fun,"said Shilpa.
Thanks to her in-laws living in Andheri,Shilpa doesn't need to worry about her 8-year-old either."I don't have to worry about Anushka when I am shooting.She would be in safe hands.She has got admission in Oberoi International School.My in-laws would take care of her if and when I am busy with work,"revealed the actress and informed Mumbai Mirror that her husband Aparesh is planning to start a production house,which would venture into films as well as television shows.
However,Shilpa hasn't met up with filmmakers or shared her plans to make a comeback."I am in touch with Madhuri (Dixit) and Madhoo.It's wonderful that she too is back in Mumbai and back to acting.I did catch up with Mithun (Chakraborty) over a meal,when he was in London a few years ago.Also,when Sanjay Dutt was shooting there for an Abbas-Mustan film,he called.That was really sweet.It feels good to know that there are people who value old friends,"said Shilpa.

A sparkling start

Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh got married 31 years ago in a lavish 20-day Punjabi wedding,breaking a million hearts.The successful romantic jodi was last seen in Dhan Daulat(1980) before Neetu quit films to be the quintessential Kapoor bahu.Captured by ace photographer Shyam Aurangabadkar,the newlyweds are seen celebrating their first Diwali after marriage in the picture.Surprisingly,clad in casuals instead of festive formal wear,Rishi looks at the camera excitedly while Neetu seems to be a little dazed in her long,flowing satin halter dress.Theirs has been one of the mosttalked-about marriages in tinsel town,remaining rock solid even in rough weather.Talking about rough weather,in 1997,Neetu allegedly called the police during the early hours,claiming that her husband was physically abusing her in drunken rage.However,when the cops landed at their house,she denied having called them,saying she was fast asleep during the so-called phone call.The couple that entertained the audience with their chemistry right from their first film Khel Khel Mein (1975) to Do Dooni Chaar(2010) in this picture taken at the first Diwali celebration after their wedding looks happy to be together.Lighting up their first Diwali with sparklers,Rishi and Neetu are seen enjoying the festival with fire crackers.The newly married Neetu in 1980 looks cuter than her gym-maintained supermom avatar of 2011.Looking a little like his son Ranbir Kapoor from Bachna Ae Haseeno,Rishi sports a T-shirt with a Love motif.From their seven-year long courtship culminating into a stable marriage of 31 years and still going strong,this adorable couple has surely come a long way.We wish them many more Diwalis to celebrate

MS PERFECT Taapsee

Taapsee gets talking about her co-stars,rocking career and her Bollywood moves Taapsee Pannu is curled up like a lazy kitten on her bed,but you can sense that her mind is racing at breakneck speed.She talks nineteen to the dozen,after almost an hour of our girly gibberish,I realise I am on an assignment.Taapsee is undeniably sexy,but her mind is even sexier.
Its been quite a while on the movie front,but she manages to keep people hooked onto her.She rolls her eyes as I tell her that.Quite a year with continuous shooting schedules,releases and promotions,she has earned herself a big name in the industry.Ask her if she has earned herself the precarious tag of being choosy,she refutes brilliantly,At first the movie chooses us,and then we choose movies.
All that she carries is her confidence and her love yourself mantra clearly shows.Yes youre right,I love myself because only then will others love me, the diva says,giggling.Each time I meet her,she seems to be reversing the clock.If she struts in sheer glamour,she also seduces with her earthiness.
Ask her about working with her counterparts in the industry and Taapsee says,All heroines dont have an option,its always the choice of the director if he wants to have a heroine or two.We work under directors constraints. She also adds that she makes sure that the character she plays is different from her counterpart.
Then we chat about her fellow actresses.Kajal is experienced and seasoned.So is Shraddha,she made her entry way before I did.I hate it when most people say first lead and second lead.I dont like this concept.Each of us is important in the film, she says as a matter of fact.
Taapsee is one of the very few actresses to dub in her voice.
I had a tutor initially,but my erratic work schedules wouldnt fit with his timings,then I just began to speak to my friends in Telugu and I now sound like a proper Telugu girl.It was a deliberate effort as I felt Mr.Perfect was the best option to kick off dubbing, she smiles.
We then speak about costars and she makes mention of her co-star Manoj Manchu.
We had our first schedule shoot for my debut film Jhummandi Naadam at Aaraku.Lakshmi and I were having a good chat sitting in my room,while Manoj (the chimpanzee ) wears this chimpanzee suit that he picked up abroad.I was shit scared and wouldnt stop screaming my lungs out.After this for more than a week we were on a mission to scare everyone on sets and have a good laugh looking at everyones reactions,she recollects.Dhanush (in Aadukaalam) too is one of her favourite co-stars.

Hrithik wins Rs 41 crore for KJo

Karan Johar has a reason to be happy.His forthcoming film Agneepath has fetched a satellite price of Rs 41 crore,the highest ever in the history of Bollywood.
A source told Mumbai Mirror "Agneepath is hot property in the industry today.The promos have got great response.Everybody is looking forward to seeing Hrithik Roshan playing the legendary Vijay Dinanath Chauhan,the role that Amitabh Bachchan did in the original.That's the reason the channel did not hesitate in shelling out Rs 41 crore.Even Aamir Khan's film with Reema Kagti and SRK's RA.One have fetched lesser money than Agneepath."
When contacted,Jayantilal Gada of Pen India,the agency for the channel,said,"Yes we have bought the film at a huge price but I can't speak about the economics in print.We had a couple of options but we went for Agneepath because we firmly believe that all of Hrithik's films except Lakshya have done tremendous business on satellite.The promos of Agneepath are a rage right now and that's why we put our bets on this film."

Who loves Ranbir more?

Move over, Deepika, Katrina and Nargis. The tiara of being the Kapoor scion's biggest devotees can be easily bequeathed to two young girls who met the star for a TV show, and returned, happily crazed some more. What's it like to be a budding superstar's frenzied fan, we find out

Seated at a patisserie off Linking Road in Bandra, Shikha Sharma is every inch your average, shy college girl, complete with a big, sweet smile, the mandatory satchel, and a T-shirt with rolled up sleeves. What isn't obvious, however, is how rabid a Ranbir Kapoor fan she is.
"His watchman recognises me now because I stand outside his home hoping to catch a glimpse of him every week, " admits the National College student. Her patience paid off when, about a year ago, RK Junior sped into his Pali Hill home in his red Audi, only to be accosted by Sharma and her friend, who insisted he stop the car, get out, and sign an autograph with them, all of which the "very down to earth" actor affably did, she gushes.
It's the kind of story that makes you cringe, or hark back nostalgically to memories of the poster of your teenage heartthrob plastered in your room, and go 'Aww".
It's also the kind of frenzy that landed 17 year-old Sharma the title of Kapoor's biggest fan, and gave her the opportunity to live the actor's life as part of Live My Life on UTV Stars.
But she wasn't alone. At 23, six years Sharma's senior, Khushboo Minocha is no less starstruck. Although meeting Kapoor was akin to striking gold for this Haryana girl, it didn't come without a dose of jealousy at having to share her moment of wonder with another girl. "I didn't want to be in competition with another girl.
Yes, I was jealous. We didn't know until the very last minute that we'd both actually be meeting him." No wonder the two even squabbled at one point, Sharma giggles, adding proudly that she was the one who won a quiz on the actor that was put to the duo as part of the show.
Minocha, who was over the moon when she was driven past RK's Pali Hill residence by his friend, tattoo and hairstylist Hakim Aalim, as part of her victory, also has 150 (yes, you read it right) pictures of the actor on her phone. This writer hardly had to ask her anything, because her excitement, even over the phone, is palpable.
Alternately sighing and laughing, she gushes, "I read that he learnt how to play the guitar for Rockstar, so I started playing it too. And now I can play it as well as him because I've learnt for as long." Talk about dedication.
Both girls agree that their object of affection was "humourous and very friendly."

No wonder their symptoms post Ranbir-iosis include "feverishness!" and sending a bouquet of flowers to his home on his birthday with a phone number and a request "for him to text me back if he remembers me as the girl from UTV, " confesses Sharma, who also nurtures aspirations of working with him at some point.

"Ranbir wants to turn director some day, and so do I, being a BBM student, " she says, sagely, before the veneer cracks and she laughs, "I don't mind playing a maidservant in one scene with him!"

For Minocha, the dream refuses to end. "I've been a crazy fan ever since I saw Saawariya in 2007. Now, I'm even more frenzied.

My friends asked me not to wash the clothes I was wearing when he hugged me, " she rattles off, concluding wistfully, "I was drinking hot water the other day, when he appeared on TV. I was so unsettled, considering I had just met him a couple of weeks ago, I dropped the glass, spilling it all over me!"

Genelia is Harman's last hope?

It’s My Life just got a new lease of life. Thanks to the favourable reports and response to Genelia d’Souza’s performance in her new release Force suddenly Harman Baweja’s long-delayed release of It’s My life has become an urgent issue with producer Boney Kapoor and director Anees Bazmi.
According to very reliable sources Genelia’s success in Force is just the window that the producer and director were looking for to release It’s My Life. The film is being spruced up big time.
Says the source, “Genelia’s is the third-most important role in It’s My Life after Nana and Harman. Ways are being devised to enhance Genelia’s presence in the film. A song is being added to the film. Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy have been asked to create a sizzling new number for Genelia to sizzle to. ”
Apparently, the Bon Jovi anthem ‘It’s My Life’ was being considered as the special add-on to the film. But Shankar Mahadevan denies the Bon Jovi connection. “We are doing a new title song for It’s My Life. We’re exploring various possibilities. But Bon Jovi is not one of them. ”
Anees admits the film is being spruced up. “We are definitely releasing the film finally on January 13. Yes we’re adding a song. I am not aware of how successful Genelia’s new film is. But yes, success of any kind does help the next picture, issmein koi shaq nahin hai. ”