Ritesh Deshmukh to play Aladdin

The actor is somewhat shy talking about this project.




"I don't know what plans Sujoy and (producer) Rohan Sippy have about my looks. It could be totally Arabian or it might be somewhat contemporary. But it's an exciting prospect any which way," said Ritesh.

"It has always been a childhood fantasy to have my own genie to make my wishes come true. And what better wish fulfillment than Amitabh as a genie?" said Ritesh.

What truly delighted Ritesh was the director's determination to sign the actor?

"Sujoy told me I was his first and only choice to play Aladdin. That made me happy. It's not often than one gets a chance to be in a huge fantasy like this, and that too with Amitabh as your co-star," said Ritesh.

Earlier, Ritesh shared screen space with the legendary actor for a segment of Ram Gopal Varma 's Darna Zaroori Hai .

"But that was just a two-day shoot. And Amitabh scared the hell out of me playing that eerie character. I think Aladdin is the ultimate fun fantasy and the ideal vehicle to share with India's biggest superstar," said Ritesh.

So excited is Ritesh about his preparation for Aladdin that he has decided to dodge all new offers for now.

"I do have my friend Sajid Khan's Hey Baby. But that's it. I want to focus completely on Aladdin. It's exciting to be in a children's fantasy. Until lately Bollywood had completely ceased making films for younger audiences. Now we seem to have revived that old young feeling," said Ritesh.

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Ritesh Deshmukh
Amitabh Bachchan
Ram Gopal Varma
Darna Zaroori Hai

The advantage of Aishwarya Rai's wedding hype

The hype surrounding the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai weeks before her much-awaited wedding to Abhishek Bachchan has its advantages.

For US-based Indian filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra , it means more publicity for his latest film Provoked , starring Ash as the protagonist.




The harrowing tale of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a battered Punjabi housewife and mother of two who is beaten and raped by her alcoholic husband, ‘Provoked’ will release just two weeks before the Abhishek-Ash marriage.

“The Aishwarya-Abhishek marriage on April 19 has definitely helped generate curiosity for my film. In that sense, yes, it will bring the audiences to the theatres to watch Aishwarya,” Mundhra told a news agency recently.

The filmmaker admitted that the curiosity level for the film is definitely higher with the wedding around the corner but added that ultimately it would be the film's merit and its storyline that would determine its fate at the box office.

''Admittedly, one of my reasons for casting Aishwarya Rai in the film was to add a brand value to it which would bring audiences to the theatres to watch it. However, ultimately, it will be the film's story and cinematic merit that will determine its success at the theatres,'' Mundhra added.

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Aishwarya Rai
Abhishek Bachchan
Jagmohan Mundhra
Provoked

Ash-Abhi wedding on Apr 20

The biggest event of the year, Abhi-Ash wedding is most likely to take place on April 20 at 6:30 p.m at the Bachchan’s residence in Mumbai. The wedding was initially supposed to be held on April 19, but the day called Bharani Krittika is considered inauspicious by the Rai family due to the placement of stars.

It is believed that the Sangeet will also take place at Jalsa (Bachchan’s residence), while the Mehendi and Bidaai ceremonies will take place at Ash's residence La- Mer in Bandra. The ceremony as rumoured will indeed be very small and private with the Rai family inviting only 25-30 close friends. However, the traditional ceremony will include close friends like Tina Ambani and will probably include the who's who of Bollywood including Ash's former flame Salman Khan.

Interestingly, it looks like Salman is keen to bury the hatchet and has even commissioned a designer Sherwani for Abhishek. But the specially commissioned Sherwani will have to be worn on another day as Abhishek will be wearing a kurta designed by Kolkata based designer Sharbari Dutta on the D-Day. As for the bride to be, rumours are abounding that Ash's wedding outfit is being designed by Neeta Lulla.

The world famous Madame Tussaud's waxwork museum has unveiled its latest Bollywood superstar - Shah Rukh Khan.

Khan attended the unveiling in London on Tuesday, saying his only regret was that his mother was not alive to see her dream come true.

Khan appeared pleased with the likeness - "What I like most are my eyes," he told the BBC.

Two other Bollywood stars, Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, already have wax statues in the museum.

Relieved

"As a kid I never thought my mother's dream would come true," Khan said. "I wish she was here today to see this mannequin."

The award-winning star was accompanied by his wife, Gauri, as he entered the main hall to the thunderous rhythm of dhol drum players.

Khan appeared relieved as the statue was unveiled.

So how does he feel about his wax-double?

''I always believed I was short but my statue looks alright. But what I liked the most are my eyes.''


The principle sculptor, Stephen Mansfield, said Khan's waxwork was a real challenge.

"Shah Rukh was so particular about the hair-style of his wax-double that he kept us on our toes til the last moment.

"But personally, I feel the hardest challenge was to capture his charm, his on-screen persona."

Mansfield has also created the waxworks of Princes William and Harry, David Beckham, Tim Henman, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton to name a few.

Precise measurements

To get Khan's body language right, Mansfield watched some of his movies, including the widely-acclaimed Devdas and Don.

It took four months to finish the statue. Nearly 500 precise body measurements of the star were taken and countless layers of paint and tints were applied to build up the skin tone.

Like other works in the museum, Khan's wax double was given real hair.

Does his wife like the figure as well?

"I think she likes it more. It looks younger," he was quick to snap.

Whose wax-work would he like to see next at Madame Tussaud's? "My son Aryan's," he quipped.

Shah Rukh Khan has starred in 50 films as actor, singer and producer since he began his career.

Box-office Report

NAMASTEY LONDON
Director: Vipul Shah
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor
Plus Points: Rishi Kapoor, camera work, commercial viability of storyline
Weak Points: Music, Screenplay
Box-Office verdict: Good (in North India & UK), Average elsewhere





HATTRICK
Director: Milan Luthria
Cast: Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal, Danny Denzongpa, Kunnal Kapoor, Rimii Sen
Plus Points: Nana Patekar, Danny Denzongpa, the plot
Weak Points: Execution, music
Box-Office verdict: Disaster

Who all will get married & who won't

Preity Zinta & Ness Wadia : Preity Zinta is a number 4 and Ness Wadia is a number 3. This relationship is not a strong one. This is because both of them will have different views. They will get along as friends but thinkings will not match. The biggest problem is that Ness Wadia's name comes to number 29 which means that you can be ditched by your closest friends or associates or lover at any moment. Therefore chances of Preity Zinta calling off the realationship without any reason are very strong which would give a shock to Ness Wadia. But as I mentioned it will not be anyone's fault but it will all happen because of number 29.

Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif :

Salman Khan is number 9 and Katrina Kaif is number 7. This is a good combination. But Salman Khan is presently not going through a good phase of life. Not only 'Salaam-e-Ishq' flopped but there will be one more huge flop of his this year. Salman Khan's date of birth is 27/12/1965=2+7+1+2+1+9+6+5=33 =3+3=6. Therefore 6 is his destiny number. All major eventful things happen in life connected to destiny number. Salman Khan will turns 42 in december 2007. If he continues his relationship with Katrina Kaif till the end of the year then he will decide to get married to her next year and he will have many super hit films next year.