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What: Konkana Sen Sharma launches cotton shoppers bags
Where: Bandra, Mumbai
When: November 21, 2007

Konkona Sen Sharma has joined Cotton World in their new initiative to introduce eco-friendly cotton bags for the shoppers and do away with plastic bags. The proceeds from the recyclable bags will go directly to CRY.
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Not to shoot. That is the answer coming from Santosh Sivan Films Pvt. Ltd. as his representative Ritesh Menon returns from Pahalgam, the most popular hill resort in the Kashmir valley. After searching, he was unable to find a suitable filming location for their new venture.

The company was looking to produce a docu-drama featuring Anupam Kher, Rahul Bose and Sarika. The filming schedule was to commence this Saturday for a total of 25 days.

Prior to 1990, Kashmir was one of the most favoured locations for shooting Bollywood movies. Militant activity over the past 12 years forced producers to look for safer places like Himachal Pradesh and abroad.

Since the situation has changed within the past 5 years, many producers have returned, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who filmed the much acclaimed Sanjay Dutt, Hrithik Roshan starrer Mission Kashmir in 2000.

Salman Khan will be happy to know that his wish for Rajkumar Santoshi to drop Shahid Kapur from his upcoming film has come true. Kapur was supposed to appear in the film with Khan’s girlfriend Katrina Kaif which made Khan slightly less than furious. The fact that Kaif made the decision to be in the film behind his back and would be acting opposite one of Khan’s enemies (he has many in the industry … John Abraham and Vivek Oberoi to name a few) Kapur, certainly didn’t help matters.

Khan thought by asking Kaif to leave the film that everything would work itself out. When it didn’t, Khan went to Santoshi and requested him to chose another hero since she was planning to stay. In this vain, Santoshi decided to take Ranbir Kapoor for the role in his romantic comedy instead.

While going through a rough patch in their relationship, several fights have ensued between them. Khan proposed to Kaif recently but her career is taking precedence and she asked him to wait. Her career seems to be what it is because of Salman’s recommendation to producers over in the beginning. Now, Khan feels that Kaif owes her career to him and should discuss her projects with him before making final decisions on them.

Maybe one of Khan’s concerns is the fact that Shah-K is one of the most eligible single man in the industry.

After three consecutive smash hits, ‘Namastey London’, ‘Heyy Babyy’ and ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, Akshay Kumar’s fourth release of 2007, ‘Welcome’, is finally at the door.

Releasing theatrically on December 20, the club-thumping music of the eagerly awaited comedy, ‘Welcome’, the most star-studded release of 2007, will release worldwide this weekend. The soundtrack features six commercial tracks shot in South Africa and Dubai, scored by as three heavyweight music composers, Sajid-Wajid, Himesh Reshammiya and Anand Raj Anand.

Producer Firoz Nadiadwala, whose previous smash hits include ‘Hera Pheri’ and ‘Phir Hera Pheri’, wittily remarked, “We were looking to have variety on the soundtrack. We opted for three composers because we couldn’t get five!”

The audio release of ‘Welcome’ also marks the launch of the Times Group’s brand, Junglee Music, the umbrella brand that will spearhead the group’s entry into the music of Hindi language and regional feature films.

‘Welcome’ stars Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Feroz Khan and Mallika Sherawat in lead roles.

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What: Film London and FTPGI sign agreement to promote film ties
Where: Whistling Woods, Film City, Goregaon
When: November 21, 2007

The Film and Television Producers Guild of India (FTPGI) and Film London signed an agreement to promote film ties. The agreement was signed by Sandy Lieberson chairman of Film London and Ronnie Screwvala FTPGI president at Subhash Ghai’s Whistling Woods at Film City in Mumbai. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone witnessed the signing of the historic agreement.
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Any action for Mira Nair’s Amitabh Bachchan/Johnny Depp starrer Shantaram has come to a grinding halt, along with several other Hollywood films, due to the writers’ strike. The film (under Warner Brothers) shooting which was to commence in February has been called off, this after $2 million was shelled out for the rights to the Gregory David Roberts bestselling novel on which it is based.

Bachchan is taking on the role of mafia boss Kader Bhai in the film. It can be recalled here that Bachchan refused to go bald for the part. Depp, plays the lead role of an Australian heroin addict who escapes a maximum-security prison, reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of India and eventually uses gun-running and counterfeiting skills to fight against the invading Russian troops in Afghanistan.

The onset of monsoon season along with time constraints for Depp have also added to the postponement of the film’s commencement. Mostly filmed in India, a portion of Shantaram will also be shot in New Mexico.

Yes, there still are more action heroes to be found among the Deol clan. Raj Deol is the newest and is looking forward to debuting in Kahin Hai Wo Aas Pas where his heroine (not cast as yet) will also be a new face on the silver screen. The film is an action/thriller.

Whether or not this Deol will be able to fit into the acting shoes of his famous cousins Sunny and Bobby or uncle Dharmendra, remains to be seen. Yet, he claims that he’s not an amateur, having been trained under the tutelage of guru Kishore Namit Kapoor.

“I am a little nervous, but I am working on making my first film a success. I am ready to take on the challenge,” says Deol.

Having the support of his family is one thing that he can count on. “I can always walk into their house and ask for their advice. They always help me.”

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What: The team of OSO unveils ‘The Making of Om Shanti Om’ book written by Mushtaq Sheikh
Where: Sahara Star, Mumbai
When: November 20, 2007
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Madhuri Dixit caused hysteria as she unleashed her magic on dance reality show Nach Baliye 3. She was accompanied by her co-stars from ‘Aaja Nachle’ Kunal Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma.
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This is the reason Bollywood heartthrob John Abraham gives as to why he chooses scripts for unusual films rather than those of hardcore commercial cinema. “By the grace of god, I’ve plenty of prolific work on my plate. I love the family of directors I’m working with - Deepa, Sriram Raghavan, Nagesh Kukunoor and Imtiaz Ali.

No one can deny the fact that Abraham really gets into the body of the characters he plays and makes them fit like a glove. From his emotional debut in Jism (where his voice was dubbed), to his blockbuster hit Dhoom, he wants to make sure that he gets the character right.

Abraham put his heart and soul in the Oscar nominated film Water. He not only wore a dhoti but even learned to play the flute for the role. Director Deepa Mehta says that he was so prepared for the role that it shocked her. He will be working with Mehta again soon in her film Exclusion.

For now, it is Imtiaz Ali’s turn to be shocked as Abraham prepares for his film Rock Star  to the point of taking guitar lessons. “I don’t want to be an actor just to look good and wear trendy clothes on screen. I want to go deeper into my characters. It’s great fun to prepare for a role. I want to grow as an actor.”

What does he feel is his greatest strength as an actor? “My greatest strength as an actor is that I follow my director’s brief completely. The film is always the director’s visual baby.”

We look forward to his continuing along those lines in his soon to be released Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.