What: John Abraham meets Diet Pepsi winners
Where: Fame Adlabs and Bombay Blue, Andheri, Mumbai
When: November 19, 2008

What: Times Food Awards 2008
Where: ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai
When: November 16, 2008

Mumbai’s foodies and celebs got together at the Times Food Awards 2008 to salute chefs, restaurateurs and bartenders.

Our Oscars of Food Awards’ the Times Food and Nightlife Awards 2008-09, was held at the ITC Grand Central in Parel. And that’s where the stars descended Sunday evening. To give away awards; to sample the exotic dinner laid out by 30 of Mumbai’s best restaurants; to perhaps wine and dance; and, to come close to the real stars of the culinary world Mumbai’s celeb chefs, wicked bartenders and flamboyant restaurateurs, the people being honoured by The Times of India for making life a celebration of the tastebuds.

What: Dostana press conference
Where: Cinemax, Andheri, Mumbai
When: November 13, 2008

The starcast of the film Dostana got together to speak to the media at the film’s press conference. Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Bobby Deol were present at the press meet.

Download wallpapers of Aashayein - a film by Nagesh Kukunoor starring John Abraham, Sonal Seghal, Vikram Inamdar. Wallpapers resolution is 1024×768.

Download wallpapers of Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra starrer Dostana in 1024×768 res.

Critically acclaimed John Abraham (Baabul, Kabul Express, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love) is Bollywood’s first actor to crack the West without playing an exotic character or an NRI. Instead, he will be taking on a full-fledged role opposite Rachel Weisz the Hollywood actress (The Mummy, Constantine and Constant Gardner), who won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Constant Gardner, in Deepa Mehta’s new film Luna. Weisz will essay the main character/protagonist Luna.

The film is based on the true story of Julia ‘Butterfly’ Hill, who protested against the felling of trees in the Redwood forests in the US by climbing a 180 foot Redwood tree. For 738 days ranging from December 1997 to December 1999, Hill lived atop the tree which she named Luna, in a small shelter. Hill’s protest drew the desired results as a resolution to preserve all the trees in the three-acre buffer zone of the Redwood forest was reached in 1999.

Mehta is set to direct for Baldwin Entertainment Group. Two-time Oscar winner David Ward has written the script for Luna.

Abraham is no stranger to a set run by Mehta. He worked with her on the controversial film Water, which dealt with the sad fate of Indian widows in traditional Indian society. This exposed him to a much wider audience in the West. In turn, he was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category.

Wanting the blue-eyed model-turned-actor in all of her films, Mehta says, “After working with John I realized what a wonderful human being he is. He just brings so much positive energy to the location. And he’s so willing to learn and participate. He was my first and last choice for Luna. The love for nature is another factor that binds me with John and of course the fact that my mother adores him just ends all discussions.”

Waiting to hit the floors also is Mehta’s film Exclusion, for which Abraham is already slated along with Amitabh Bachchan. At this point, with Luna taking precedent, Exclusion is on the back burner for now.

The 23 year-old Anaitha Nair who made her debut in Chak De India as Aliya Bose will soon be seen again on the silver screen.

Essaying the role of a cancer patient named Padma, she will be appearing in the Nagesh Kukunoor directed film Aashayein, opposite John Abraham.

Nair, who is of half Malayali and half Parsi origin, went bald in order to get the right feel for the character she was portraying.

The story behind the film is that of Rahul Singh, a compulsive gambler played by Abraham, who discovers new meanings of fortune and life through some dramatic turn of events.

Produced by Percept Picture Company Aashayein is scheduled for a May 9th release.

K- Jo’s new movie is a tribute to his late father Yash Johar. He has decided to name his new production, Dostana, after the 1980 blockbuster of the same name made by his father Yash Johar, and starred Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman.

The story is set in Miami. K-Jo and Tarun Mansukhani will start shooting it this summer. Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra are the lead players of the cast.

“It is funny, sassy and hilarious. It’s about friendship between these two guys played by Abhishek and John. Though it’s a love story, there is a never-before twist in the tale. We’ve never had a love triangle like Dostana before and you’ll never see Abhishek and John playing something like this again,” Karan said.

What: 5th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2008
Where: Mumbai
When: January 20, 2008

John Abraham and Tanishaa will both be running for a good cause on January 20th as part of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2008. Tanishaa will will run for the NGO called ‘Light of My Life’, which helps rural, destitute street children live a normal fulfilling life.

Abraham is not only a participant, but he has been named the official ambassador for the marathon this year. He hasn’t decided which organization he will run for yet, but better make a choice soon as the race is tomorrow.