Bollywood

Actress Tanisha Mukherjee, whose proximity with Armaan Kohli during their stay in the “Bigg Boss” house hogged headlines, has dismissed any romantic talk by saying that he is her “best friend”.

The grand finale of “Bigg Boss – Saath 7” was aired on Colors Dec 28.

At a post finale press conference, Tanisha was questioned about her relationship with Armaan and she became visibly angry.

“Armaan is a friend and that’s all I have to say. Armaan is my best friend, he was very supportive for me in the house and that is all that I have to say about it,” Tanisha said here.

Actress Gauhar Khan, who won the seventh season of reality show Big Boss tonight, said she was not sure of victory when she was pitted against co-contestant Tanishaa Mukherjee after other finalists Sangram Singh and Ajaz Khan had bowed out of the contest.

“When the four (Sangram Singh, Ajaz Khan, Tanishaa Mukherjee) of us were there in the house, I was confident that I would win. I wanted to win the show, but I did not expect it,” Gauhar told PTI.

Veteran actress Tanuja says she is proud of her daughter Tanishaa Mukherjee’s stint in the seventh season of reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ which concluded last night.

Tanuja, 70, who came for the finale got emotional after seeing her daughter.

“I watched the show every day as there was no other way to get in contact with her. I felt good to see her. I cried whenever she cried on the show. I am very very proud of her,” she said.

Model-turned-actress Gauhar Khan won ‘Bigg Boss 7’.

According to sources, it was tough to convince Tanuja to come for the show.

Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan feels her husband Saif Ali Khan shows sparks of brilliance in every film.

“I have seen ‘Bullett Raja’ and I loved it. I will be biased always towards my family. I think Saif was brilliant – I loved him in the film. He is such a fine actor, he is just brilliant. He shows sparks of brilliance in every film he does, whether the film does well or not, he is amazing in the film.

“He has naturally got flair, personality, I think people love his on screen personality,” Kareena told PTI.

Hospitalised after a respiratory tract infection, legendary actress Suchitra Sen was shifted to the ICU of a private hospital tonight.

“She complained of breathlessness in the evening after which she was taken to the ICU,” a source at the super-speciality Belle Vue Clinic told PTI.

The 82-year-old actress, who lives a secluded life and stays locked up inside her apartment, was admitted to the hospital on December 23 after she had respiratory troubles.

Her granddaughter actress Raima Sen, however, said she is better now.

Sonakshi Sinha has said that she did get a lot of opportunities served on a platter because of her family name.

She said that, the family name only helps people to get their foot into the industry, which in itself is a big deal, L’Officiel India magazine reported.

The Bollywood actress said that after that, if an actor is not able to prove themselves, then they are written off.

Sinha said that her audiences loved her from her debut in Dabangg, asserting that they saw a spark in her, and that pushed her to give more.

Preetika, younger sister of Bollywood actress Amrita Rao, is making her debut on TV with a fiction show, but says reality shows are not on her wishlist as she won`t be comfortable doing them.

The 25-year-old, whose debut show `Beintehaa` will go on air Monday, admits that reality shows give exposure, but said: “I would never participate in a reality show. I am a very private person and I am not comfortable doing anything like that.”

“I want to face the camera only as an actor and not as a participant of a reality show,” Preetika told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai says his upcoming film `Kaanchi` is an inspirational story of a girl who dares to fight against corruption.

“The story of `Kaanchi` is an inspirational story of an aam ladki (common girl) of India who shows the strength of a woman within but without outside support,” Ghai tweeted Sunday.

The musical drama features Mishti and Kartik Tiwari in the lead roles. It also stars veteran actors Rishi Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty.
IANS

Bollywood `Badshah` Shah Rukh Khan is thrilled with the thought that people all over the world will take the name of his upcoming film `Happy New Year` to welcome 2014.

“And as cheesy as it may sound… But this 31st most of the people in the world will say the name of our new film as a greeting! HNY,” SRK tweeted Sunday.

Directed by Farah Khan, the romantic comedy also features Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani and Sonu Sood.
IANS

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar says actress-wife Twinkle Khanna, who turned 38 Sunday, is the “best thing” in his life.

“There’s really no contest when it comes to the best thing in my life. It`s you! You are the reason why I smile during good times. But more importantly you are the reason why I smile even during bad times. Happy birthday Tina! And guys thank you for all your sweet wishes for my wife, shall pass them onto her,” Akshay tweeted Sunday.

Twinkle shares her birthday with her superstar-father Rajesh Khanna, who died July 18, 2012.
IANS

Actress Gauahar Khan, who won the popular reality show “Bigg Boss – Saath 7” Saturday, says she will not lie about her relationship with her co-contestant and actor Kushal Tandon.

“My relationship with Kushal is what it is. I am not going to camouflage it or lie about it outside the ‘Bigg Boss’ house,” Gauahar told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

Actor Sunny Deol, who watched a special screening of “Sholay 3D”, said Saturday he got very emotional after watching the film that starred his father Dharmendra.

“It’s an iconic film and I got emotional watching it. I got emotional throughout the film,” Deol told reporters.

Praising the film, he said: “It’s been 38 years for ‘Sholay’ and still it looks so fresh. I loved it and it’s a new experience to watch it in 3D. The entire film looks good in totality.”

The 3D version of “Sholay” will release Jan 3.

————-IANS

Sussanne Roshan Saturday denied a media reports saying her divorce from Hindi movie star Hrithik Roshan is a Rs.100 crore settlement and said that its unethical to publish such false news.

“I was deeply disappointed when I read today’s article titled ‘Sussanne and Hrithik Roshan divorce: Rs. 100 crore settlement? There is no element of truth in the news and it is entirely speculative,” she said in a statement.

“It is unethical to publish false news and speculate on the private relationships of individuals,” she added.

Actor Boman Irani was due to shoot with Farooque Sheikh for an upcoming film in Indore Saturday. But the news of the latter`s sudden death left Boman “shocked, numbed and saddened”.

Farooque was in Dubai for a family vacation when a cardiac arrest took his life late Friday night.

He was working with Boman for the film `Youngistan`.

“Shot with him last month. Had the warmest conversation and were to meet here in Indore today. Was to join us from Dubai. Alvida Farooque saab (Goodbye Farooque Sheikh),” Boman tweeted Saturday.

Tributes poured in for late actor and theatre personality Farooq Shaikh on Saturday, hours after it was reported that he had died of a heart attack in Dubai.

Senior BJP leader Balbir Punj said: “I remember Farooq Shaikh’s smiling face. I believe Hindi cinema has experienced a great loss with his demise.”

Sonakshi Sinha has said that she is not a slave to fashion.

The 26-year-old actress said that she like’s mixing and matching and creating a look that she feels comfortable in L’Officiel India magazine reported.

She said that comfort converts into confidence, and she likes being simple, asserting that she feels that a powerful look almost always needs to be minimal, and comfortable.

When asked if designers have a tough time pleasing her, she said that the designers she depends on understand her body structure and size well, and make her look stunning.

Sussanne Roshan Saturday denied a media reports saying her divorce from Hindi movie star Hrithik Roshan is a Rs.100 crore settlement and said that its unethical to publish such false news.

“I was deeply disappointed when I read today’s article titled ‘Sussanne and Hrithik Roshan divorce: Rs. 100 crore settlement? There is no element of truth in the news and it is entirely speculative,” she said in a statement.

“It is unethical to publish false news and speculate on the private relationships of individuals,” she added.

Sonakshi Sinha has said that she is not a slave to fashion. The 26-year-old actress said that she like’s mixing and matching and creating a look that she feels comfortable in L’Officiel India magazine reported.

She said that comfort converts into confidence, and she likes being simple, asserting that she feels that a powerful look almost always needs to be minimal, and comfortable.

When asked if designers have a tough time pleasing her, she said that the designers she depends on understand her body structure and size well, and make her look stunning.

All eyes will be set on the grand finale of “Bigg Boss – Saath 7”, where four celebrities – Gauhar Khan, Tanisha Mukherjee, Ajaz Khan and Sangram Singh – are competing for the winner’s title Saturday night.

All these four contestants have their own strengths and weaknesses. While Gauhar proved to be the toughest contestant to beat during any task, Ajaz has been an entertainer to the audience throughout his stay. Tanisha has been a loyal friend, and Sangram’s positive nature was loved by the audiences.

Actress Shruti Haasan will play the leading lady in an upcoming yet-untitled film with Vishal Krishna Reddy, who will also produce the film under his home banner Vishal Film Factory.

“Vishal Film Factory is proud to announce their next project with director Hari of ‘Singam’ fame. Vishal will play the lead opposite Shruti Haasan in the film, which will go on floors early next year and hit the screens during Diwali 2014,” said a statement issued Saturday.

After a short appearance in Australian-American drama ‘Great Gatsby’, megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been again approached for a Hollywood film, which is an adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s ‘Six Suspects’.

Bachchan has been approached by BBC and Starfield productions to star in the movie, based on the ‘Slumdog Millionnaire’ author’s yet another best selling novel.

It will be directed by award winning Argentinean filmmaker Pablo Trapero.

However, it is not clear what role Big B would play and if he would be giving his nod for the film or not.

He played a common man as convincingly as he played a nawab. Such was Farooque Sheikh’s versatility on the big screen, small screen and on the stage in his over four decades of association with showbiz.

The veteran actor died following a cardiac arrest while he was in Dubai late Friday night.

He made his debut with 1973 film “Garam Hawa” and was known for his roles in films like “Umrao Jaan”, “Chashme Buddoor”, “Saath Saath”. On TV, he starred in shows like “Chamatkar” and “Ji Mantriji”, while his play “Tumhari Amrita” was a crowdpuller.

Here’s a look at some of his memorable films.

Double Oscar winning composer A.R. Rahman said here Saturday that comedian Vivekh has always cheered him up whenever he is in low spirits and considers him a gift to Tamil filmdom.

“Lots of people tell me that my music has cheered them up, but whenever I have been down in life, I end up watching Vivekh sir’s video on Youtube. It changes me completely and helps me change my focus on something else. Therefore, I feel he is a gift to Tamil industry,” Rahman told reporters here.

He was speaking at the audio launch of “Nanthan Bala”, which features Vivekh in the lead role.

Be it Madhuri Dixit’s comeback films, Salman Khan’s combo of comedy and action or sequels of box office hits, 2014 is set to woo cine buffs with a well-packaged line-up that boasts of gritty dramas, star-studded entertainers and fun films.

Lists 12 movies to look out for in 2014:

Actress Shabana Azmi, Farooque Sheikh’s co-star for 21 years in the popular play “Tumari Amrita” who had also worked with the actor in several films, is devastated with the news of his sudden death.

One of Indian cinema’s finest actors, Farooque was on a holiday with his wife and two daughters in Dubai when he suddenly died of a massive heart attack.