Gossips

John to produce and star in Jaffna

After producing Vicky Donor, John Abraham is all set to produce and act in a movie based on the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka. The film titled Jaffna will be directed by Shoojit Sircar.

Jaffna is a political thriller and John will be playing an Indian intelligence agent in the film. The film will also deal with the subject of terrorism. To prepare for this role, John will make frequent visits to Sri Lanka to get a hang of the political situation there.

The film will be shot in Sri Lanka, South India and Delhi.

Deepika Padukone back in Race 2

After her much controversial walkout from Ramesh Taurani's Race 2, Deepika Padukone has now called truce and returned to the film.

There were some reports stating that Deepika might do the film only if all the conditions that she put forth were fulfilled, but Deepika is now back in Race 2 without any demands.

Deepika's return to Race 2 is mainly because producer Ramesh Taurani filed a case to get a non- cooperation notice issued against. After he had registered a complaint against the actress with CINTAA (Cine and Television Artistes Association) and AMPTPP (Association of Motion Pictures and Television Programme Producers), Deepika realized that doing Race 2 was in her best interests.

Deepika and Taurani are now trying to work out her dates.

Manoj Bajpayee to play CBI agent in Special Chabbis

Manoj Bajpayee has a very tough task on ahead. He has to play the character that Akshay Kumar will be masquerading as in Neeraj Pandey's real-life heist drama Special Chabbis.

To recap a bit, the film is based on the real-life daring heist in 1987 where an unknown man posing as 'CBI officer Mon Singh' recruited 26 men and executed a daylight raid on the Opera House branch of Tribhuvandas Bhimji Jewellers, and disappeared with jewellery worth lakhs.

Akshay Kumar has been recruited to play the imposer CBI officer. Now interestingly Manoj Bajpai has been roped in to play the real CBI officer.

"So you could say Akshay and Manoj would be playing spitting images of one another, one real and the other an imposter," says a source

Manoj who hasn't played a cop since Shool and Jaago is very excited about getting the hang of a role where he has to play against Akshay Kumar within the same space.

Says a friend of Manoj, "It's a real challenge. Because Manoj has to be exactly what Akshay's character is posing to be. It's a tough role requiring loads of preparation. And it comes at a time when Manoj Bajpai has to prepare for his role of a naxalite in Prakash Jha's next."

Manoj and director Neeraj Pandey remained unavailable for comment.

Mehrunissas shoot gets postponed after Big Bs surgery

On Thursday afternoon, the Mehrunissa producer Nikhil Advani and the proposed epic film's director Sudhir Mishra drove down to Rishi Kapoor's bungalow Krishna Raj to discuss the latest crisis looming over the troubled project.

With the Big B going under the knife, once more Mehrunissa has come under another cloud. Just when the project's master-minds had resolved the issue regarding the film's producers (the Big B was disinclined to work with UTV and the project was given over to DAR Motion Pictures) his latest bout of incapacitation has placed a question mark on the summer schedule of Mehrunissa in Lucknow and Bhopal.

The new plan for Mehrunissa was to shoot with the Big B and Rishi Kapoor from April in Lucknow and Bhopal. But now with the Big B's surgery, the schedule seems unlikely. Also, Rishi Kapoor was not too kicked by the idea of shooting in the sweltering summer in North India. During the meeting on Thursday, he flatly told his Mehrunissa producer and director that he wouldn't be able to shoot in Lucknow and Bhopal in summer.

So where does the project stand now?

Says Sudhir Mishra, "Nikhil and I met Rishi. Shooting in the heat for him is not an insurmountable problem. He's the kind of actor who would give his hundred percent to any kind of climactic condition or hardship. The main issue for us is Amitji's health. With his surgery it's unlikely he can shoot in April. We just have to wait for him to recover."

Rather than postpone the film, Sudhir Mishra and Nikhil Advani have found a way not to lose precious time.

Reveals Sudhir, "We're just rearranging the schedules. We'll now shoot the younger portions of Mr. Bachchan and Mr. Rishi Kapoor's story with the actors playing their parts in the earlier part of the story. That would serve our purpose well. Because if we shoot the early portions first, we'd be putting the film together chronologically."

Interestingly, Mehrunissa producer Nikhil Advani wanted Abhishek Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor to play the younger versions the Big B and Rishi Kapoor. The idea was shot down by both the senior actors as too clichéd and a burden on their sons.

Now two theatre actors from Delhi are being finalized for the parts of the young Bachchan and Kapoor.

Says Sudhir, "Getting look-alikes is not such a problem. But how do I make these young actors give a caliber of performance comparable with Mr. Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor who are among the finest talent India has ever produced?"

The time allotted to training the young Bachchan and Kapoor has just narrowed. The two theatre actors begin shooting in two months.

Saif Ali Khan granted bail after arrest for assault

Saif Ali Khan has been granted bail after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting NRI businessman Iqbal Sharma and his father-in-law. Iqbal claims that Saif and his friends Shakeel Ladak (Amrita Arora's husband) and Bilal Amrohi attacked him and his father in law after an argument at Wasabi restaurant, at Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai last night, leaving Iqbal with a bleeding and fractured nose.

Saif was booked under Indian Penal Code Section 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), a bailable offence. He was arrested at his lawyer's chamber in South Mumbai's Nariman Point area and taken to the Colaba police station. Saif was granted bail on a surety bond of Rs. 3000, within an hour of his arrest.

While Iqbal maintains that Saif and his friends assaulted him, the actor himself has a different story to tell. In an official statement issued to the media, Saif Ali Khan said, "There was an ugly incident last night where my friends and the ladies with us were abused and I was assaulted. I was hit and I defended myself. I have been to the police station to answer the requirements of law as I am a law abiding citizen. I have also filed a complaint about what happened last night and I am confident justice will be done."

Saif further added, "I have seen the interviews given on TV and they look like decent people and I cannot believe that the same people were so aggressive the night before and the lies that they are saying about me with such straight faces. I think they have the CC TV footage in the restaurant and that will prove everything. I hope the media is able to remain impartial while the matter is being decided. I don't think any gentleman would have behaved differently"

Check out the video: Saif 'Slapgate'... Publicity Stunt Or Reality?

FIR filed against Saif for bashing up a man

Saif Ali Khan seems to be have landed himself in yet another controversy close on the heels of the release of his forthcoming home production Agent Vinod.

An FIR has been filed against the actor at Colaba police station after he allegedly bashed up a person during a brawl at the Wasabi restaurant at Taj last night.

Saif, Kareena and a few of their friends were having a good time dining at Wasabi when Iqbal Sharma, who was seated in the adjoining table, went up to Saif and asked him to talk softly. Saif reportedly asked Iqbal to go to a library if he was looking for a peaceful place. This argument led to a scuffle between the duo during which Saif punched his nose.

A case under section 325 of the IPC has been registered against the actor.

Farah Khans cameo in Joker

Farah Khan may be busy with her maiden acting venture Shirin Farhad Ki Nikal Padi but the ace choreographer-director did manage to take out time to shoot a cameo for her husband Shirish Kunder's directorial venture Joker.

Farah shot for the cameo yesterday at Mumbai's Film City. Confirming the same, Shirish tweeted last night, "Farah shot for a guest appearance in JOKER today."

Even though exact details are unknown, the buzz is that Farah Khan plays herself in the film.

Joker starring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha is set to release on August 30.

Agent Vinod comic book and PS3 game to be launched

Illuminati Films' Agent Vinod is readying for its March release and actor-producer Saif Ali Khan is leaving no stone unturned to promote his film.

As part of the marketing and promotions of the spy-thriller, the makers have tied up with fast-food giant McDonald's to launch an exclusive comic book. If that wasn't all, Saif also plans to launch a Playstation 3 game, revolving around Agent Vinod.

Talking about the concept of the game Saif Ali Khan, an avid gamer himself, said, "At each level, the gamer will be provided with clues to nail the bad guy, who could range from a `chaalu' knife-wielding 'Dada' from Mumbai's dark underbelly to an international mafia kingpin. If the baddie is killed in the shootout, the gamer earns points and moves on to the next level". Saif further added, "When the first CD came out, I was hooked. I was lost in this dark virtual space."

Ready to bring to Indian audiences a slick, fast paced film on par with international standards, Agent Vinod has already created quite a wave in the industry with its breathtaking promo.

"If the film works, we are planning to build Agent Vinod into a brand," adds Saif.

Shot in over 12 countries including Morocco, Russia and Latvia, Agent Vinod starring Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Adil Hussain, Ram Kapoor, Prem Chopra and Gulshan Grover is all set to release on the 23rd of March.

Watch Promo: Agent Vinod

Johns plea to be heard in Court on March 9

It may be recalled that John Abraham had been booked under IPC Sections 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) when he had allegedly rammed his bike causing injury to 2 youngsters way back in 2006.

While the case still continues, a lower court had asked for a 15 day simple imprisonment punishment for the actor. John had challenged the plea imposed by the court and now the Sessions Court has decided that it will take a call on the actor's plea on March 9.

It remains to be seen if John goes scot-free this time around.

Salman Khan shoots ad for Cuban tourism

We have all heard of celebs endorsing various products and goods. And lately, Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan have also been heavily endorsing Indian tourism. Though usually huge planning goes into such campaigns, when it comes to Salman Khan, things tend to move a little differently.

We learnt that Salman recently did a cameo for a Cuban tourism commercial. Salman, who was recently in Havana, Cuba shooting for his film Ek Tha Tiger, was on sets when one of the local film directors approached Khan to do a cameo in his video for the local tourism board. Sallu spontaneously agreed to feature in the commercial.

On Salman's approval, the setup for the shoot was done at the same location Salman was shooting at. Apparently, the local director approached Salman as he felt that his global appeal would be a great asset for the project.