Friday, May 15, 2009

First love never dies - Kim Sharma and Yuvraj Singh


There are some relationships that never die, and Kim Sharma’s love affair with cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s is one among them. The two started dating four years ago and their blow-hot-blow-cold relationship continued for two years before Kim decided to call it quits. The two have since then tried to make up several times but have ended up staying apart. Yuvraj was briefly linked with Deepika Padukone while Kim was dating an Israeli diplomat. Both those relationships have gone kaput and Yuvi, according to his friends, has realised Kim is the one for him.

He’s tried to woo her back several times in the last few months but she’s kept away from him. And now while he is in South Africa with his IPL team and there are rumours of his budding friendship with team owner Preity Zinta, we hear he’s invited Kim to join him in South Africa to try and work things out between them. And from what we hear, Kim has accepted the invitation.

Although she’s been telling friends that she’s going to South Africa for a vacation with her female friends, sources reveal that she will be with Yuvraj during her stay there. It’s heard the two want to spend some time away from the media glare whenever he gets a break from the cricket pitch.

Dibakar Banerjee's dream comes true and works with Big B!


After Abhay Deol had a fallout with his Oye Lucky director Dibakar Banerjee, the latter has put on hold the film that the two were supposed to do. Though they are on talking terms, the director feels the time is not right for them to be working together.

Dibakar has now started working on another script that he had in mind. After Oye Lucky’s success, Dibakar has been touted as a name to watch out for and there’s no dearth of takers for his project. And although his script isn’t ready yet, Amitabh Bachchan has already committed to doing the film.

The director met Big B at a public function in Mumbai recently and was surprised to find the legend singing his praises. In his excitement, Banerjee narrated the idea of his script to Bachchan and he couldn’t believe his ears when the latter said he would love to do the film and enquired about when they could start rolling.

There’s a part in the film that suits Bachchan perfectly and he is keen on playing it. What’s more, Bachchan believed Tabu was the right choice for the female lead in the film and even called her immediately after the event and told her about the project. Now all Dibakar has to do is give Tabu a call when the final draft is ready and get his project rolling.

Mallika Sherawat arrives late to a Charity Ball!


Mallika Sherawat may have carved a niche for herself in the industry with her hard work but time management is certainly not one of her strengths. Recently, she drove the organisers of the American ball in Mumbai up the wall by turning up a good couple of hours late for the event. Her Indo-American film Hiss is going on in full swing and it is this US connection that got her an invitation for the event. Her friends in the Consulate in Mumbai invited her as the celebrity guest for their charity event and the organisers did their bit by paying her a fat packet as appearance fees.

Mallika was paid half her fees upfront and was to be paid the rest after her appearance. The black tie event began at 7 pm sharp and the organisers heaved a sigh of relief when they were informed by Mallika’s manager that she’d left for the venue. So the event began and the guests were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Bollywood celebrity, but for some reason there was no sign of Mallika till 10 pm and that’s when the organisers started panicking. Even in peak traffic, the venue was hardly an hour’s drive away for Mallika, so the delay worried them. The organisers started making frantic calls to her manager who was now unavailable. The event was almost winding up and most of the guests were in the mood to leave, when Mallika finally arrived.

She went on to charm the audience with her smart one liners for about five minutes or so and then called it a night. However, she ensured that the rest of her fees was paid pronto as she’d kept her word.

Priyanka Chopra slams Kareena's statement!


At a press conference at Yashraj Studios to launch the website of her new film Pyaar Impossible (which rumours suggest are inspired by the American television series- Beauty & the Geek - but Yashraj sources clearly deny this and say Uday Chopra has written the story himself); lead actress Priyanka Chopra (who plays the beauty) was asked by a media person on what she had to say about Kareena Kapoor claiming that she and Shahid Kapoor were using her Kareena; just to get more mileage for their forthcoming film Kaminaay .

Cool as a cucumber PC dressed in a white sleeveless shirt didn't bat her mascaraed eyelids as she said, '' Kaminay is directed by the renowned film-maker Vishal Bharadwaj; it is produced by an established film corporation; it has Shahid Kapoor in a double role; it has me playing a Maharashtrian woman, and so on. It definitely doesn't need anyone else or anything else to get it publicity. Thank you, but no thank you!''

Definitely watch this space: the next cat fight is going to be between PC and KK, and their over zealous publicity machinery because as coincidence has it, Kambhakht Ishq (Kareena) and Kaminay (Priyanka) are scheduled to release a week away from each other in the month of August 2009. Of course the multiplex strike could take these dates even further.

Challengers’ fans get a Royal Treat


As the Royal Challengers battle it out in South Africa, the team got a boost from none other than the gorgeous and talented actress, Katrina Kaif, the team’s brand ambassador, at an event organized for the Royal Challengers fans in Mumbai.

Katrina Kaif, who is an aficionada of the Red Battalion, joined the fans of the team in Mumbai to cheer the Royal Challengers before its match against the Chennai Super Kings.Katrina applauded the team’s efforts so far and sent her best wishes to them for all their future matches.

Speaking at the event, she said, “It has been a great pleasure for me to be a part of Royal Challengers, a team with a great talent pool. The team has been performing well this season and I wish them all the best to continue their sportsmanship for the rest of the tournament. I would like to thank our fans and enthusiasts for their immense support and undeterred faith in the team and players. I will continue to cheer for the Royal Challengers for every match they will play.”

The celebrated actress also gave away merchandise, hampers and prizes to the ten lucky fans who won an online and on ground contest to join Katrina Kaif at this event .

Highlighting the activity, VK Rekhi, President and Managing Director, United Spirits Limited, part of the UB Group, said, “We have a huge fan base here in Mumbai who have supported the Royal Challengers throughout the IPL season. We wanted to offer them an exceptional level of engagement and experience on behalf of the brand. The live match screening with Katrina is to engage the fans and institute a personal communication between them and their favorite team. Through this initiate we also look to invoke more support for the team aligning with Katrina Kaif, who is the brand ambassador of the Royal Challengers.”

Katrina will be cheering for the Royal Challengers across the country with Mumbai following the screenings in the hometown Bangalore and then Hyderabad.