Kajol to hit Television again. .

Actress Kajol, who’s apparently going easy on films following the birth of her second child, may however make a concession for television it is learned. Buzz is that the actor is one of the strong contenders to do the second season of a popular food show that was first hosted by actor Akshay Kumar. The actor had recently confirmed that he would not be doing the second season as it clashed with another television show that he is currently hosting.

Following reports of Akshay not doing the show, rumour mills went abuzz with names that were likely to replace Akki, one of them being filmmaker-actor, Farhan Akhtar. But the latest is that actor Kajol too is being considered for the show. She apparently is in talks with the channel who approached her for the show.

“It is true that Farhan is also being considered for the show, but Kajol has an upper hand here as she’salways had a family image. It’ll be easier for the audience to accept her as a host after Akshay, whose plus point was that he was a chef himself. Farhan on the contrary has a multifaceted image and has already hosted a show earlier, but this show’s format is to do with food. Kajol, being a wife and mother, has a stronger identity that’ll blend with food and kitchen. Besides, she also has a higher mass appeal than Farhan.” says a source.

Should Kajol do the show?, it would be interesting to see her hosting the show at a time when hubby actor Ajay Devgn has agreed to host a show on another channel. But this isn’t the first time that Kajol, will be on the tube as the actor was earlier a judge on a dance show along with hubby Ajay and mom Tanuja.

Asin's Worries ..

Even before she could celebrate the box office success of her last film, actress Asin Thottumkal seems to be bogged down by a fresh set of problems these days. According to sources close to the actress, the London visa of almost all her staff members have been delayed, forcing her to fly there alone for Sajid Khan’s Housefull 2.

“Asin has just been informed that no one from her team of make-up persons and stylists have been granted a visa to go and shoot in London. Only Asin’s visa has arrived. She is really worried as it is a long outdoor shooting schedule and no actor these days shoots without their staff members, specially the make-up man because he or she is like a lifeline to the actor,” says a source close to Asin.

But Asin has decided to fly off to London alone because if she is delayed, the whole shooting schedule (which also involves actors Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Rishi Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty) will be delayed. Asin doesn’t want this to happen.

“She will probably have to rely on somebody else’s make-up person for the time being, to keep the shoots going. Asin doesn’t want to make everybody wait because of her,” says the source, adding that the visa of the staff members might be delayed for more than a week. This means that almost half of the shooting will be over by the time her own staff members reach the venue.
When we tried to get in touch with Asin, one of her close friends reverted, confirming that the visas were delayed. “She is just wishing that her staff’s visas are cleared soon but right now she is preparing to fly off to London,” says the friend.

Bollywood Debut..

Actress Karthika had a dream debut in Tamil with KO and she also got a head start in Telugu and Malayalam films. But, she has not received any exciting offers in Tamil after Ko and so now mother and daughter are looking for greener pastures it seems.

Bollywood Superstar Akshay Kumar liked KO so much he has decided to remake the film in Hindi. On hearing this, Radha met him and has requested him to let Karthika reprise her role as a feisty journalist. Apparently, Akshay Kumar graciously conceded to her request.

Akshay cant wait for Once Upon.. sequel

Bollywood's original Khiladi Akshay Kumar can't wait to step into the shoes of Ajay Devgn in the much awaited sequel of the hit gangster drama Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai.

Director Milan Luthria is busy helming Dirty Picture now but says that Akshay is raring to go for the film which will see him play an underworld don.

"This will be my first film with Akshay. As a director it helps you immensely when your actor is super charged about a film," Luthria told PTI.

"Akshay is excited about OUATIM 2. He can't wait for the film to go on floors. I guess that by itself qualifies for more than half the job being done," said the director.

Milan is well aware of the expectations from the second film which follows the Ajay Devgn-Emraan Hashmi starrer original, which created magic at the box office.

"I know the kind of expectations that everyone has from the sequel. OUATIM 2 is different from a regular franchise product as the same story is being carried forward. But it is still early days to comment on how do we take forward the story," said the filmmaker.

"I have to first finish off Dirty Picture. While I would be preparing for its release, ground work on the sequel would be in full swing," said the filmmaker.

Both Dirty Picture as well as OUATIM 2, are being produced by Ekta Kapoor. But it wasn't long ago that a riff between the director-producer duo was reported.

"I had always maintained that there are no issues between Ekta and me. It has always been a collaborative effort since she has such a strong production experience due to her stint in television. Also what works in my favour is that she has that unshakable belief in me," said Luthria.

No "unbuttoning" for AK this time

Three years after the 'unbuttoning' controversy, a nervous Akshay Kumar is all set to walk the ramp again in Delhi today.

This time, it's for a vest brand he endorses. The Khiladi has come up with a novel idea for the event. He will sport a T-shirt that says 'No Controversies Please'.

A source close to Akshay says, "The company had a very tough time convincing Akki to walk the ramp again. Last time, when he walked at a fashion show, he and Twinkle were booked and arrested for obscenity."

"Later on, he was heard telling his friends that anybody could get up and do anything even if he did something funny with one's own wife!" the source adds.

Apparently, Akshay felt that the whole thing was blown out proportion and though he's not scared of controversies he doesn't want one for today's event.

"After that incident, a wary AK refused to walk the ramp for any shows. He only walked for Being Human once because Salman Khan requested him to.

For today's event, he will be wearing a specially made T-shirt with 'No Controversies Please' printed on it in bold letters. It was his idea to wear such a tee. And no, Twinkle won't attend the event."

In 2009, Akshay had walked for an international denim brand at a Mumbai Fashion Week.

At the event, in his typical impromptu style, AK walked up to his wife who was sitting in the audience, in the front row. He asked her to undo a couple of buttons of his jeans after which he walked off the stage.

A ruckus followed and an obscenity case was filed against the couple. The actor refused to apologise and said that it was spontaneous and not vulgar.

Action but not Dance : Akshay praises Hrithik

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is sure that he can't match his dance steps with Hrithik Roshan, but he certainly hopes to make an action film with him some day.

Akshay was quick to shower praise upon Hrithik after watching the promo of the latter's forthcoming dance reality show 'Just Dance'.

"Hrithik is a one of a kind actor... He must know he makes all us heroes envy his moves... What that man brings to the dance floor is refreshing, extremely talented, and everything the youth needs to see in a hero," said Akshay.

Akshay hopes Hrithik plans to open a dance school soon. "If he opens a dance school, I know my son would be the first to attend. Hrithik has performed some of the most memorable and difficult dance steps in the last decade. "I, of course, would never dance a duo with this guy, but I'd definitely love to make an action film with him," he added.

Sonakshi overtakes Munni and Sheila..

Sonakshi Sinha gets the village excited and drooling as she cavorts bare back in a gypsy outfit in a new still from the film Joker just released by director Shirish Kunder.

A youngster in the audience misses it all, as Vindu Singh covers his eyes with his hand, finding Sonakshi's jhatak – lapak too sensuous for the boy's tender age.

The still shows Sonakshi dancing to the lusty beats of the song - Dance Karle English Mein - choreographed by Farah Khan.

Sonakshi's exotic looks and Farah's deft choreography. OMG! This one is going to be more potent than anything that we have seen!

The song, set in a village, was shot in Chandigarh during the film's first schedule.

Sonakshi had shared her excitement over the dance number while shooting for the film in Chandigarh.

"I'm finally going to dance in Joker. I wouldn't call it an item song because I'm the film's heroine and item songs are performed by guest artists. But, I know it will be well shot and lavish and aesthetic because it's being choreographed by Farah Khan," Sonakshi had told TOI.

Earlier in February, there was talk of a top actress joining Sonakshi in the dance number.

"Well, a top actress will be joining me. That's all I can say at the moment," Sonakshi had said, refusing to give details.

"This is a special song in the film as it has lyrics in ten languages. We had a ball shooting for it. Also, Sonakshi was a revelation. From being someone coy in Dabangg, it was a welcome change for her too to show a different side of her persona," Shirish commented.

Kashmera, Sambhavna, Celina Jaitley on KKK 4

Apart from Vindu Dara Singh’s wife Dina and MTV VJ Bani, supposedly the new girl in actor Shahid Kapoor’s life, we’ve stumbled across at least four other names in contention for the Season Four of Khatron Ke Khiladi. One of them is actor-dancer Kashmera Shah who was last seen semi-nude on a calendar, and on Love Lock-Up with boyfriend Krushna Abhishek.

Kashmera, along with another actor Aarti Chhabria, last seen in a desi avatar in the Manoj Bajpayee starrer, Dus Tola, and model Diandra Soares are expected to up the glam quotient.

The sixth name who was in the list of probables is Mauli Dave, discovered in 2007 on Zee TV’s reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and touted by judge Bappi Lahiri as the Indian Shakira.

Besides these six, seven other so-called celebrities are being lined up for Khatron Ke Khiladi Torchaar. It will see actor Akshay Kumar return as the anchor after a break last season when Priyanka Chopra came on to up the fear factor with 13 daring dudes.

If the buzzvine is to be believed, talks for the Colors show are on with Pakistani model-actor Veena Malik, who made her Indian telly debut in Bigg Boss 4 and model Lisa Hayden who made a big screen beginning in Aisha.

Actors Celina Jaitly, Payal Rohatgi and Shamita Shetty, item girl Sambhavna Seth and badminton player Jwala Gutta are some of the others. Actor-anchor Maria Goretti, who is Arshad Warsi’s wife, fashion designer Masaba Gupta who is Neena Gupta’s daughter and actor Shaurya Chauhan have apparently turned down the show. A channel insider informs that since Rakhi Sawant dropped out, Kashmera Shah stepped in.

The show goes on the floors around April 20 in Cape Town, South Africa, and will be shot in a start-to-finish 20-odd day schedule. It will go on air towards the end of May or the first half of June. Contracts are expected to be sealed by the end of the week.

Sunglasses in Joker inspired by Dabangg

Like Dabangg, even Joker has a rural setup and the cast will be sporting stylish glares.

While Salman Khan has denied rumours that he will be doing an item song in Joker , it still seems like he is inspiring the team of the film. There is buzz that director Shirish Kunder is intentionally taking references from Salman Khan's last year's superhit Dabangg for his film Joker .

"Like Dabangg , even Joker has a rural backdrop", says a source. "Shirish Kunder has shot the film in a village setup close to Chandigarh. Perhaps masses relate more to such film setting".

Other than that, another common element between both films is the style statement. "The hep sunglasses that Salman sported in Dabangg became a rage. Sonakshi Sinha seems to have taken forward the sunglass legacy from Dabangg to Joker and is sporting the same kind of glares in her second film. Akshay Kumar also follows suit".

Its no 'joke' that ' Dabangg ' has become quite a trendsetter!

"Thank You" : Review

I suspect Akshay Kumar makes most of his movies just for the workout. Looking at his interchangeable comic roles, the actor increasingly seems to limit himself through the motions, flicking on that auto-pilot switch behind his head as he grins and grimaces and groans and guffaws, the latter working overtime in the way laugh-tracks used to do in old sitcoms: if you hear enough laughing, chances are you'll crack open a chuckle yourself.

Well, at least in theory. Despite Kumar's joker-in-a-box automaton attempts, Anees Bazmee's latest film Thank You goes nowhere, and takes forever to, um, not get there.

Frequently the film, like leading man Kumar, doesn't even bother with the attempt of being funny. And perhaps it really is high time we the audience stopped paying multiplex prices to watch Akshay Kumar go to his gym.

The story is template Bazmee: three wives decide to teach their straying husbands a lesson. Enter a private detective --specialising in husband-rehabilitation -- who, after raking the three husbands over the coals through the film, decides to eventually let Worst Husband Ever off the hook because said husband has now turned homicidal.

"That passion in your eyes," raves the detective, referring to bloodshot, trigger-happy rage, "is just what I wanted to see. Go remarry your wife."

Yes, it is just that kind of a film. It is also one that mistakes itself for being sensitive simply because it rallies against the male sex for philandering, before calling that a habit, a "chhoti-si aadat."

But hey, the filmmakers say, we're also calling men dogs so that automatically shows we're sympathetic towards women, right? (Feel free to insert an appropriately sized eye-roll here, do.)

Speaking of women, there are three here with predictably little to do. Sonam Kapoor spends most of the film realistically bawling her eyes out -- presumably lamenting being in a film this moronic -- and occasionally being shrill. Not being say, a Karisma Kapoor, she doesn't fit into the idiocy at all.

Rimi Sen, by virtue of being in many a scriptless film, has learnt to PareshRawal-ise her expressions enough to count as halfway funny, or at least funny-looking, and even Bazmee decides to keep Celina Jaitley's involvement to a minimum. (Thank You, Mr Director.)

Irrfan Khan, completely out of sorts as a know-it-all player and seducer of women, is markedly better in the second half when he doesn't have a clue but that's simply because Khan is a good actor particularly brilliant at acting clueless.

Kumar, also a fine actor, chooses in these films not to even try, and it is this that brings us to one of those chilly-days-in-Hell kind of declarations: that Suniel Shetty is the best thing in this film.

I kid you not. My fingers kept recoiling as I shakily typed that out but it is true. Shetty, who hasn't been watchable in over a decade, actually cuts loose with slapstick flair in this one. He owns the only actual jokes in the film (two, I counted) and genuinely seems to be having a good time.

Too bad he's the only one. Call me ungrateful but, in a nutshell, no thank you.

Vindoo's wife in KKK 4

If Akshay Kumar had his way, buddy Vindoo Dara Singh would also be a part of his latest TV outing, Khatron Ke Khiladi 4.

It's a well-known fact that the A-Lister recommends his dost for all his films.

However, since the reality show in question has only female contestants, Singh obviously cannot be included! So, Akki did the next best thing. He has roped in Vindoo's wife Dina Umarova as a participant!

Says a source, "The channel is locking in the names of the women on the show. They want glam girls who are willing to take on new challenges. A model and fashion designer, Dina fits the bill."

Though the list will be declared officially later, Dina's presence is a certainty.

Dina, who is from Novosibirsk in Siberia, met Vindoo through friends. She later married him. The couple has a young daughter Amelia.

In related news, the source insists that the channel is paying Akki a premium to host the fourth season of the show.

Ashvini Yardi of Colors claims, "Akshay was the first and the only choice for the show. We actually signed him much in advance.

"Danger Time" for VJ Bani

The Roadies participant is now a contestant on Akshay Kumar's adventure show

With the original Khiladi of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar hosting the upcoming season of Khatron Ke Khiladi, the list of participants has to be laced with hot, steamy and bold beauties.

Amongst the 13 participants is the popular VJ Bani, who till now was busy having her cuppa coffee with jilted lover, Shahid Kapoor. She will now be seen slugging it out at Cape Town with other beauties. Bani had participated in reality show Roadies and took to hosting later. This shoot will commence from the third week of April. Time to catch Bani catch Akshay over a cup of coffee in Cape Town amidst all the action.

Rinke Khanna to design clothes in "KKK 4"

Remember Rinke Khanna, the younger daughter of Dimple and Rajesh Khanna? The petite girl who made her debut in Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi saw limited success as an actress. She later married a London-based investment banker and went into oblivion. Now she is all set to make a comeback, this time, as a stylist to her brother-in-law Akshay Kumar. The actor who is set to return to the small screen in the next season of the adventure reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi has sought the help of Rinke Khanna in preparing for the show.

"The profession, however, is not new to Rinke. She used to dole out fashion tips to her sister Twinkle and her mother Dimple," sources close to her reveal.

Anil was uncomfortable playing Casanova

Anil Kapoor opted out of " Thank You" because he was not comfortable playing a Casanova in a film featuring his daughter Sonam and that is when Irrfan Khan stepped in to do his first-ever masala comedy.

"Yes, we did replace Anil with Irrfan. But what to do? Casting circumstances changed in 'Thank You'. And it was no longer decorous to cast Anil Kapoor," said Bazmee.

Bobby Deol, Akshay Kumar, Irrfan, Suniel Shetty, Celina Jaitely and Rimi Sen forms the cast of "Thank You", which is releasing Friday.

Initially Katrina Kaif was playing the leading lady and Anil was supposed to feature as the third of the three skirt-chasers in "Thank You". But then Sonam stepped in to the picture, Anil stepped out.

The director admits Anil was replaced because of Sonam.

"Earlier it was Katrina Kaif who was doing the heroine's part in 'Thank You'. That's when Anil Kapoor was cast. When Sonam came into the picture, we quickly changed Anil to Irrfan. It would've looked very odd for Anil to play the roving-eyed Casanova in a film featuring his daughter."

Bazmee says this has not affected his relationship with Anil.

"There should be no hard feelings over that. Anil and I go back a long way. I've worked with him in 'No Entry', 'Welcome' and 'No Problem'. Now I've also worked with his daughter. I've been closely associated with Anil's brother Boney also. I don't think Anil has reason to be unhappy with me," he said.

Priyanka's TV stint is not over

Actor Priyanka Chopra, whose TV debut last year with Khatron Ke Khiladi (KKK) Season Three was among the most talked about entries on the small screen, has no time for the medium this year, as of now. Replacing her as host is Akshay Kumar, who had hosted the first two seasons of the reality show.

Priyanka says, “I have five films on hand, out of which I’ve started two (Agneepath and Barfee), wrapped up one (Don 2) and there are two more to go (Krrish 2 and Janam Janam Ka Saath Hai Hamara Tumhara), at least,” she says. “I don’t know how I will make time for anything else now. I can’t even think of a holiday in between because the schedules are very tight.”

Reportedly, the former Miss World is among the top contenders to host India’s Next Top Model, adapted from supermodel Tyra Banks’s show America’s Next Top Model, to be produced by BIG CBS Love. Without confirming or denying the news, Priyanka says, “It’s considered unprofessional to drop names of projects that you’re either in talks for or you’ve turned down. So, I’m not taking names, but yes, after KKK Season Three, I’ve been getting loads of different offers for TV. A couple of them were really interesting concepts too.”

The only reason the actor isn’t taking on any show, as of now, is her choc-a-bloc diary. “Only I know how my staff and I managed the shoot for Khatron Ke Khiladi, miles away in Brazil, last year. There was so much left to do here - promotions, photo shoots, ad film shoots, the works,” she recalls. “Credit should also go the teams from Endemol (production house helming the show) and Colors. They worked their schedule according to my dates. Usually, their show is shot well before it goes on air. Here, we were still in Brazil when the show went on air. If something like that happens this year, and a film shoot gets rescheduled, maybe I’ll consider a show.”

Commenting on Akshay being back on KKK Season Four, she says. “He’s India’s answer to anything stunt-oriented. I watched him carefully on the show’s first two seasons while preparing for my stint. He knows how to motivate his contestants and convince them that there is nothing to be afraid of. When we did Aitraaz and Andaaz together, I was scared of so many things. He encouraged me to give my best shot to everything. Today, I wish him all the best.”

Anchor act

* In 2010, Priyanka Chopra replaced Akshay Kumar as the host of Khatron Ke Khiladi Season Three.

* The show, shot in Brazil, was supposed to be part of the IPL-special programming on Colors with cricketers as contestants.

* Later, Indian celebrities took over. The show opened with a TRP of 5.5 in September but couldn’t sustain the momentum till the end.

Akshay back on Khatron ka Khiladi 4

About two months back that actor Akshay Kumar was all set to host the fourth edition of an adventure reality show. Post that there were speculations about actors Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, among many others, having been approached for the show, but now it seems like Akki is back in his avatar. And one person who is already, or maybe more kicked about the show going on the floors, is none other than Akshay’s son Aarav.

Talking about Khatron ke Khaladi 4, Akshay says, “It feels good to be back on my home ground and it is exciting to do something that I love to do — adventurous stunts. I am going to be absolutely tough and brutal with the boys and, yes, the torture will be worth watching.”

Though Akki is all smiles at the moment, a source says that all would not have been so hunky dory if it weren’t for his son Aarav. The source explains that the shoot for the show usually starts by August but this time due to some unavoidable reasons it has been pushed back to the last week of April. And here’s where the problem lies. Apparently, Akshay usually takes his family for a vacation during this time of the year because his son’s school takes a break as well. “So Akshay was in a dilemma and was trying his level best to push the dates to a further date. That’s when Aarav — also an avid stunts spectator — stepped in to rescue him. The little boy, who is also learning martial arts, like his dad, loves watching live stunts and told Akshay that he was very keen to accompany him on the shoot in South Africa,” says the source.

Now that the shooting schedule is unperturbed, thanks to Aarav, Akki is happy to have his cake and eat it too. The source insists that with Aarav by his side, Akshay will be spending time with his son and will not miss shooting either!

In fact, if the source is to be believed, the shoot just might turn out to be a mini-vacation for the Kumars as wife Twinkle may also join her boys in Cape Town. Looks like stunt maniac Kumars are all set for some crazy times ahead in South Africa!

Dont ask a man his salary: Akshay

They say, never ask a woman her age and a man his salary. We can’t tell about the former, but it seems that Akshay Kumar swears by the latter half of this adage. But maybe stars don’t enjoy this privilege of privacy. Because an actress’s age and an actor’s salary are usually under scrutiny in Bollywood.

And Akshay Kumar’s remuneration has been a hot topic of discussion for donkey’s years now. A trade insider says on the condition of anonymity, “There have been countless speculations about how much is getting paid for the sequel to Ekta Kapoor’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbai. While some say Rs 15 crore, other peg the amount in excess of Rs 20 crore. There are also rumours that for this film as well as Thank You, Akshay has entered into a partnership with the respective producers.”

The actor, however, is in no mood to clear the air. “I have never considered setting the accounts straight just to satisfy someone’s curiosity. I don’t even discuss finance matters with my mother, wife or sister — the three closest people in my life. There are some things that should be left private and one should understand that,” says a stern Akshay. Guess there’s no other way he can explain his sky-high price despite the long string of flops.

Asin in a 2 piece Bikini

Asin is busy in the Hindi film Ready which has Salman Khan in the lead role. She has also been signed for the Hindi film House Full 2 which has Akshay Kumar in the lead role. There is news that Asin has agreed to act with two piece swim suit. When asked Asin about this, she said,” People who know me well will not believe this news. What is the necessity for me to act in two piece swim suit? Everybody knows very well that whatever big is the film, I will not commit unless the story is good. When things are like this, there is no truth in the news that I am acting in two piece suit. Maybe the people who spread this rumor might have the intention that I may act in two pieces because the Part 1 of this film had such scenes.

After the release of the film, people will come to know that whether I had acted with two piece or not. Apart from this the shooting of the Ready has to be completed and the shooting of House Full Part 2 will be commencing during September. I don’t know how such news is being spread so fast.”