Rajni wanted Sonakshi out, Deepika in

Sonkashi who is going to make her debut in Kollywood with Vishwaroopam opposite Kamal Hassan was the first choice for Rana.

It is believed that the Dabangg girl was offered the role before Deepika was roped in. But before she could give her consent, Deepika got finalized for the same.

Apparently the decision of casting Deepika was taken by Rana's leading star Rajinikanth as he wasn't comfortable romancing Shatrughan Sinha's daughter Sonakshi as his leading lady. Rajini and Shatrughan Sinha are friends since long time. The duo has also worked together in films earlier.

So makers of Rana wanted someone who is equally suitable for the role and Deepika bagged it. While Sonakshi missed the chance to debut opposite a big star like Rajinikath, she will now make her debut opposite an equally big superstar Kamal Hassan.

Prakash Jha's Aarakshan - First Look

Prakash Jha is back with another hard-hitting movie Aarakshan in which he has worked for the first time with the superstar Amitabh Bachchan, the versatile Saif Ali Khan and the gorgeous Deepika Padukone. As the name of the movie suggests, it’s based on the controversial issue of caste-based reservations in government jobs and educational institutions.

The movie is mostly shot in Bhopal. Aarakshan tells the story of Deepak, played by Saif, who is a Dalit, a bright person and a gifted teacher of a renowned college. Fate plays its role and he falls in love with Poorbie (Deepika Padukone) who is daughter of Dr.Prabhakar Anand (Amitabh Bachchan). Prabhakar Anand is the legendary idealistic man who runs the college. Another important character in the film is of Prateik Babbar, who is Saif’s good friend and a rich fellow.

When the court passes an order of 50% Reservation in India, these people's lives take a complete new turn. The movie promises to be high on drama, conflict and rebellion, which will test their love and friendship for each other.

Saif Ali Khan is proud to be a part of Aarakshan. He has been busy with his own home productions, but was always on the lookout for a chance to work with a director like Prakash Jha.

Here is the first trailer of the film where you can see how Saif romances Deepika, and how things gradually change after the court order:

Angela Jonsson swaps boyfriends

We are no fan of partner swapping but this one was too coincidentally amusing to miss. Angela Jonsson, the girl Ranbir Kapoor’s believed to be dating, was seen bonding with Siddharth Mallya, boyfriend of Ranbir’s ex, Deepika Padukone.

Terming it a love quadrangle would be jumping the gun, but Angela Jonsson and Siddharth Mallya did bond like thick buddies at the birthday bash thrown by Shilpa Shetty earlier this week.

From what we hear, Angela arrived at the party with actor Prateik Babbar and a bunch of friends. But once she noticed Siddharth at the party, she couldn’t keep away from the handsome Mallya lad. What followed was an evening of fun as Siddharth was his usual witty self and Angela smiled non-stop.

Now, before your imagination runs amok let us just put things into perspective. Siddharth and Angela have known each other for quite some time. She was the winner of the 2011 Kingfisher Calendar Girl Hunt. Siddharth Mallya owns Kingfisher Airlines.

Siddharth himself was effusive about Angela after she won contest.

“She is a stunningly good-looking girl. She is a very sweet person and she radiates all that Kingfisher stands for,” he had said.

So, at Shilpa Shetty’s party, Siddharth and Angela were more like two friends catching up. Deepika and Ranbir needn’t fret.

Katrina Kaif - World's sexiest woman

Katrina Kaif has been named the Sexiest Woman in the World by the Indian edition of men’s magazine FHM. This is third time Katrina has been named the sexiest by FHM.

Per FHM, Katrina was named the sexiest based on polls conducted online and via SMS. Katrina Kaif has been previously voted the Sexiest Woman in the World by FHM India in 2008 and 2009. Deepika Padukone was voted Sexiest in 2010.

Kabeer Sharma, Executive Editor of FHM India reveals that Katrina is the only woman to win the title of Sexiest Woman in the World three times in the 17 years since the magazine has been making the list.

The June issue of the magazine promises a list of 100 sexiest women in the world, with Katrina on the cover with the caption, "Sexiest Woman on the planet 2011 Katrina Kaif moves in next door".

The cover has Katrina posing in a white tank top and denim shorts. Her sylphlike figure, her windblown hair and her ‘come hither’ expression, makes her every bit a temptress.

There is no doubt that Katrina is beautiful, just last month she was named the ‘Most Beautiful Woman’ by People magazine and she has been immortalized as a Barbie doll.

And she is extremely popular! Besides winning beauty crowns “Katrina Kaif” is also called out for being the most searched keyword on various search engines year after year.

Deepika unrecognizable on "Verve" cover

Enigmatic Deepika ??

Deepika Padukone graces the cover of Verve India for the month of June 2011. This is the power issue where it lists the top 50 influential people. Pretty sure Deepika is one of them.

Deepika strikes a haughty pose on the June 2011 Power Issue of Verve. The furniture-inspired Alpana & Neeraj dress gives a ‘hard nut to crack' feel to girl-next-door DP.

SONY Cybershot - Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone has signed on to become the new face of Sony’s Cyber Shot digital cameras. And sONY says "We can’t think of a better choice for a brand ambassador of the new camera range!"

Deepika Padukone is looking very lovely here in these ads featuring Sony Cybershot Digital Cameras.

She is looking lovely indeed and a bit sleepy. May be she hasn't been getting any sleep lately and the reason and person responsible can be discussed later.

The cameras look great though, mentioning of Deepika’s name alone will make people want to go and buy Sony’s Cyber Shot digital cameras, As a lot of young people identify with her hot and cool image.

Check Deepika's hottest Cybershot Photo shoot for Sony

Ajab Dosti ki Ghazab Kahani..!

Bipasha Basu and Ranbir Kapoor have kept in touch ever since they first bonded together on the sets of Bachna Ae Haseeno.

That the 32-year-old Bipasha Basu and 28-year-old Ranbir Kapoor could be thick as thieves is something only a few had expected. But an ajab friendship has brewed between the two over the years.

They keep in touch and often discuss openly the matters that are most personal to them, be it the crisis in their respective romantic lives or new friendships. Reports say Ranbir discussed in detail his break-ups with Deepika Padukone and, later, Katrina Kaif. Likewise, Bipasha too has been confiding the matters of her heart to Ranbir.

While there’s nothing romantic brewing between the two Bipasha and Ranbir could easily be labelled as soul buddies.

Bipasha doesn’t deny that she and Ranbir have been good friends, but goes on to add that their busy schedules hardly leave them with any time to catch up.

Wanna be my chammak challo

Seems like Shahrukh Khan’s Ra.One just can’t stop being in the news. The audio track titled ‘Wanna be my Chammak Challo’ was recently leaked online. The song has been sung by the international singing sensation Akon. Interestingly, Kareena Kapoor would be doing an item number on the same song.

If the buzz is to be believed, Shahrukh wants this song to beat the likes of Sheila and Munni. Another buzz is that Akon has composed two different versions of Chammak Challo - the first one being the version that would feature in Ra.One and the second one would be for Akon’s private album. Although, it is still not clear which version has been leaked online.

The bad news for the makers is that now the full song is available online along with its lyrics!!

There were rumours that Deepika Padukone was approached for this item number. Kareena quite clearly dismissed the rumours and said that the song was an integral part of the movie and there was no question of approaching another actress. Kareena recently revealed her look for this item number. She would be seen in a sexy Indian look and will sport a nose-ring and earrings (jhumkas).

But with the song getting leaked online, it may be robbed of its novelty. Seems like Shahrukh Khan has to use his Ra.One superpowers to control the situation now! Go for it, G.One!

Rajni hospitalised for the third time

Just a day after dismissing rumours that Rajinikanth was seriously ill, the actor’s wife Latha Rajinikanth revealed that the actor was admitted to Sri Ramachandra Hospital today.

This is the third time in two months that the actor has been hospitalized. The first was on the shooting day of Rana. Rajni was exhausted and had passed out before being rushed to the hospital. This was the first instance in the actor’s career to have been hospitalised after a health condition on the sets. Rajni’s ill health was a matter of great agony to his fans and Kollywood.

After being discharged, Rajinikanth was again admitted to the hospital after a bronchitis attack and fever. This time Rajni’s admittance to the hospital sparked rumours about the actor’s deteriorating health. Reports from the hospital indicate that the actor has been undergoing tests and is doing well.

Rana dropped?

The film "Rana" has been in the news for not exactly the right resaons.

Initially there was speculation about the story, the female leads and finally the launch of the film happened in Chennai.

Just a few hours after the launch, came the big news that the Superstar had been hospitalised. Even as the election results were at their peak, the rumour mills were busy spreading news about the superstar’s health.

Now, amidst all the uncertainty, comes confirmed news that Rana may be dropped. It seems Rajini and his family were not prepared emotionally to go ahead with it and there were lots of obstacles to starting the film.

Reportedly Deepika Padukone has flown back to Mumbai from Rana’s sets.

After all the hype and promotional buzz, will Rana really be dropped? That’s a question that can only be answered within the coming weeks. We hope for Soundarya’s sake and for Rajini’s billions of fans, the film does see the light of day.

Ranbir pissed with Ranveer

Ranbir Kapoor, who has the house to himself, threw a party for his friends from the industry a few days ago.

His parents Neetu and Rishi Kapoor are travelling and RK Junior has been living it up big time. When there's a party in Bollywood, there's no fun unless there are some shindigs or shenanigans. That's exactly what happened at Ranbir's, says a source.

Apparently Anushka Sharma, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and a few others were dancing the night away; when a slightly tipsy Ranveer suggested to Ranbir that he should play the remixed version of Dum Maaro Dum with Deepika Padukone in it for the umpteenth time. "What's more Ranveer apparently started discussing Deepika at length telling Ranbir that Dippy was the hottest girl he dated," says our source. "Ranveer who is usually very loud and crass even went a step ahead and added that the line in the Dum Maro Dum song, Pant Khichega Ki Nahi... was intended at RK Junior. Naturally Ranbir wasn't one bit amused. And he made his displeasure evident by asking Ranveer to shut up. Even Anushka asked her Band Baaja Baraat co-star to shut his mouth. But Ranveer wouldn't listen."

The party ended, alcohol levels came down and everyone went their respective ways. However, there is stress between Ranveer and Ranbir, says one of the guests.

Chances are Ranveer may not end up partying with RK Jr for a long time. Unless, of course, Ranveer learns to keep his tongue in check the next time around.

Superstar advised a month's complete rest

Superstar Rajinikanth has been discharged from Isabel hospital, after a week. The actor was discharged last evening and doctors have advised him complete rest for a month.

Rajinikanth was admitted to the hospital last week, after he complained of exhaustion and breathlessness. Even during the pooja of his latest film Rana, last week, the actor was not looking his usual best. He even skipped the press conference for the film, that was held on the same day, which had celebrities like director KS Ravikumar and Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone.

Sources say that the doctors have asked Rajinikanth to move to cooler climes to beat the scorching summer heat in Chennai, so that he can take complete rest.

Rajini Vs Vadivelu

Looks like Rajini’s fans are not going to take the mockery made by Vadivelu on the film Rana lightly. It may be mentioned here that Vadivelu had replied “Ranavavadhu… Ganavavadhu…” when media persons asked him why he was not in the film.

This has irked Rajinikanth’s fans so much that they are exhibiting their displeasure on Vadivelu in various ways. Rajini’s fans in Sri Rangam have censured Vadivelu by pasting posters all over the town. Several other fans from various districts are also planning to show displeasure in their own way, sources say.

Rana visited by CM

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi visited Rajinikanth at the St Isabel’s Hospital in Chennai in which the star was admitted. The Superstar was admitted to the hospital after he complained of queasiness while on the sets of Rana. He was rushed to the hospital where the doctors diagnosed him of being dehydrated and advised him complete rest.

The CM, on hearing Rajini’s health condition, rushed immediately to the hospital to enquire about his health. Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi was also present during this visit.

It may be recalled that Rajini suffered a bout of vomiting when he was shooting for Rana at the AVM Studios and the shooting had to be stalled to rush Rajini to the hospital.

First Look at Rajni's "RANA"

After the amazing success of Robot (Endhiran), Rajnikanth is back in ‘Rana’! We just can’t take our eyes off Rajni’s flowing mane and a very Sindbad look in the poster.

What’s more interesting is that the South Superstar will play a triple role in the film. The music for the film is being scored by A R Rehman and K.S. Ravikumar is directing the film. The film also stars Deepika Padukone and is said to have Ileana D’Cruz and Sonu Sood in the cast as well.

With Rajni looking so good, we can only imagine how Deepika would...!!!

Restricted Access

Rajinikanth’s next film with KS Ravikumar is ready to rock and roll. A colossal set has reportedly been erected at the AVM Studios and all is in readiness for the shoot. The first schedule will begin on May 1st. Some crucial scenes and a dance sequence with Deepika Padukone will be canned.

The director wants to preserve the surprise elements in the film, so access cards have been issued to crew members so that only select personnel may gain admission to the set. This move is likely to increase an already inflated interest in Rana, a hundred fold.

Deepika will sport a brand new look for this film and will epitomize the Southern beauty. Tabu will be paired up against the patriarch character and Ileana will be the other leading lady. Sonu Sood, who has become famous for his bad guy act in Arundhati and Dabangg, will be the villain in Rana. Interestingly, the actor did a small role and was in a fight sequence with Superstar in Chandramukhi.

No Comparison please !

Sheila Ki Jawani is a rage among the youth. Katrina Kaif has been criticized for her inability to dance over the last few years and this song proved her critics wrong. The song has also found a place among top songs in music channels along with Munni Badnaam Hui from Dabangg. It is still topping the charts.

All is well aware about the cold war between Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone. Deepika did a special song in Dum Maaro Dum and the song was expected to do well and push Sheila Ki Jawani to the back seat. But nothing of that sort happened. The film sunk without trace and so was the song. When asked to respond to this observation, Kat condemned comparisons between the two songs.

"Every song has its own importance and each actress has her own plus points. We do what the choreographers want us to do. There is no place for comparison here," quips the stunner.

Katrina is currently busy with Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. and it is news that she was offered another item song for a whopping Rs. 3 crore that was reportedly declined by the actress.

Bollywood KICK

Though Shamshuddin Ibrahim AKA Shaam made his film debut through the Tamil film 12B, he shot to limelight after starring in the Telugu blockbuster titled Kick. Shaam had played an important role in this film and had earned name and fame enough to essay the same role in all of its remakes.

Kick was remade in Tamil under the title Thillalangadi and in Kannada it was named Kick. With both the remakes having done good business in Tamil and Kannada as well, it is now gearing up to go to Bollywood.

Recently, Salman Khan had met Shaam and assured him of the same role in its Bollywood remake and Shaam is happy over this development as it would be mark his debut in Bollywood. Sources in the Bollywood say that this remake would carry the title of the Original Kick and we just try and avoid saying, Not Again !

This remake is rumored to be directed by A R Murgadoss of Ghajini fame once he wraps up his '7am Arivu' with Suriya & Shruti Hassan in the lead. If sources are to be believed Deepika Padukone would be cast opposite Salman for the 1st time in a role preceeded by Ileana, Tamannah and Praneetha.

Is Deepika John's rebound?

Single-again John Abraham is seen bonding with female co-star Deepika Padukone in London. Is it just a working relationship or do we see something more brewing?

Even as the snapshots of Bipasha Basu chilling out with Josh Hartnett on the sets of the movie Singularity indicate that there might be more to the bonding between the two than meets the eye, perhaps the same holds true for John Abraham as well, who has been shooting in the relatively cool climes of London for first-timer Rohit Dhawan’s film Desi Boyz with Deepika Padukone.

Buzz is that while filming a song in Brighton, John and Deepika bonded like thick friends. John, decorous as ever, seems to have made quite an impression on Deepika who’s said to be dating Siddharth Mallya. Interestingly, she too hasn’t been seen with the Mallya lad for quite some time now.

In that case, it was perhaps two like-minded co-stars bonding on the sets, but may be there’s more smoke than fire to all this gossip.

Siddharth and Deepika share their first public kiss

In the moment of victory of Vijay Mallya’s IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, Deepika Padukone and Siddharth Mallya threw caution to the winds and hugged and kissed in front of TV cameras.

The win was especially euphoric because it was built on a bludgeoning knock of 102 off just 55 balls by Chris Gayle, former KKR opener now playing for RCB. Gayle who failed to provide blistering starts to KKR last year was dropped from the team this year, only to be picked up by Bangalore. Ironic that his big knock came against his former team.

Anyway, the crowd, though supportive of KKR at Eden Gardens, was still left in raptures by the Gayle storm and particularly euphoric were the supporters of the Bangalore team.

In the stands Deepika and Siddharth Mallya cheered for the Bangalore team and at the moment of triumph, they hugged and kissed each other.

The news channels played that shot umpteen times on prime time and we thought about sharing a photo grab of the video with you as well.