Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan share friendly relation

Are Bollywood’s two most formidable Khans losing their steam? Well, it does seem so!
With Salman Khan’s ambitious project ‘Veer’ and Shah Rukh Khan’s crucial film ‘My Name Is Khan’ ready for release, grapevine has it that both stars are headed for a truce!

According to the latest Bollywood news, with the release of Salman’s period film ‘Veer’ just around the corner, the hunk of an actor is on a goodwill hunting as the star is indulging in garnering social niceties with his long time rival Shah Rukh Khan.

News has it that when Salman saw the rushes of SRK’s ‘My Name Is Khan’, the temperamental star called up Karan Johar and congratulated him.

Incidentally, during a recent awards function, SRK praised ‘Veer’ and said that it is one of the movies he is looking forward to watch in the year.

Talking to a news daily, a close source said, “Salman was the first to extend the olive branch by calling Karan after watching the promos of ‘My Name Is Khan’ and SRK returned it by praising ‘Veer’. They had both come face to face for the first time after the ‘3 Idiots’ premiere.”

Meanwhile, when enquired Karan Johar, the director confirmed the news and said, “Yes, Salman did call to say he loved the promos and the look of the film. I appreciate the feedback. It was very gracious of him. I have worked Salman in my first film and have a great amount of respect for him and his family.”

Salman Khan lambasts the makers of Veer

Hot-headed Salman Khan is fuming again! This time his ire is against the makers of ‘Veer’ – producer Vijay Galani and director Anil Sharma, who have refused to comply with his wishes.

The actor, who has also written the script of the film, wanted some changes in the final print but the makers simply refused to budge. The actor wanted to edit few scenes, which were redundant but producer Vijay Galani and director Anil Sharma did not budge and refused to make any changes in the final print.

When Salman saw the rough draft of the film, he found it unsatisfactory. He also had issues with ‘color gradient’ of few action sequences in the film.

Sources reveal that when the producer-director duo refused to make changes, Salman used harsh language and there was some heated exchange of words.

Earlier, Vipul Shah had done a similar mistake during the making of ‘London Dreams’. He had refused to edit the length of the film, in spite of Salman’s advice, as a result the film bombed. Salman doesn’t want a similar fate for his ‘Veer’.

Rakesh Roshan is worried about Krrish sequel

It seems like James Cameron`s "Avatar" has affected Bollywood in unexpected ways. Director Rakesh Roshan is having second thoughts about making the sequel to "Krrish" after watching the Hollywood sci-fi saga.

However, he thinks it is possible to create effects on par with Hollywood.

"I saw the film (`Avatar`) in Los Angeles. And it certainly made me sit up and re-think about `Krrish`. But I don`t think it is impossible to create effects on par with Hollywood. We need to budget the sequel intelligently," he said.

As far as starting Krrish`s sequel goes, Roshan senior admits there`s no immediate chance of it taking off. "I am not even thinking of directing my own film until our production `Kites` is released May 14. Only then will I seriously start planning my directorial project. For now, the next film I direct is Krrish`s sequel. But it may change if I`m unhappy with the script."

What the patriarch of the Roshan empire leaves unsaid is that he and son Hrithik Roshan sat together and discussed the feasibility of doing a lavish big budget film in the light of "Avatar" and other Hollywood extravaganzas dubbed in Hindi.

Hrithik has made it clear to his father that there`s no point in doing a Hollywood-style special-effects film unless there`s scope and space for the `desi` counterpart to make an impact at the box office.

Says a source: "Hrithik is not sure about the feasibility of the Krrish series any more. Not after James Cameron`s `Avatar`. He wants the project to go through a budgetary scrutiny to see whether they can create effects comparable with Hollywood`s `Avatar` and `2012`. Otherwise what is the point?"

I couldn`t take my eyes off Katrina Kaif: Zarine Khan

Debutante Zarine Khan doesn`t mind being compared to her ‘Veer’ co-star Salman Khan`s girlfriend Katrina Kaif and says that the actress is so beautiful that even she couldn`t take her eyes off.
"Being compared to Katrina Kaif is a huge compliment for me because I feel she is very beautiful. When I am compared to her, I feel overwhelmed. I have met her a couple of times and she is so beautiful that even I couldn`t take my eyes off her," Zarine told reporters.

"Being compared to her is always a delight. Personally speaking, when I see myself in the mirror, I find no similarities."

Zarine, who is playing female lead with Salman in ‘Veer’, says that she wanted to be a doctor and that acting happened to her by chance.

"I was always a very brilliant student, but not a nerd type. I wanted to be a doctor. But I couldn`t continue my studies due to a financial crisis and the responsibility of my whole family fell on my shoulders. Acting happened by chance. Now I can be everything - a doctor, pilot, everything," said Zarine.

"I was a struggling model and was looking for some kind of work to take care of my family. I was doing very small print ads now and then for saris to earn money to run my house. One day I was home surfing the net when I got a call from Mukta Arts. They called me on the sets of `Yuvvraaj`. There I met Salman.

"Salman is a huge actor and I am one of his great fans. I started talking to him like his fans would do. I had no clue that he was planning to take me in his film (`Veer`). Finally, when I asked for his autograph, he said, `No sweetheart you will sign autograph for the world`. Later I got to know that he has selected me for this film," she added.

Though Salman chose Zarine, she had to pass an audition test.

"They had auditioned lots of girls because the female lead has two different looks in the movie - one is Indian and other Western. Whoever they auditioned looked good in either of the looks, not both. Some had language problem too. They tried me and I was lucky enough to fit into both the characters and they signed me," said Zarine.

‘Veer’ is directed by Anil Sharma and produced by Vijay Dalani and Sunil A Lulla. The makers kept Zarine`s name secret for a long time.

"Even I got strict instructions to keep it a secret from friends and family. I was allowed to give some clue to my parents," she said.

Asked why they were hiding her, she said: "I don`t know. I was too junior to question them why they are asking me to do so. I just did what they asked me to do."

Set in colonial India, the film encapsulates a period when Britons enslaved India with their divide and rule policy and kings and nawabs fell for it, except for the Pindaris who preferred death to dishonour and fought till their last breath. Salman plays one of the bravest and strongest Pindari soldiers.

"It`s a love story set in the backdrop of a war for independence. I play a Rajasthani princess," said Zarine.

Salman is known as an angry man, but Zarine got to know the caring and understanding side of his personality.

"I had heard that he is a very tough guy, he hardly speaks. But he spoke to me very nicely... may be because I met him first as a fan. In due course I realised whatever has been written about Salman is not true. He is so sweet. He has a heart of gold. He is a very genuine man.

"While shooting sometimes I couldn`t understand some parts of my role. I used to be scared that Salman would get angry. But he used to patiently explain how to go about it," said Zarine.

She has already bagged a few offers but she hasn`t signed any as she is waiting for the release of ‘Veer’ Jan 22

Veer is of a different genre

Salman Khan says period dramas usually give the impression that people in past eras never used to laugh, but promises that his new movie ‘Veer’ will have its light moments.
"We haven`t followed the regular format. This has emotion, drama and comedy unlike other period films, which always casts an impression that no one used to laugh in those days," Salman told reporters in an interview.

"The language has undergone a huge change. The dialogues are in contemporary language but would show that people of that time used to speak and behave like this," he added.

"Veer", slated to release Jan 22, is a story of bravery, treachery and love. The story revolves around the 18th century Pindaris who preferred death to dishonour and fought to their last breath to save their land. Salman plays the lead role.

Throwing light on how his co-star Zarine Khan joined the cast, Salman said: "The film is of a different genre, so we needed a young fresh look. More than that we needed somebody with a yesteryear look. How our grandmothers and great grandmothers used to look, we needed someone like them.

"Just two weeks were left to start the film and we didn`t have anyone who would fit the role. We were searching left, right and centre and met her by coincidence on the set of Subhash Ghai`s `Yuvvraaj`."

Salman denies any resemblance between Zarine and his girlfriend Katrina Kaif.

"Except being fair and having a sharp nose, I don`t see any similarity between them. Give god that credit for not making two people identical," said Salman.

The film`s story has been written by Salman himself and while scripting it he was scared whether his father Salim Khan, a noted writer, would approve. "I showed the story to my father and the biggest fear was what is he going to say. But he said it`s a good story."

When asked why he chose to make a period film now, he said, "I had written the story 20 years ago but at that time it wasn`t possible to make the film. I thought now is the right time to make it, so I did."

This is Salman`s second film as a scriptwriter. His first was the 1990 movie ‘Baghi’ and there is a common thread running through both the scripts - the father-son relationship.

" `Baghi` showed a good relationship between a father and son, `Veer` does that too. I believe that father and son should be the best of friends. Today, my father and me chat, drink and chill out together.

"But if I cross my line, I run away. I stay outdoor for two months. That`s the chemistry they should share. The respect should also be there," said Salman who claims that he could be a good father.

"I am not sure how good I would be as a husband, but I believe I would be a good father. One has to get married, I will also get married but haven`t decided when."

The actor has been in the industry for more than two decades and has played a variety of roles, worked in various genres and sported different looks.

Asked if there was anything particular he looked forward to as an actor, he said, "No yaar. I do whatever comes my way."

Shahrukh khan is in Krrish 2

Till now, we were hearing a lot about who would be Hrithik Roshan’s leading lady in the sequel of the super hit ‘Krrish’. While buzz has it that the lucky lady is going to be Deepika Padukone, it’s been now revealed that the film would star none other than the King Khan.

No, he surely hasn’t replaced Hrithik as Krrish, but Shah Rukh will be playing a negative role in the much-hyped ‘Krrish 2’, reports suggest.

Grapevine has it that Shah Rukh’s entry in the movie can be guessed by noticing the way he’s been bonding with the Roshans of late.

Once competitors, Hrithik and SRK were recently seen with their families at the starry reception of Shilpa Shetty’s wedding. A source says that before going to the reception venue, the Roshans had reportedly gone to Shah Rukh’s residence to pick him up and after the ceremony, they all moved to Mannat to continue the bash!

What else, the stars recently met up on Hrithik’s 36th birthday bash where SRK “had a good bash” (as said by the superstar himself)!

Well, what more can we ask for than having SRK and Hrithik dazzling on the silver screen together.

Priyanka Chopra wants to work Abhishek

Priyanka Chopra is one levelheaded actress who doesn’t let her emotions hamper her professional decisions. The actress, who after a tiff with Abhishek Bahchcan had been snubbing the hunk, has now decided to let bygones be bygones and is vying to sign a film with him. Hoping to bag a hit this year, the actress has gone all out to make peace with Abhishek with whom she shares remarkable onscreen chemistry.
Going back one recalls that the two had fallen apart during an award function wherein both had wanted to dance on the same number. Unwilling to budge, it was Abhishek who had won the trivial battle. Ever since the two had been seen giving a cold snub to one another.

However Priyanka has now decided to take the high road. The actress is looking forward to share screen space with the him and has sent feels to director Rohan Sippy to consider her in his next film opposite Abhishek.

Confirming the news a source told a daily; “Priyanka has sent feelers to Rohan and is keen to work on this project. She has heard the gist of the script and she liked it. Moreover, Abhishek Bachchan’s presence has attracted her to the film. She finds him fabulous as an actor and loves their on-screen pairing.”

Well with a beauty like Priyanka vying to work with him, Abhishek sure has reasons to smile.

Shah Rukh Khan promotes my name is khan in awards function

ShahRukh Khan who has begun promotions of his ambitious film `My Name is Khan` will perform live at a film awards function after a gap of two years.

The Apsara Producers` Guild awards will be held at Chitrakoot grounds in suburban Mumbai on January eight.

The night will see over 30 awards being presented in categories of films and television.

The mega event will have performances by Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi will present a number from their upcoming movie `Ishqiya`. Vivek Oberoi will also perform.

The Television industry is represented in the Best Non-Fiction Series, Best Drama Series (Fiction), Best Director ? Fiction, Best Actress and Best Actor in a Drama Series. The 3 special awards will honour the Best Debutante (Male and Female) for 2009 and the Lifetime Achievement Award