Housefull has a Pirates of the Caribbean connection

A lot is heard and said about monkey business. Mostly referred to in plain humour, seldom does it happen that 'monkeying around' takes any serious connotation.

This is what happened during the shooting of Sajid Khan's Housefull where a monkey plays a key role in a funny fight sequence. Though the film does boast of an A plus setup with the likes of Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal and Jiah Khan towering the cast, it was the pint sized monkey that demanded most attention. Reason? Its Hollywood roots. This is the same monkey who is nothing less than a star after having worked in a mega blockbuster like Pirates of the Caribbean. No wonder, 'starry' tantrums were at its peak during the shooting of Housefull.

Laughs Sajid Khan, "It was as amusing as it gets. My first film Heyy Babyy was a multi starrer and it went along so smoothly. People asked me that how would I handle my three heroes and three heroines in Housefull but I used to laugh it away wondering what was the fuss all about. After all most of the cast members are my friends first, and have immense faith in me and each of them was quite clear about his or her role in the film. This is why I always believed that the shooting of Housefull will go on smoothly. Little did I know that of all characters in my film, it would be a monkey that would end up throwing so many tantrums."

For a highlight sequence in the film, Akshay Kumar gets all troubled due to this monkey which snatches Deepika's mobile and runs away. In the incidents that follow, Akshay gets all beaten up by the monkey; so much so that there are multiple slaps that he ends up receiving with tell tale marks all over his face. While Akshay was sport enough to live with the on-screen humiliation, all for the sake of his audience and the fun that the sequence promised, it seemed that the monkey had other ideas. He wanted to give that 'perfect take' and the makers of Housefull had no choice but to give in to the demand.

There was an entire cast and crew at a location on London where they were paying lakhs by day and here was a monkey, correction - a star monkey, which needed at least 15 days to get into the 'skin of the character'. So it took its own time to get trained, get into a completely perfect state of mind to 'act' with its co-stars and then arrive on sets.

So is it just a monkey that found itself to be in constant spotlight or is there anything more that Housefull has to offer, as far as its non-human cast is concerned? Well, for audience, it indeed seems that there is a promising entertainer ahead once Housefull releases with its mega stars that include human beings as well as animals. As for the rest, watch this space for more developments as the film readies itself for a 30th April release.

Akki pushes Lara into 70 ft deep underwater

It you think Lara deserves all the credits of doing dangerous dive in ‘Blue’ then you are totally wrong. The one who encourages Lara Dutta to take lesson on diving and put on her all the confidence to go underwater is none other than the stunt king, Akshay Kumar. “Well he was the one who recommended my name for Blue,” said Lara.

At first, Lara was not happy with the idea of diving 70ft with Sharks. But Akki has shown his full confidence on her and encourage her to take up the challenge. She reveals, “I got a call from Akshay who told me, ‘take a swimming lesson if you don’t like it then say no to the movie but take one swimming lesson and see how it goes.’ He has this favorite dialogue - Tu nahi toh kaun karega - and he knows that gets me every single time.”

Lara informs that after a three month training she got certified as a diver. “I must say that as an actress in the industry very few times you get anything that really challenges you in a role including something that is physically challenging and I am extremely lucky on that part.” She signs off.

‘Blue’ is one of the highly awaited flicks of 2009.

Aamir gets into Akshay’s look

Aamir Khan picks up character that truly motivates him and gives him the opportunity to present his audience something unique. Whether it is a three hour long film or a two minutes commercial, he never measure duration with his role and always tries to deliver his best. What if the entire world goes gaga over the Singh of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar? Aamir is going to give a tough competition to the present Singh of Bollywood and set to fade Akki’s King image from the mind of the audience.

Aamir after enacting Dinu Kaka in the Coke advertisement and Ardhnarishwar in the Tata Sky commercial is all set to tie up pagdi (turban) and get into the image of a rough and tough Sardar. In the latest Tata Sky commercial, Aamir Khan will play the role of a Papaji.

Aamir leaves no scope to show his versatility and now with the new Tata Sky ad, he is going to add another feather in his hat. The ad promises to be different as it will show Aamir in a totally new avatar that will give a tough fight to Akki who has already been tagged as the Singh of Bollywood.

Akshay Kumar teams up with Bohemia again

New Delhi, March 10: Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has taken a fancy to teaming up with international singers of late.

After teaming up with Bohemia in "Chandni Chowk To China", the actor has shared vocals once again with the US-based hip-hop and rap star in "8X10 Tasveer".

The song is a peppy number and the two stars have shot for a music video for the Percept Picture Company (PPC) film.

"The music video encapsulates the personality of the film. The intrigue and thrill elements form an integral part of the video. Bohemia is a very popular rap artist and we are very happy that he has given his music for our film," Navin Shah, PPC CEO, said in a press release.

Apart from singing with Bohemia, Akshay also recently did a song each with international rapper Snoop Dogg for "Singh Is Kinng" and with Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue in "Blue".

In "8X10 Tasveer", Akshay plays the character of a man of Indian origin who becomes a forest ranger in Canada. The film is releasing April 3 and also stars Ayesha Takia, Vinod Khanna and Sharmila Tagore.

8X10 Tasveer mp3 songs will be soon avilable to download

Working with Akshay nostalgic, says Farah Khan

Mumbai, March 08: Director-choreographer Farah Khan says Australian singer Kylie Minogue was "a dream to work with" in forthcoming film "Blue", but she was even more excited to work with Akshay Kumar after a year`s gap.

The two had last come together for Farah`s directorial venture "Om Shanti Om", where Akshay was seen in a cameo as `Khiladi Kumar`. And she didn`t miss the opportunity to work with him in the much-hyped song featuring Kylie in director Anthony D`Souza`s "Blue".

"I enjoy working with Akshay and have always had great fun shooting with him. In `Om Shanti Om` he was a riot and sporting enough to have consented to do a cameo. We were in splits throughout when he came back in his `Khiladi Kumar` image. This was a year and a half back and when we shot again in `Blue`, it was quite nostalgic," Farah told reporters.

The ace choreographer bonded quite well with Kylie even though they were working together for the first time.

"That`s right, we hadn`t interacted earlier but knew about each other`s work. She had seen `Om Shanti Om` and was also aware about my musical `Bombay Dreams`. Once we started working together for the `Blue` song, we gelled well quite quickly. She is a dream to work with," Farah said.

Farah has now become very choosy when it comes to taking up choreography assignments ever since she donned the director`s hat for "Main Hoon Na" in 2004. But she has made exceptions.

In fact, one of the songs she decided to choreograph earlier also featured Akshay. The number was "Mast Kalandar" from the film "Heyy Babyy", which was directed by her brother Sajid Khan. Of course, the song had her favourite actor friend Shah Rukh kahan making an appearance too.

"It`s always a great experience to work with Akshay since he is a fun-loving guy. Moreover, he is very professional and very punctual. There were many factors that contributed to me agreeing to work on the song and Akshay being a part of it only helped," Farah said about accepting "Blue".

Apart from Kylie and Akshay, the much-awaited song also features Zayed Khan, Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt. Composed by Oscar-winning musician A.R. Rahman, the number has been sung by Kylie and Sonu Nigam.

"The number is a mix of Western and Punjabi bhangra, hence turning out to be a great mix. Rahman has come up with a great tune again. To begin with, while Kylie sings her own portion in English, Sonu Nigam brings on a Punjabi element in the second half of the song," she explained.

"Blue" is set to release in the latter half of 2009.

Akshay cooks food for Kylie

Stunt hero Akshay Kumar welcomed the foreign celebrity, Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue with open heart. Akki and his wife Twinkle invited Kylie for lunch at their residence and Akshay Kumar makes sure that the singer doesn’t feel any uncomfortable at his home. For the special guest, Akki himself turned cook and served her.

"Kylie and some of Akshay and Twinkle Khanna's close friends from the industry, plus the Blue crew were invited for lunch by the actor on Thursday afternoon. This is supposed to be his way of making her comfortable in Mumbai," a source close to Akshay said.

Kylie has come all the way from Australia to record a song for Akshay’s underwater thriller ‘Blue’. The much anticipated film has been directed by Anthony D'Souza and produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd.

The private lunch that Akki and Twinkle arranged for Kylie was unique of its kind as an array of camera captured her entire activities at Akki’s residence.

The source said: "If Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne went all out to make Barbara Mori comfortable in Mumbai, why not Akshay and his wife?"

Kylie Minogue to shoot a music video with Akshay Kumar for Blue

A.R.Rahman just couldn't have had it better. While he is on an all time high courtesy the Oscars, he is all set to put the listeners on an all-time high, by having none other than Australian pop sensation Kylie Minogue to sing for his forthcoming film Blue. For the uninitiated, this film stars the dashing Akshay Kumar, dynamic Sanjay Dutt, suave Zayed Khan, along with the lovely ladies Katrina Kaif and Lara Dutta!

Produced under the banner of Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd, Blue is supposed to be India's first 'official' underwater film! But something that promises to float for decades to come is none other than Rahman's magical wand that has now got the sensational Kylie lending her magically mystical voice to not one but two of the songs in the film. While one of the songs is a duet with the supremely talented Sonu Nigam, the other is a racy solo number for the promotional video of the film. The USP of her duet track with Sonu Nigam is that while Sonu recorded the song in Mumbai, Kylie recorded the same in London, after she got a copy of Sonu's song. How this fusion was made possible, is something that only the musical maestro A.R.Rahman can tell us!

The latest news is that Kylie will be shooting for the duet song with Akshay Kumar while gyrating to ace choreographer Farah Khan's dancing instructions. It really seems like the makers of this film are leaving no stone unturned to give the film a truly international feel. After all, it's only once in a 'Blue' moon that we get to see the clubbing of such mega talents under one roof!

mp3 songs of movie blue will be soon available to download for free

Katrina reveals everything about Akshay

Serene beauty Katrina Kaif and stunt hero Akshay Kumar is a golden on-screen couple. After delivering number of hits, the gossip mongers began to frame stories about their false love saga. But Katrina who hardly speaks her personal life in public goes candid with Farhan Akhtar on the show Oye! It's Friday and reveals all about her relationship with Akshay Kumar. She admitted that Akki is a very good friend of her.

"People think that I and Akshay are good friends. Yes, it is easy working together when it comes to Akshay but then our friendship is not the kind that I could have with my childhood or college friends", said Katrina when asked about her friends.

She admitted that Akshay has been a great inspiration to her and she has learnt dedication from him, "I have learnt dedication towards work from my co-star Akshay Kumar. If you have good talent but take it for granted, then it fails for you. However, if you have less talent but work hard towards it then you get what you want. Someone like Akshay has a good combination of both talents which he hones further by working hard on it."

Speaking about maximum hits and minimum loses that she has in her credit, Kat said, "There should be one strong point at least when a film if offered to me. No, it isn’t like I am a lucky mascot or anything but I believe in praying and hoping. I believe and pray that if you genuinely ask something it is granted."

She further adds, "I don't have enough knowledge of films but I think that a film has to have some quality control at the least. If a director is new then at the least he should have a good and strong script. On the other hand, if a director is experienced that even a new actor with a good script can work."

Akshay Kumar and Shahrukh having War

Film world is very competitive industry; one cannot see and digest the rising of the other. Akshay and Shahrukh also share some similar kind of relationship. Though they do not have any personal animosity, both cannot stand each other. As Akshay is rising the ladder of success very fast, Shahrukh feels little awkward to make eye contact with Akki. Today, Akshay is the most saleable actor of Bollywood and he is one such actor who has given the box office maximum profit. Their cold vibes was noticed on Preity’s birthday bash when SRK tried to leave the party before Akki and his family arrived. But unfortunately, he had to come in contact with him.

According to an eye witness, "Twinkle and Akshay arrived before Shahrukh and Gauri. While Twinkle and Akshay acknowledged all the guests at the party, it was pretty obvious that the two did not have any intention of staying there long."

According to our source, Akshay wanted to leave before Shahrukh could arrive. "The minute Shah Rukh stepped in, Akshay chose to leave. The few minutes that the two were together, they avoided each other. They greeted one another very reluctantly but after that no word was exchanged between the two. Since there were only few guests present at the party at the time, the awkwardness between Akshay and Shahrukh was very obvious."

Shahrukh's rivalry with Akki first came into the forefront when he remarked at a private show organized by Reliance at Jamnagar, 'so what if he is the king, I am the badshah.'

Over Comedy ?? Akshay kumar

Summary: Chandni Chowk Flop, On going question on AkShay's Over COmedy, Kambhakht Ishq and De Dana Dan are upcoming Projects

Details:

The shocking downfall of Nikhil Advani's Chandni Chowk To China has put a huge question mark on Akshay Kumar's ongoing comic journey. Most of his well-wishers in the industry seriously wish him to end his protracted attempts at comedy.

Says a director who has worked with Akshay, "Akshay Kumar has become progressively active in the process of writing scripts and shooting films. He freely makes suggestions some of which, I've to admit, are good. But quite often he wants to take over the project. When I went to him with another project he offered to co-produce it and get someone to re-write portions. It's obvious a lot of scenes in Chandni Chowk were re-written. The result shows."

Apparently, the Chandni Chowk To China writer Sridhar Raghavan was persuaded to continuously change the scenes until the writer (known for his skilled screenplay in Raj Santoshi's film) was a helpless puppet propelling the plot to destinations-unknown.

However, Akshay's staunch producer-director friends are more than happy to stand by him.

Akshay's next crucial release Kambhakht Ishq has very little of the comic element. "It's an out-and-out rom-com with stunts of an international order," informs producer Sajid Nadiadwala proudly." And why are we jumping the gun just because one of his films hasn't lived up to expectations? There could be so many reasons for it. Why should Akshay be blamed for it? Why so much negativity about him? Is he the first superstar to disappoint audiences?"

Sajid shoots down rumours of seriously revamping the comic element in Kambhakht Ishq. "Why would I do that? The film is what it is. I don't work with my actors based on how their last film did. Kambhakht Ishq will have a lot to offer."

However, on the downside Akshay's pairing with Kareena Kapoor has hardly ever worked, their last few films being Suneel Darshan's Talaash, Dharmesh Darshan's Bewafaa and Yash Raj Films' Tashan.

Vipul Shah's film with Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai which he launches in March is also not a comic romp. "But I don't think the failure of Chandni Chowk To China means that audiences have rejected him in the comic avatar. The backlash is totally uncalled-for. And it looks motivated by reasons other than the box-office. A lot of people have been waiting to pounce on Akshay. This is their opportunity," Vipul Shah defends his hero stoutly.

It is believed that apart from Priyadarshan's De Dana Dan which is an out-and-out comedy, Akshay Kumar forthcoming projects will seriously cut down or downplay the comic element.

"It's the Govinda factor at work again," says a director who wants to remain unnamed. "He did so much buffoonery on screen, Govinda made people forget there was more to him than meets the eye."

Songs of Kambhkht Ishq and De Dana Dan will be soon available to download in mp3 format
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