Mughda is drop-dead gorgeous: Neil

By Subhash K Jha

'Fair' and 'dusky' is how Mughda Godse describes her combination with Neil Nitin Mukesh.

"I think we'll light up the screen with out contrasting skin complexion, " says Mudga when asked about being paired with the Johnny Gaddar boy in Madhur Bhandarkar's ready-to-be-launched prison drama Jail.

Though Mugda is reluctant to talk about it until the parent company Percept Pictures makes a formal announcement it's reliably learnt that Percept Pictures has signed the Fashion fraulein for two films, one of which is Bhandarkar's Jail opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh.

According to a source after playing the highly unconventional model who marries a gay fashion designer in Fashion Mugda is quite the coventional leading lady in Jail with songs and dances. And though the plot's focus is on Neil Mugda too has been given a meaty role.

"I'm quite looking forward to doing the naach-gana after doing the unconventional stuff in Fashion. In fact all the offers coming to me now are of the naach-gana variety, which is surprising considering I did none of that in my first film, " says Mugda.

Has she seen Neil's film? "Oh yes. I saw Johnny Gaddar. Neil is very talented. Very….fair!"

Neil returns the compliment. "Mughda is extremely talented, drop-dead gorgeous and a dusky unicorn."

And yes, they're both single.

Big B does a volte face on Slumdog Millionaire

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, who had stoked a controversy by slamming "Slumdog Millionaire", Friday said the movie was "wonderful" and expressed happiness that composer A.R. Rahman won three Oscar nominations for his score and songs in the movie.

"The sound engineer of this wonderful movie 'Slumdog Millionaire', Rasool, an Indian, has also won a nomination along with Rahman. I am so happy. Bhanu Athaiya was the last Indian to win an Oscar for the designing the costumes of Richard Attenborough's 'Gandhi' in 1982," Bachchan said at an overflowing venue at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Referring to his comment regarding "Slumdog Millionaire" that "the film projects India as Third World's dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots", he said: "I write a blog.

But the opinions expressed in my blog were not my own. So many people write on my blog site and I was just quoting one of them. I have spoken to Anil Kapoor and Danny Boyle and cleared the misgivings. But everyone must have freedom of expression."

The superstar was here for a day to release his biography, "Bachchanalia: The Films and Memorabilia of Amitabh Bachchan", spanning 40 years of his career in the Hindi film industry.

The book - co-authored by Mumbai-based author Bhawana Somaaya and the Mumbai-based auction house and archive OSIAN's Centre for Archiving, Research and Development (CARD) wing - is the maiden publication of Osian's publishing and design department.

Founder and chairman of OSIAN's Neville Tuli was in conversation with the superstar.

Bachchan, clad in a pink shirt and a black velvet blazer, cut an amenable figure as he fielded queries from his host and the audience alike.

"Indian cinema is gaining global acceptance. I was in Paris two weeks ago for Salon Du Cinema, a festival of world films, where India and my family were the focus this time.

"I realised that the Indian movie industry was being acknowledged and Hindi movies were being shown on television channels in countries like France, Germany and all over Europe - even in those European nations where there had been no awareness about Indian movies before.

"If you want a personal and an honest opinion, I think Indian movies are paramount. They don't fall short in any way globally - be it in terms of cinematography, content or the cast. I am very happy with the kind of movies we are making. The Oscar is in its place - the fact that they have decided to nominate one of our artistes is heartening," Bachchan said.

The superstar held forth on a variety of subjects - ranging from his relationship with his son, reading habits, concern for junior artistes in Mumbai, secular fabric of the country and his own life.

Striking a patriotic note, the Bollywood veteran said he was proud to be a movie star.

"I'm proud to be in the profession because once people walk into a movie theatre they forget the identity of those with whom they are sharing the hall. You do not ask if the person seated next to you is a Hindu, Sikh, Christian or a Muslim.

"We watch the same emotions, cry over the same grief and sing the same songs. I think the integrated India lies inside the movie halls of this country," Bachchan said.

The superstar was emphatic that his angry young man image, which had a created a new metaphor in Indian cinema after his hit action movie, "Zanjeer", was not setting a violent precedent among the youth.

"For every angry young man, I have played a benign Anthony bhai ("Amar Akbar Anthony"). The maximum violence as I read in the papers happens in Bihar," he said.

"The history of this country is more than 1,000 years old - I don't want to look down upon the younger generation. You have to give space to each generation to progress," he said.

As a model citizen of India, Bachchan said his dream was to ensure that every Indian should know, understand and follow the Constitution and work together for an integrated country - especially in these troubled times of terror.

Preity`s unique heritage revealed

Bubbly dame Preity Zinta has had an interesting career graph.

Now the actress after lying low for a while has reportedly signed a Yash Raj film with her 'Dil Chahta Hai' co-star Aamir Khan.

But apart from her career, all this while there have been loads of talks about Preity Zinta's familial connections.

The buzz is that she got fed up of queries about her family background and has decided to tell one and all that she's British blood in her.

The actress explains, "Some people think I'm south Indian, while some feel I'm a Muslim. There have also been fans who have asked me whether I hail from Himachal Pradesh. In the early 18th century, when marital alliances between the Rajput and British became quite common, the Zinta clan was born. I'm a rare combination of British and Rajput blood."

Well, Preity sure has blue blood. No wonder she behaves like a royal most of the time.

Delhi High Court quashes ban on smoking in films

The Delhi High Court Friday quashed the central government's notification banning smoking in films on grounds that it violates the fundamental rights of filmmakers.

A single judge bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul observed that banning smoking in films violated filmmakers' fundamental rights of freedom of expression and speech.

The union ministry of health and family welfare had in May 2005 proposed the ban by notifying the Cigarette and Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules 2005.

In another notification, the ministry said the rules would come into effect from Oct 2, 2005. This had been challenged by Bollywood director and producer Mahesh Bhatt in September 2005.

Ileana denies using hormone injections

Since a long time rumours are going around in the town about Ileana being in love and also that she is used to injecting hormone injections to maintain her slim body.

But the glamorous actress has denied these to be baseless rumours. Where she denied having taking any injections she said that she would only reveal about her love life at the right moment. Hmm…that means her life is blossoming.

But we would have to wait for sometime to know the lucky guy in the diva's life. About the injections she said that neither she uses such injections nor would she recommend anyone else to use it due to its side effects.

Watch out for Vatsal this year

While a lot of people are looking back at what they did in the past year there's one hero who is eagerly looking forward to 2009 - Vatsal Sheth.

The reason is the series of his films that are to be released in forthcoming year. One shall witness an upswing in his career with Vatsal having one film releasing every season.

Also, his young fans will get see him in different avatars with films like Season's Greetings, Paying Guest and Toh Baat Pakki which he has finished shooting for. "2009 is mine, " says the lad. "And I hope you all enjoy my films as much as I enjoyed shooting them." Way to go boy.

Dino beats Akshay in 2009

One guy who is making more news than any of the celebrities in tinsel town put together is the one who clicks with them, and he clicks literally well.

Ok, enough teasing, we are talking about ace photographer Daboo Ratnani who has, as always, done a fantabulous job of shooting an outstanding 2009 calendar.

That he has packed in 48 celebrities into the calendar is old news but what's not is the fact that Daboo is wondering who will win more applauds between his personal favorites - khiladi Akshay Kumar or the stylish and sexy Dino Morea, as both of them are looking absolute breath-taking in the calendar.

But the wicked whisper swears that it's going to be Dino who will beat Akshay hands down. Those who have had a sneak-peak into the calendar are swearing by Dino's killer look in the album. Well, with an ecstatic body and a smile to die for we won't be too surprised with this prediction.