A group of men regain consciousness in a vast shed with no memory of how they got there. They don’t remember a thing, in fact: there they are, hurt and bleeding, in a place that’s sealed tight, miles away from anywhere. Who are they, and what’s going on?

Sanjay Gupta’s productions usually involve beefy men playing with guns in settings—in this one, it’s Durban– bleached of all colour. And that’s mainly what happens in ‘Acid Factory’, so named because the place the unlovely bunch is locked in turns out to be an abandoned acid factory.

The armoury come in all shapes and sizes. The men are all in black. So is the woman: Dia Mirza is one of the boys, and is made to snarl a lot. She is also made to walk shoulder- to-shoulder with the fellows to create a visual that’s a standard part of Gupta’s films—everyone in black leather, expensive shades in place, walking slo mo towards the camera. Remember ‘Kaante’?

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Tamil actress Bhuvaneswari and two young girls were arrested by the Chennai police for their involvement in prostitution. According to sources, she has been allegedly running this racket from her apartment at Adayar in Chennai. Sources also said that she was reported to the police by her neighbours after they suspected her of indulging in prostitution.

Buzz up!
Bhuvaneswari is a popular Tamil actress, who has acted in a number of films including Shankar’s Boys and serials including Bharathiraja’s Therkathi Ponnu, making her mark with her bold, glamourous roles. She was earlier arrested by Chennai police in the year 2002 but was released later. Bhuvaneswari alleged that she was arrested while she was with her friends and that she did not run any brothels.

There are few all women films which have been made in Hindi. Just last week, Basu Chatterjee’s daughter directed a film called ‘Aamras’, which was a coming of age film, about a gang of young girls. But like we said, it’s a rare phenomenon. There have been more films about male bonding then about females. But all that may soon change. ‘Gulabi Gang’ is the name of the film, which is set to go on the floors in January next year, with a more or less all female cast. The film will be directed by Soumik Sen and produced by Subhash Singh. The actresses who are all set to form the ‘Gulabi Gang’ include Tabu, Raveena Thadani, Shahana Goswami and Mahie Gill. ‘Gulabi Gang’ is not going to be your usual melodramatic fare, typically associated with women, but instead will be an action packed drama. Set in a village, the film will have women playing the leading characters while male actors will bring up the rest of the minor set of players. According to sources, Tabu will play the leader of the ‘Gulabi Gang’, which will also consist of Mahie and Shahana. Raveena will be playing a politician once again, like in ‘Satta’. There has been a lot of talk about adapting Charlie’s Angels to a Hindi format but that has yet to happen. So instead of city slickers, get set to see your rural woman donning the boots.

Mumbai, Sep 15 (IANS) Bollywood actress Sridevi will be seen in a rare appearance on Sony TV’s game show ‘Dus Ka Dum 2′ hosted by Salman Khan. Her producer husband Boney Kapoor will also be there.

Sridevi, who has been on a stretched sabbatical from the arc lights, went on the show specially to promote her husband’s upcoming film ‘Wanted’. Releasing Friday, the film stars Salman as the protagonist.

Sridevi, last seen in the 1999 Malayalam movie ‘Devaraagam’, also made an exception for the sake of Salman with whom she featured in a number of projects including ‘Chandramukhi’ and ‘Chand Ka Tukda’. The last Hindi film she acted in was 1997 release ‘Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha’.

Boney and Sridevi will be joined by the film’s lead actress Ayesha Takia and director Prabhudheva.

‘Now we can all shamelessly promote our film ‘Wanted’,’ said Salman.

The episode will be aired Saturday at 9 p.m.

There are few all women films which have been made in Hindi. Just last week, Basu Chatterjee’s daughter directed a film…

There has been a lot written about the generosity of Salman Khan. If he decides to be meherbaan towards someone, then he is… More

Bangalore, Sep 11 (IANS) Kannada actress Uma Shri, who has just won the best actress National Award for her performance in ‘Gulabi Talkies’, teams up again with director Girish Kasaravalli for ‘Kanasemba Kudureya Benneri’.

‘Working in Girish Kasaravalli’s film is like taking a training in acting. I will learn many things. I will just follow the principle of following his instructions even for this film,’ said the veteran actress who has already worked in more than 300 films.

‘Kanasemba Kudureya Benneri’ is based on well-known author Amaresh Nugudoni’s Kannada novel of the same title.

Talking to IANS Kasaravalli said: ‘Besides Uma Shri, well-known actor Biradar will also feature in an important role in the movie.’

‘We have selected most of the artists from Uththara Kannada district. We have given preference to artists with theatre background.’

The film will go on floors Sep 20 and Kasaravalli will shoot it in Bijapur and surrounding areas. It is being produced by Basanth Kumar Patil, who had produced ‘Gulabi Talkies’.

‘Kanasemba Kudureya Benneri’ is about a poor couple who predict future based on their dreams. They become popular in and around their village. But after some time, predictions don’t work and they are ridiculed and humiliated by villagers. The couple get disillusioned later.

Kolkata, Sep 12 (IANS) Bollywood star Neeta Chanda of ‘Traffic Signal’ fame was the show stopper for Soumitra Mandal’s collection that was showcased at the ongoing Kolkata Fashion Week-II.

‘I really liked the look of the outfit I am wearing. I am a very casual kind of person. I carry myself according to the place I am going to,’ Neeta told reporters after the show late Friday.

Mandal, who displayed black and white western wear, said he used only natural fabrics.

‘I used handloom, linen and silk and the prints were hand batik,’ he explained.

Six of Chanda’s films are releasing this year and she is shooting the seventh one in South Africa for Anees Bazmee opposite Sanj

Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

NAQAAB had her in a central role but BAABARR seems to be male oriented. She still went ahead and said ‘yes’ to the film. Weren’t she apprehensive about the length of the role?

But Urvashi seems to be pretty contented with her part in BAABARR, “Yes, BAABARR is a male oriented film for sure. Moreover, these men are shown to be quite powerful as well. They handle everything, whether it deals with the personal or professional lives of the people around them. The movie is about a man called ‘Baabarr’ and his life. He is someone who makes everyone quite scared of him. This is where my character comes in because Zia, the girl that I play in the film, is the only one who can control him. Even though the film doesn’t revolve around me, I have a very strong appearance in the film. That was a good reason for me not to get apprehensive.”

The difference between the glossy world of NAQAAB and the rustic world of BAABARR must certainly have pinched. “[Laughs] Yeah, there I was staying in a mansion while here I was living in a ‘toota-phoota ghar’ with no fan, no AC, no luxuries of life. There everything was larger than life while here, just living life itself was such a challenge. But it was all fun eventually. After all what’s the point in playing the same character and living the same situation in each of your films?”

It must be quite some moment for her to be back on the big screen after NAQAAB! “Yes, it was a great moment for sure but not something that I was craving for. Reason being that I was still doing films. I had done this Telugu film down South. Then I had also participated in the Level 1 of Fear Factor. Due to this, there wasn’t any nervousness facing the camera. The only point about which I was really nervous was the subject of the film and how well would I would be able to execute my part eventually,” says Urvashi.

Why was that so?

Urvashi explains, “After all BAABARR is indeed different. Also, it was quite a difficult and intense experience. I was scared with so many senior actors around like Mithun Chakravorty, Om Puri etc. In any case I am still a newcomer even after one film. Thankfully, my co-stars were really helpful due to which I could survive working in the film. My director and writer were great help too who helped me get my ’sur’ right in front of the camera.”

She just mentioned that BAABARR was quite a difficult and intense experience. Urvashi continues, “First and foremost the movie has a great story and doesn’t rely upon any gimmicks whatsoever. It is a very serious film rather than being a regular fun or a comedy outing. Yes, there are few funny moments but overall it is a very intense film. As an actor also you can’t afford a single false move since you need to have a clear idea about how this character is going to behave, talk, move around, react etc.”

Being an urban girl, it must have been difficult for her too to get into the skin of a small town girl. But Urvashi is all praise for her character, “There were other factors also that made me give it special attention. Like this character that I play in BAABARR is a Muslim girl while in real life I am a Punjabi. Moreover Zia speaks Hindi in a UP lingo with a Muslim touch to it whereas Punjabis have an altogether different pronunciation of words. I got to know more about a different community and gained an experience of a different kind of life. I could appreciate my life that I have got everything on a platter because Zia and her folks are the kind of lower middle class people who work hard to earn break and butter. It was good to live the life of Zia even though it was short lived.”

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) The Salman Khan-starrer ‘Wanted’ will be released Sep 18 after the Supreme Court granted reprieve to Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor in a monetary dispute.

A bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice H.L. Dattu allowed release of the film after Kapoor offered to deposit Rs.20 million with the Bombay High Court as surety.

Senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi told the bench that L.M.B. Holdings Limited, a B4U group company, had in June 2007 given Kapoor an advance of Rs.100 million following a tentative agreement to produce films in a joint venture.

The initial understanding was that Kapoor would return the money within 90 days if the two sides fail to work out the details of the agreement for the joint venture, Rohtagi told the bench.

He added that though the two parties failed to arrive at any firm agreement, his client proceeded on to produce ‘Wanted’, which is now slated for release Sep 18.

He further explained to the court that despite his client failing to return the money within 90 days, the private firm demanded the money back only after the lapse of one year and three months, claiming that in case the money is not returned, he would have rights over at least five films, including ‘Wanted’, produced by Kapoor.

He said as Kapoor challenged the firm’s contention, the Bombay High Court through an interim order has asked his client to deposit Rs.100 million with the court’s registry as a security deposit.

Contending that the high court order was illegal, Rohtagi offered to deposit Rs.20 million with the high court’s registry in lieu of permission to release one film, which has already been made.

New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Television actress Supriya Pilgaonkar, who was last seen as a strong single mother in ‘Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi’, says she chooses her parts in soaps very carefully since roles offered to women her age lack variety.

‘The problem with my age is that the roles that are offered to me are very typical and limited. So within that limit, I have to look for something special and interesting,’ Supriya told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

‘If I have to do a mother’s role, I want that it should not be just standing in one line. It should have some substance,’ she added.

The Marathi actress, who is married to actor-director Sachin Pilgaonkar, has been earlier seen in serials like ‘Tu Tu Main Main’ and ‘Kadvee Khattee Meethi’. Supriya has also done films like ‘Awara Paagal Deewana’ and ‘Aetbaar’.

The 52-year-old will now be seen in NDTV Imagine’s new show ‘Basera’.

Talking about the show, she said: ‘Why I chose this show was because the content of the show was different and not very typical. For me, that is very important. It’s an emotional drama with a subtle message. However, its not preachy.’

‘Basera’ traces the journey of four friends, who have dedicated their lives nurturing their children and in turn putting their own desires on hold. But their lives take a turbulent turn because the priorities of their children lie elsewhere.

Throwing light on why she limited herself to just a few shows, the actress said that she needed time to do other things in her life too.

‘I did fewer shows because then I have time to do other things as well, like theatre. Also, earlier my daughter was small so I had to give time to my family as well. Even now I do very few shows so that I have time to pursue my other hobbies,’ she said.

And why just a few films?

‘I haven’t done many films because whatever till now has come up has been very trivial. I don’t want to take up any role just because it’s on the big screen. If something interesting comes up, I’ll take it up,’ said Supriya, who will be seen in a guest appearance in director Nikhil Advani’s next project.

Farhan Akhtar believes in being exclusive. The producer cum director cum actor cum singer managed to create quite a stir with his songs for ‘Rock On!’. In fact, Farhan wowed many with his acting and singing skills in this movie, directed by Abhishek Kapoor. Therefore, it is understandable, his wanting to remain exclusive and reap the dividends for a longer period of time.

But it comes as quite a shock when one hears that Farhan has turned down an offer from AR Rahman to lend his vocals for a song in the forthcoming movie, ‘Blue’. For quite a while, one had been hearing about Farhan lending his vocals to Zayed Khan’s character in Anthony D’Silva’s ‘Blue’. But it seems that Farhan was lying low as he was not willing to lend his vocals to any other actor. It’s not often that someone like Rahman gets to hear a ‘no’. Generally, people are dying to get a chance to work with him, but Farhan apparently is not one of them. He would rather reserve his vocals for his own films instead of giving playback for some other actor. The actor realizes that his is an unusual voice which needs to be used in just the right measure. Over exposure could kill the novelty factor associated with his voice. Hence, even though it was not the easiest thing to do, Farhan came clean with Rahman and opted out of the number, called ‘Fiqrana’, which will now be sung by Vijay Prakash.