Vacation time for Farhan
Film-maker and actor Farhan Akhtar has had his hands full shooting for various films and the co-hosting the IIFA awards, is now in the mood for a holiday. Farhan has decided to take some time off and relax. "A big thank you to all who cheered Shahid Kapoor and me on... we're happy to have entertained you.
Until the next time (sic)," the 38-year-old tweeted.
"And now it's finally time for a long overdue vacation. Will be flying under the radar. Will make contact when I return. Adios," he further posted.
Farhan, whose production Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara bagged nine awards at the IIFA awards, will next be seen in Rakeysh Mehra's biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He plays the title role in the film and followed a gruelling training programme to portray the world famous athlete Milkha Singh.
Plenty of roles
Actress Neha Dhupia has a lot in her kitty. She is all set to share screen space with Emraan Hashmi in Karan Johar's next home production, which will be directed by Rensil D'Silva .
This film will feature Emraan Hashmi, Sanjay Dutt, Kangana Ranuat, Randeep Hooda and a few others and is likely to roll out later this year. "Yes, I have been signed this film. I can't talk much about it. There are two other films of mine that are coming out — 'Maximum' and 'Rush'," says Dhupia, without divulging any further details. Talking about the film, Karan Johar says, "The film has a strong ensemble cast. Lots of people are there in it like Kangana, Randeep Hooda and a host of young brilliant actors.
We will announce the film with title and cast very soon. It is about individual paths, there is no predominant love story. It is too early to talk about it." Recently, Neha attended Karan Johar's 40th birthday bash.
Besides, KJo's film, Neha will soon be seen in Kabeer Kaushik's crime-thriller, 'Maximum'. The project, featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Sonu Sood, Neha Dhupia and Vinay Pathak in pivotal roles, releases on June 29.
Her other project, 'Rush', is directed by the late Shamin Desai. The film stars Emraan Hashmi, Aditya Pancholi and Neha Dhupia in pivotal roles. After the death of Desai, the project is being completed by his wife Priyanka.
Fiction mixed with reality
Bengali superstar Prosenjit, who has won accolades for his performance in Shanghai, is likely to be cast in Shoojit Sircar's political thriller 'Jaffna'.
The film will be directed by Shoojit and produced by none other than John Abraham. The two had earlier teamed up for 'Vicky Donor', which did good business at box office. Jaffna is based on the LTTE and the civil war in Sri Lankan.
"It will be a dark political thriller, with John playing an Indian intelligence agent," Shoojit says, adding, "We have John in the film. We are in talks with Prosenjit. We are trying to work out his character. As of now there are two things in mind for Prosenjit — one is a simple, normal citizen of India and the other is police officer or maybe something else. But nothing is finalised yet."
Asked if there was any character in the film based on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by the LTTE in 1991, Shoojit says, "There is no character of Rajiv Gandhi in the film. We are still at the scripting stage. It is a piece of fiction. We might start shooting by the end of the year."
Season for sequels
There have been rumours doing the rounds that film-maker Anees Bazmee is preparing a sequel to the movie Hera Pheri.
However, the director has dismissed these claims, explaining that he is actually working on the sequel to his 2007 blockbuster 'Welcome', which is going to be called 'Welcome Back'.
"I am not making the Hera Pheri sequel for some reason — director Neeraj Vora and producer Feroz Nadiadwala are making it. I will be making 'Welcome Back', which is a sequel to 'Welcome'," says Bazmee.
The first instalment of 'Hera Pheri' was directed by Priyadarshan and released in 2000.
The original starred Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Suniel Shetty and Tabu and it was a huge success. In 2006 came its sequel, titled Phir Hera Pheri, with some changes in the cast — the male leads were the same, but Tabu was replaced with Bipasha Basu and Rimi Sen.This project was helmed by Vora.
Bazmee further adds, "Actually, when I wrote the script for Hera Pheri 4, it was such that it could be a sequel to Hera Pheri or 'Welcome'. I wanted the original star cast for the sequel to Hera Pheri but things didn't fall into place. Later, we even approached Abhishek Bachchan for the same film and he was very excited to do it.
But due to some reason, I am not doing the film." Ask him about the cast of 'Welcome Back', and he admits that it hasn't been decided upon yet. "The film will go on floors only after 'No Entry Main Entry'. The script for 'No Entry Main Entry' is ready and I will soon narrate the script to Salman bhai," he explains.