Ameesha Patel has not disappeared from showbiz! For all those who thought that the Kaho Naa ... Pyaar Hai girl had vanished from the silver-screen, here is some news. The actress is back in the limelight and this time instead of facing the camera, she plans to run the show as a producer. She recently held a bash to announce her debut as producer with her production house, Ameesha Patel Productions. At the party, the actress announced that the director, cast and the title of her maiden production venture ‘will soon be finalised and publicly declared’. The production house will be co-partnered by good friend Kunal Goomer. But, that does not mean that the actress’ acting career is over. Ameesha’s film Chatur Singh is slated to release in June. She will also be seen in Neeraj Vora’s Run Bola Run.

Even as the Salman Khan-Asin-starrer Ready is gearing up for release, there are talks about his doing another South remake. After Wanted, Ready, Bodyguard and Kick, apparently Salman had showed interest in the Ravi Teja-starrer and Harish Shankar-directed Telugu film Mirapakai which was a hit when it released in January this year again as a cop. It was heard the film will be produced by Sohail Khan with plans to rope in the original director. However, when contacted, Sohail Khan said, “I have no clue about this project.”

Anil Kapoor confirmed for Cities

Anil Kapoor, on a high ever since his Hollywood stint began with the television series 24, has signed his next English film. The actor will be seen in director Roger Donaldson’s forthcoming film Cities and will co-star with actor Clive Owen. “Anil Kapoor is a part of Donaldson’s Cities. Other details like shooting dates etc. are in the process of being finalised,” Kapoor’s publicist said. The film is a cautionary tale about greed and ambition that takes place on a global scale in three colliding story lines. The movie’s shoot is likely to begin in October in London, Mumbai and New York

They were a successful pair in Love Aaj Kal. And now, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone will be seen in three films together – Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan, Abbas-Mastan’s Race 2 and Homi Adajania’s Cocktail. The duo’s chemistry that was much-spoken about during Imtiaz The actor tried to play down the fact that Imtiaz and Prakash chose her over Kareena in Love Aaj Kal and Katrina inAarakshan respectively by saying, “I have no idea if they wanted to be part ofAarakshan. And as for the comparisons, they are inevitable.”

Saif, who is happy about his pairing with Deepika in the forthcoming films, insists that the duo wouldn’t get monotonous on screen. “We have consciously tried to do things differently in these films, so that the pairing doesn’t look repeated,” he says, before Deepika added, “When we signed these films I wasn’t aware that we both were cast together. It’s a happy coincidence.

Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are no longer a couple. Priyanka has sportingly accepted the split-up but Shahid has not yet able to forget Priyanka and desperately wants her back to his life.

The actor went crazy to learnt that Priyanka was in full form at Shahrukh Khan’s party and he could not attend the bash due to injury.

A source revealed, "Shahid is not willing to accept that this is The End. He is having a tough time letting go. He has been sending her feelers for weeks, which she has been ignoring. Now his text messages are somewhere in the stalker zone.”

“Recently, when he heard that she was going to be present at Shah Rukh`s party for his team and mingle with the boys, he began to frantically call her. He was anxious like a possessive lover as he wasn`t attending the party due to an injury," the source added.

"PC was more than excited to meet the likes of Brett Lee. She even broke into an impromptu song. Every one kept cheering her," a source present atthe party said.

It is heard that Shahid went out sending text messages to win over Priyanka’s heart yet over again.

"He has been sending her emotional texts and telling their friends that he misses being with her. But PC is happy to stay good friends."

Mumbai Mirror has an exclusive chat with Amrita Rao and finds out why the quintessential girl-next-door has decided to turn herself into a glam diva, her artist-muse relationship with painter M F Hussain and, of course, relationships

Actress Amrita Rao has been keeping a low profile for a long time. After a long time, her next film Love U...Mr Kalakaar! releases on May 13. The girl with an infectious smile, Amrita Rao who played a role of a girl next door in a series of films like Vivah, Ishq Vishk and Shikhar confesses that she has transformed into a glam diva. Excerpts:

Actress Ameesha Patel and Kunal Goomer who have started their own production house were spotted in London.

And though Ameesha Patel insists that she and the very much married Kunal Goomer are holidaying in the city, one imagines that the duo has an agenda in mind.

Apparently, Ameesha has been struggling to get a director to make a movie for their recently launched production house. Co-incidentally, the film Tezz is being shot in London, too. And the couple - Ameesha and Kunal - dropped onto the sets to meet Ajay Devgn or so it seems.

Priyanka Chopra may have played bold characters in films, but she’s strictly averse to showing her skin beyond a limit on camera. Nudity, she says, is not her thing. “Nudity is something that I wouldn’t be comfortable with. It has to be something that I won’t be averse to showing my parents. I have to be able to sit with them and watch it,” Priyanka says.

Recalling her bold scenes in films like ‘7 Khoon Maaf’, Priyanka says they were shot aesthetically.

Priyanka presently has an interesting mix of films in her kitty – ‘Don 2’, ‘Agneepath’, ‘Barfee’ and ‘Krrish 2’.

Katrina Spicy

ABU DHABI // Serge Ramahenintsoa will be able to dine out on his win in a worldwide Bollywood dance competition, but dining out with the Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is no small boast either.

Mr Ramahenintsoa, a French resident, won the dream lunch date in Mumbai last weekend in the Etihad Airways Next Stop Bollywood dance competition.

More than 100 entrants uploaded their dance videos to a Facebook page where the public had a say in who took the honours. The page received more than 4,500 visitors from 70 countries.

"It was amazing to see so many talented people around the world share their passion for Bollywood dance through this competition," said Kaif, who is also an ambassador for Etihad.

Mr Ramahenintsoa also won US$5,000 (Dh18,362), two Pearl business-class tickets on Etihad Airways to Mumbai and five nights in a five-star hotel.

The second prize winner was Litty Wilson, who lives in Kuwait and won two Pearl business-class tickets from Etihad. Chaya Fernando, from Sri Lanka, came third and received two Coral economy-class tickets to any of Etihad's 67 destinations.

The winners, announced at Etihad's award ceremony last Friday in Mumbai, were selected based on votes from the public, Etihad Airways and Kaif.

Amritha

I get excited; actually, super excited when I hear this quote from Amrita Rao, "The option for men to date Amrita Rao is open, why not?" So, it proves that Rao isn't getting married, not that I know of. But as of now, both her personal life and professional life are going a bit off track, again, courtesy - the little birdy. While Love U... Mr. Kalakaar hasn't opened well at the box office, her personal life is in a mess leading to tittle-tattle about her assumed relationship with some American doctor. "That is ridiculous and I don't know where these rumours begin to spread from, what's the epicentre of the rumour. By doing fewer films doesn't mean that I am going to tie the knot. That's insane and I really find it outrageously stupid. There are so many actresses who are senior to me who haven't tied the knot. Why should I be the one getting hitched so early? My focus is films right now and I will be here for a few years to come," Rao reacts.

On further tickling her rumour she explains and exclaims, "If there is a rumour about me getting linked with somebody, why the hell do you have to conclude marriage the next second? What's more surprising is the fact that audiences after reading such stories take it seriously. I don't think everything that gets printed or uploaded as news or gossip is true and we all know that! I totally believe that I am career oriented and I have no plans of getting married and I am very clear about that. "

But when asked her reactions to the opening of While Love U... Mr. Kalakaar so far, she stands by her film, "My reaction so far is that in the Rajshree Production House, we weren't looking for a bumper opening. We were looking at something whatVivaah did. It was a slow and steady rise back then. Vivaah didn't get a great opening but the small towns loved it. From the feedback that we are getting, Jaipur, Nagpur and the hard core Rajshree audience domain haven't been that bad.

Actress Spicy

 This summer the hottest buzz in tinsel town is that our very own super cool daredevil, Akshay Kumar has once again turned singer for the latest series of India's deadliest adventure show 'Khatron Ke Khiladi Torchar', expected to go on air in June 2011. Akshay Kumar through his sturdy voice is all set to be the harbinger of the Khatron Ke Khiladi Torchar, which is bound to raise the tension and anxiety of viewers across the globe. 

Akshay Kumar has lent his voice earlier to Shabad Nirgun Raakh Liya, Khatta Meetha, Chandni Chwok to China with Canadian rap artist Bohemia and the title track for the blockbuster filmSingh Is Kinng with Snoop Dogg.

Khatron Ke Khiladi Torchar is the pulse riveting Indian version of the internationally hit show Fear Factor shown on Colors TV. The show involves a true test of grit and stamina, along with a spurt of ultimate adrenaline rush to overcome the various deadly tasks set out for the contestants.

Akshay Kumar will be seen making 13 gorgeous Indian Beauties dance to his tunes and push them outside their comfort zone witnessing their greatest fears becoming a reality, in the fourth series of action packed Khatron Ke Khiladi Torchar, being shot in South Africa. Akshay Kumar lives up to his reputation as a 'Khiladi Kumar' demonstrating his nonchalant attitude by fearlessly sunbathing with a deadly Scorpion during the shooting for Khatron Ke Khiladi Torchar.

This year's celebrity participants include former Indian women's cricket captain Anjum Chopra, models Diandra Soares, Alesia Raut and Poonam Pandey, actress Aarti Chabria, Smita Bansal and Aashka Goradia, item girls Sambhavana Seth and Kashmera Shah, two VJs- Bani & Mia Uyeda, singer Mauli Dave and Dina Singh who is actor Vindu Dara Singh’s wife. Also for this season, each female celebrity participant will be teamed up with male partners.

Apart from winning a host of prizes, the winner will win the exclusive opportunity to feature with the Thums Up brand ambassador and the most popular youth icon Akshay Kumar in Thumbs Up new commercial campaign.

Actress Sameera Reddy never thought or wanted to be an actress, though today she is happy being an actor.

So, what did she want to be in life? "I wanted to be a businesswoman. I am an actor by chance. Business excites me. The whole thing about building a brand, selling it, marketing it and making it famous is exciting. I still wish I could be a businesswoman. May be, sometime later in life after I stop acting, I will take up business seriously and live my dream," says Sameera

Sameera

Actress Sameera Reddy has hurt herself. Though it is not a serious thing, sources say that the actress did not take adequate care of herself when she recently hurt her neck on the sets of her upcoming film.

Sources say that Sexy Sam (as she is fondly referred to in the industry), has been living out of the suitcase for quite some time now. She has apparently been juggling her dates for a South Indian film and a B-town flick, which means that her trips to the south and back to Mumbai have increased tremendously of late. And the accident happened when she was shooting for Tezz which also toplines actors Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Kangna Ranaut.

Sam was shooting for a song sequence when she hurt her neck. “The south film is being directed by Prabhudeva and Sam was over the moon when she bagged a role in that flick. She was very excited about that project. And then Tezz happened. She was super happy to be working alongside the likes of Ajay and Anil and frankly she is juggling her time between both these movies, because she is extremely attached to both the movies,” says a source who is very close to Sameera.

“She was shooting a dance number for the Bollywood movie when she hurt her neck. Everyone on the sets was very worried for her but Sameera was back on her feet in no time. She was clearly in pain but she wanted to wrap up the shoot before leaving for the day,” says the source.

She was one of the final five candidates in the 1999 Femina Miss India beauty pageant, and was crowned Sony Entertainment Chania-voted by viewers, and was chosen to represent India at the 2000 Miss International event in Japan. She has worked as an advertising model in addition to making appearances in several music videos: She appeared in music videos of Jagjit Singh’sKaghaz Ki Kashti and Hansraj Hans’ Jhanjaria.

While she was still in college, she modeled for Bombay Dyeing, Philips, Ponds, Godrej, Sunsilk, LG as well as the Hyundai ad with Shahrukh Khan. She has also modeled for Seasons Catalogue and Calendar during 2001.

She made her Bollywood debut in December 2004 in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Swadesopposite Shahrukh Khan. The film did not do commercially well but her performance and acting capabilities were praised immensely by the critics.

Gayatri

Freemasonry, one of the world's largest and oldest organisations, often described as a secret society, has decided to do a 'Swades' in India. In the movie, Shahrukh Khan, with the help of local residents, electrifies a village to rid it of its power woes. This is exactly the work Freemasonry has embarked upon.

As part of their Golden Jubilee celebrations, the organization has decided to electrify 50 villages, which do not have access to electricity. Villages in the state, which are yet to get electricity supply, are also covered under the project.

"We have embarked on project Jyotirgamaya (Let there be light), under which we plan to light up 50 villages in the country using solar energy. Work for the project is in different stages of implementation in 26 villages. We plan to cover 50 villages by October 31," Dr Balaram Biswakumar, Grand Master, Grand Lodge of India, told reporters.

Biswakumar informed that the organization would spend around Rs2 crore for lighting up the 50 villages.

Sunday will be a special day for the 250-odd residents of Banaskantha's Nalwas village, one of the few villages in Gujarat yet to be electrified. Freemasonry has included Nalwas under Jyotirgamaya, and the project will be inaugurated tomorrow. Nalwas will be the sixth village in the country to be electrified under the project.

Ironically, mobile phone connectivity is available in the remote and tribal dominated village, but villagers have to travel 20-25 km to charge their phones. However, they will be spared the trouble with the launch of the electrification project, which has been completed at a c

Nisha Kotari Spicy

Shweta Tiwari, the well-known TV actress and the winner of the fourth season of the reality television show ‘Bigg Boss’, is making her entry into Bollywood in a big way. The actress, who is desperate to give a push to her film career, is playing an important role in the upcoming film, ‘Bin Bulaye Baarati’. 

She dons a different hot look in the film, draped in white sari - the outfit, which invariably generates sex appeal. Her look in the film is reported to be on lines of Zeenat Aman in ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ and Mandakini in ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’. To add to the effect, Swetha flaunted her legs in what appears to be a mini sari of sorts, with the hemline ending way above her knees. 

Swetha played a special role that includes the hot item number ‘Dil ka achaar daaloge’ in ‘Bin Bulaye Baarati’, the film directed by Chandrakant Singh. The film is an out-an-out comedy action entertainer starring Aftab Shivdasani, Nisha Kothari and Mallika Sherawat. It is produced by Dhanraj Jethani. 

Kareena Kapoor spicy

Kareena Kapoor is the latest Bollywood star who will have her wax replica next to Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and others at Madame Tussauds in the United Kingdom.

The wax museum agreed to consider adding a waxed version of the sultry actress after a number of emails and letters from her fans came in requesting a statue of her.

Kareena is currently in Puducherry where she is shooting with Aamir Khan for Reema Katgi's upcoming film. A source reveals that although her schedule is rather tight, she will be traveling to London very soon to meet with the officials who will be responsible for her wax statue.

Kareena is apparently thrilled by the news, but as a source says, "She doesn't want to confirm before going through all the formalities. After meeting the Tussauds management she will then sit with the creative team and decide the look for the figure. There will be measurements taken and then the process begins."

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is currently the only Bollywood actress to have her statue at the museum.

Even though actress Bipasha Basu claims that she has no reservations in working with ex-boyfriend, John Abraham when it comes to brand endorsements, sources suggest that the latter is trying to wriggle out of all the brands that endorse jointly.

“There are at least four brands that were negotiating with the couple to endorse them jointly. They have received a favourable response from Bipasha, but John has not shown interest in those deals yet,” says a source.

Sources also suggest that Abraham has decided to go solo when it comes to ads and will try to negotiate with those whom he’s already committed for joint brand endorsements. He, apparently, won’t be giving dates to any endorsement shoot planned with Bipasha.

“John is not keen on those endorsements and is working towards a solution that will help him avoid a shoot with Bipasha and also not affect the brand. Now that they have split, the whole concept of the ad shoots has to be reworked,” adds the source. Bipasha split with John after a nine year relationship in February 2011, but both chose to keep mumtill May 2011.

According to a leading ad man, some brands have decided to wait and watch when it comes to even Basu’s track record. “Following the recent (Amar Singh tape) controversy and split, some brands will choose to wait and watch till the whole thing gets over. Let’s see how thing shape up,” said the ad man.