Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor Fly to Morocco But 4 Hours Apart

A couple of months ago, there were rumours of Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif refusing to fly overseas for the shoot of Jagga Jasoos, forcing director Anurag Basu to suspend the Moroccan schedule and create exotically designed sets in the city itself. After apparently much coaxing, the former lovebirds agreed to fly out to the North African country on Sunday night, but boarded separate flights, says a source.


Image courtesy: mid-day.com


"Since things went wrong between them, the duo has been keeping a distance from each other while maintaining a strictly professional equation. But they surprised everyone by deciding not to travel to Morocco together," says a source.


Image courtesy: Yogen Shah, mid-day.com


Katrina is believed to have boarded a late night flight via London while Ranbir took off four hours earlier with a layover in Abu Dhabi. "The crew has already flown in to Morocco. It will be a 10-day schedule and the film's much-delayed shoot will finally be wrapped up," adds the source.


Image courtesy: mid-day.com


On Friday evening, Ranbir-Katrina had turned up for dance rehearsals for their film at a city studio and left separately too.


Image courtesy: Manav Manglani, mid-day.com


Meanwhile...

...Ranbir Kapoor was hanging out with his filmmaker pal Ayan Mukerji in Bandra on Saturday night when the paparazzi tailed him, leaving him furious, suggest reports.

The actor is said to have asked the shutterbugs not to follow him or else he would lodge a complaint with the police. An onlooker claims, "Ranbir stepped out of his car and confiscated a photographer's cell phone. The hapless lensman informed his employer, who kept calling up the phone in Ranbir's possession until it was switched off some time later. Following a text message to the actor's number, Ranbir spoke to the employer at length and agreed to return the phone on the condition that he would not be chased in future."

However, the very next day, Ranbir appeared to be in a much better mood when he was spotted at his customary Sunday football match with some of his buddies. When asked to pose for pictures, he happily obliged.


(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Salman Khan and Ranveer Singh in Dhoom Reloaded? Is This Happening?

The Dhoom franchise is all set to be rebooted - we know this from Yash Raj Films' blockbuster announcement last December. The latest 'ent-elligence' report names the cast - actors Ranveer Singh and Salman Khan are apparently being considered as the protagonist and antagonist respectively in Dhoom Reloaded.

A report in DNA quotes a source as saying: "Aditya Chopra wants Dhoom Reloaded to be a film for the youth. Who better to play the dashing hero than Ranveer Singh, YRF's current blue-eyed boy? Talks are on for Salman Khan to play the negative role so if both get finalised, it will be Salman and Ranveer for India's most successful franchise."

Salman, 50, recently expressed his desire to work in a film which offers him a full-fledged negative role. He has also reportedly been in talks with YRF to star in the next Dhoom film on the proviso that he gets the same profit sharing ratio which his superstar friend Aamir Khan had received for Dhoom: 3.




Both Salman Khan and Ranveer Singh have been previously associated with Yash Raj Films. Salman's next film Sultan, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, is also backed by YRF and his first film with them was the 2012 blockbuster Ek Tha Tiger. Sultan also stars Anushka Sharma and will hit the screens on Eid.

Ranveer, 30, is a Yash Raj find - he was launched by the banner in 2010 film Band Baaja Baaraat and is currently filming Befikre, which marks YRF boss Aditya Chopra's return as director after nearly eight years - he last directed Shah Rukh Khan in 2008 film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Ranveer has also appeared in the Yash Raj-made Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, Gunday and Kill Dil.

The three Dhoom films that have been made so far starred Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra as a crime-fighting team in pursuit of the villains played by, in order of film, John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir. Female leads, in reverse order, include Katrina Kaif, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Esha Deol and Rimi Sen.

Back to Dhoom Reloaded - the film will reportedly go on floors next year and will be directed by Dhoom: 3's Vijay Krishna Acharya.

Can't wait to hear more about Dhoom Reloaded? Neither can we.

Till then, keep calm and watch the teaser:

Vidya Balan is All Praises For Amitabh And Jaya Bachchan's Abhimaan

Actress Vidya Balan, who is a fan of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan's 1973 film Abhimaan, said that she is bowled over by Jayaji's beauty, simplicity and grace in the film.

Vidya, 38, tweeted:

Abhimaan cast the Bachchans as talented singers Subir and Uma, who fall in love and get married only to later be driven apart by professional rivalry.

Meanwhile, Vidya will be seen in Te3n co-starring Amitabh Bachchan and Kahaani 2 with Arjun Rampal.

Despite Sushant's Tweet, People Are Still Looking For Reasons For Split

Not everyone is willing to accept actor Sushant Singh Rajput's explanation of why his six-year romance with Ankita Lokhande ended. Despite last week's tweet in which Sushant said the split was not to be blamed on alcohol or infidelity, a webloid report has now done just that. On Twitter, the 30-year-old actor used sarcasm to dismiss the report:

The report published in Spotboye E claimed that Ankita has a drinking problem and that she had 'hit the ceiling' when she noticed Sushant 'getting friendly' with a female colleague at a party.

Last week, Sushant explained that he and Ankita had simply grown apart. Sushant and Ankita, 31, met on the sets of TV show Pavitra Rishta. Sushant played the lead on the show from 2009 to 2011, after which he shifted focus to Bollywood. He made his debut in Abhishek Kapoor's Kai Po Che! in 2013.

The actor was next seen in Yash Raj Film's Shuddh Desi Romance, Aamir Khan's PK and Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!.His upcoming films are Neeraj Pandey's MS Dhoni: An Untold Story and Dinesh Vijan and Homi Adajania's Raabta.

Azharuddin Says Biopic Not About Redemption, His Life is 'Shown Fairly'

Former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin said while promoting a biopic of him on Tuesday that the film is a fair representation of his life and career. "I think this film is not to form an opinion about me, not to redeem myself. It's a narration of my life," said Azhar, who was found guilty of match-fixing at the end of his career.

The film, titled Azhar, has reportedly upset the cricketer's former teammate Manoj Prabhakar and ex-wife Sangeeta Bijlani, both of whom are apparently worried about being portrayed unfairly. There has been talk of legal action in the press but Azhar professed himself clueless. "I have no idea," he said, adding that he wasn't aware if his other former teammates were unhappy about the film.

"It's a story about the events of my life. It's all fairly shown," Azhar said on Tuesday. The former skipper, a life ban against whom was dismissed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2012, qualified his statement with: "I was with the makers through the narration and there were some aspects I didn't want. They were happy to comply."

Asked about his equation with Mr Prabhakar and Navjot Singh Sidhu, Mohd Azharuddin said, "I have no issues with any one and am more than happy to resolve isssues."

Azhar, produced by Ekta Kapoor, is written and directed by Tony D'Souza and releases this Friday. Emraan Hashmi stars as Azharuddin, Nargis Fakhri plays Ms Bijlani and Prachi Desai appears as his first wife Naureen. Additional cast includes Lara Dutta as a lawyer and Gautam Gulati as Ravi Shastri.

En Route Cannes, Mallika Sherawat Tweets Pic of the Eiffel Tower

In what is surely admirable PR, actress Mallika Sherawat has become a fixture at the Cannes Film festival over the last few years. This year, she will be representing a film - Time Raiders, shot in China last year.

Mallika, 39, is traveling to the French Riviera via Paris and posted a photo of the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday:

A tweet from Mallika on May 7 that said "Love is in the air" prompted instant speculation that the actress was in Paris to marry her French boyfriend, Cyrille Auxenfans. "Please don't spread any rumours. I am on my way to Cannes with my film Time Raiders," implored Mallika in a tweet. "The day I get married, you all will be invited," she insisted.

Mallika's Cannes history has included speaking at the India Pavilion, a close encounter with actor Antonio Banderas and a series of red carpet appearances, many of which have been received with disfavour by fashion pundits.

How Azharuddin Helped Emraan Hashmi Prepare For His Role in Biopic

Emraan Hashmi in a still from Azhar.
HIGHLIGHTS
Emraan said that he wouldn't call Azhar a 'faithful biopic'
Azhar was very frank and honest about the incidents in his life: Emraan
Directed by Tony D'Souza, Azhar will release on May 13
Actor Emraan Hashmi, who is gearing up for the release of Azhar, said that he had to play former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin's role in a more dramatic manner in the film.

Ques: Were you a cricket player before you did Azhar?

Emraan: I wasn't a hard core cricket buff but I believe cricket is a part of every Indian's DNA. We can't escape cricket. I also played cricket. But not the professional cricket that the captain of the Indian cricket team is expected to play after an experience of 20 years. I had to observe Azhar's batting style and tried to play like him without aping him. This is by far the most challenging role I've done so far.

Ques: How faithful have you remained to Azharuddin's character and career?

Emraan: I wouldn't call this a faithful biopic. Azhar is inspired by the events in Azharuddin's life. But we've taken cinematic liberties by making it a full-on masala fare. At the same time, we've remained faithful to basic facts in Azharuddin's life and career. So far we've never seen Indian cricket players up close and personal sharing their jokes and hiccups. At the point when all the controversies were happening, he was very quiet. The film speaks up on his behalf.

Ques: Azharuddin seems very supportive of the film?

Emraan: Yes, he was supportive from the word go. My director Tony D'Souza and I had to do nothing major to win his confidence. He was very frank and honest about the incidents in his life. He was very clear about the way the film would be made and we were also very clear about how we wanted to make the film.

Ques: Was there a lot of brainstorming between Azharuddin and you?

Emraan: We spent about a year and a half trying to understand Azharuddin's life and thoughts. We would chat about his younger days and what happened during the match fixing controversy. He helped us to get a perspective on the way I played the character.

Ques: Azharuddin is not the first real life character that you've played?

Emraan: I played a real life character in Danis Tanovic's Tigers. But I had never met the guy. With Azharuddin, it was different. People know him and his life. I got to know him too. We got a chance to telescope and microscope 20 years of his life, his victories, the humiliation after the scandal, the way he lived, spoke, walked and the way he looked.

Ques: Did you faithfully imbibe all of Azharuddin's traits?

Emraan: I had to play him more dramatically. There were dialogues and heightened emotions that had to be brought in. But at the same time, we haven't dramatized the actual incidents and events to the extent that the original is unrecognisable. We've kept the proceedings real while giving it a Hindi film twist.

Ques: Has the film taken sides on the question of Azhar's guilt/innocence in the match fixing allegations?

Emraan: This is a story that has never really been told. We read about it. But we never knew what Azharuddin actually went through. We had to enhance the dramatic impact by maybe 20 percent to ensure audiences' attention.