LONDON DREAMS VS. ALADIN

Two big budget films are releasing this weekend. Whose wish to be doing well will come true? Celebrity astro-numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi helps us decode the answers.

“The title LONDON DREAMS adds up to Number 41 (5) – the symbol of this number is forbidden power and success. So, going by this description, it seems the film would sail safely,” predicts Bhavikk.

He continues, “Of the cast, Salman is in his 44th year and the title, adding up to Number 5, does not really work in his favour. He might obtain extreme reactions for his work. Like the year 2009, Ajay is also a Number 2 person, but he being in his 41st year will receive mixed reactions too. On the other hand, Asin also has just entered her 25th year (26th October, 1985), which is not great news moreover.”

“It seems the film’s run may be short-lived, but it will not be a losing venture,” is Bhavikk’s last word on London Dreams.

“The title ALADIN adds up to Number 15 (6) – this octave of Number 6 is fine, but does not support Number 4 and Number 8 people. The title role is being played by Riteish Deshmukh, who was born on December 17 – that makes him a Number 8 person. So, the tremor of the title does not go in sync with its main lead. And that’s bad news,” predicts Bhavikk.

He continues “Even Mr. Bachchan is a Libran partly ruled by Number 8 (Saturn) and hence, his role and passing may also come under fire. Even or else, the year 2009 does not support people, things or work associated with Number 8. So, the chances are still bleak.”

Bhavikk concludes, “It seems Bollywood will have to churn out some more ideas from its dream factory to ‘fantasize’ the audiences. Unluckily, Aladin isn’t the winning idea!”

The London Dreams cast is no less than neck-deep in promoting the film, though only Friday will tell if it has been able to entice crowds. London Dreams has a Dubai premiere, and Aladin could have done the same, but chose to stay put on home ground, perhaps because it has a more 'Indian dream' of conquering the nation's box office, unlike London Dreams, which has international aspirations.

PRABHUDEVA’S GIRL IN MOST WANTED?

News is making the rounds that in the sequel of Salman Khan starrer Wanted, Prabhudeva’s believed mistress Nayantara will play the lead female role.

Salman Khan’s Wanted helped the industry heave a sigh of relief as the film raked in heavy boxoffice success. Not only did Wanted help bring Salman back on the Bollywood front after four continuous flops, but it also was the last saving grace for producer Boney Kapoor. The complete masala entertainer was something the audience was waiting for a long time, and it was but natural that the filmmakers would go in for a sequel. Director Prabhudeva had said before the release of the film, “This film has been carved around Salman’s character and nobody could have essayed his role. Wanted is a complete entertainer, and it’s been a while since a film like this has surfaced.”

After the mega success of the film, Boney Kapoor began thinking of the sequel timidly titled Most Wanted, and sources say Prabhudeva insisted on having Nayantara playing the female lead. Nayantara is a big name down south and has several hit films to her name. She is also rumored to be Prabhu Deva’s mistress, and a source close to the film added, “It’s a known fact that Prabhudeva and Nayantara have been dating for quite a while now. His wife has in public accused her and has even said that if she was to meet Nayantara in public, she wouldn’t leave her alive. However, Prabhu stays unfazed, and the minute the sequel toWanted was finalised upon, he suggested her name for the female role. Considering Ayesha Takia has retired from films, he wants Nayantara to make her Bollywood debut with Most Wanted. Boney however isn’t going to let any of the details out soon, as he still needs to finalise several pre-production matters. Salman is very proud of Wanted and cant wait to start on the sequel; the film got him positive reviews from literally every reviewer in town, and it is only natural for him to take the sequel to another level.”

When StarBoxOffice contacted Boney Kapoor, he refused to comment on the matter, but had earlier said, “A lot of hard work has gone into Wanted. The film is my last resort to stay afloat in the industry, and I am blown away with its success. It is only natural for me to take this association with Salman and Prabhu forward, but when the time is right, the things will fall into place.”

SALMAN KHAN SHOW IN KOLKATA ON OCT 23

40,000 people turned up last time he was there.

Salman Khan will be performing live in Kolkata on October 23.

Salman had gone to Kolkata for a show last month. But he could not perform because of a crowd management problem. Nearly 40,000 people had turned up at the venue, the Mohammedan Sporting Club, which can put up 20,000 people. This resulted in chaos and the show being cancelled.

Salman, however, promised his fans he would return, and that’s what he’s doing on Oct 23.

The event is now being held at the Salt Lake Stadium which can take around 1,25,000 people.

“I am going back to celebrate the success of my recent release ‘Wanted’ and the launch of my forthcoming film ‘London Dreams',” Salman has said.

SALMAN TOPPING OUR MOST STYLISH ASIANS POLL

See who are in Top 10...

Guess who’s top of the masala.com poll on the Most Stylish Asians? Salman Khan!

Goodlooking and fashion-savvy, this hero with a golden heart has been connected with several high fashion brands including Cartier and Ed Hardy.

Sridevi and Rekha are a close second and third.

Don’t forget to vote and look out for next week’s update.

Here’s this week’s Top 10:

1 Salman Khan

2 Sridevi

3 Rekha

4 Katrina Kaif

5 Hrithik Roshan

6 Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

7 Priyanka Chopra

8 John Abraham

9 Shahid Kapur

10 Kareena Kapoor

KATRINA GETS PUNK'D

Ajay Devgn plays a trick on Kat. He makes her gift Nana Patekar a cake box containing old underwear, a single chappal and a fake moustache.

Ajay Devgn strikes again. And this time the prankster's sufferer was co-star Katrina Kaif. Recently, on the sets of Prakash Jha's Rajneeti, Ajay took Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpayee into assurance and pulled a joke on his leading lady.

The trio told the actress that it was Nana Patekar's birthday and they said that since he was in a bad mood, Katrina have to wish him and present him with a gift box. Little did she know that the cake box really contained some funny items.

A source from the unit reveals, "This prank was Ajay's brain child and he took everyone on the sets in confidence. The trio walked up to Katrina and told her it was Nana's birthday and that they were throwing a party for him. They told her that she had to dress humbly in Indian attire, as Nana was very particular about how women dressed."

Kat quickly dressed up in a salwar-kameez and walked up to Nana with a box given by Ajay. "When Nana opened the box he was stunned to find old underwear, a single chappal and a fake moustache as a gift. Kat was dismayed."

A source close to Kat adds, "She was uncomfortable and turned beet red. Everyone including Ajay, Arjun and Manoj started laughing desperately. Nana finally told her it was a prank and that she should be more careful with Ajay from now on."

SALMAN’S EXPECTATIONS FROM MAMK

In view of Main Aurr Mrs Khanna was to be kept on the backburner after the spate of flops Salman was going through before Wanted, what prospect does he hold of the film.

Salman Khan had four back to back flops before Wantedbecame a huge success. His career and also that of the producer Boney Kapoor’s was on the line before the release of Prabhu Deva’s big B-town debut and thankfully Wanted went on to become the second biggest grosser in Bollywood this year. However Prem Soni’s Main Aurr MrsKhanna which is yet again another extra marital love story had been ready for a year now and it’s only because of Wanted being a mega hit is it getting to see the light of day now.

A source added, “Financiers had their doubts with Main Aurr Mrs Khanna before Wanted as the film has the same old storyline of that of a extra marital love story and it didn’t have something new to offer. Sohail Khan too hasn’t been able to create a foothold in the Industry making it even more sceptical for them to let the film release this year. However after Wanted the rest was history and they’re all trying to bank on Salman’s newfound mega superstar success.” Prem Soni however denied such rumours and stated, “The concept is completely new and fresh, the film has a lot of offer and the audiences will realise that this Oct 16th.”

Salman too has said that Main Aurr Mrs Khanna is a sweet and simple love story and masses will identify with the storyline and concept of the film. Still the source adds, “Salman would rather focus all of his attention to Vipul Shah’s London Dreams as it already has started to create a lot of buzz with him reuniting with Ajay Devgn after 9 years. Also the production value, storyline and music is also one of the many highlights of the film. And after that is Veer, which is Salman’s baby and he’s focusing all his attention to the film, so if MAMK does well, then he’d be more than happy and if not, it wouldn’t really make much of a difference to him.”

SHAH RUKH, AAMIR WERE FIRST CHOICES FOR ‘LONDON DREAMS’

It was to be a Raj Kumar Santoshi project

Not many will be aware that filmmaker Raj Kumar Santoshi was about to manage the dreadful coup of getting Aamir Khan & Shah Rukh Khan together on the big screen together for the first time in “London Dream”s.

At that point, it was to be titled Rashque ('jealousy' in Urdu), which is the film's underlying sentiment. The two stars are said to have even attended joint narrations.

Following the story narration, both the actors loved the script and wanted to sleep over it before committing themselves. Santoshi is rumoured to have pursued the two superstars relentlessly and even chased alternatives like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, before giving up when the casting did not fructify.

As destiny would have it, Salman Khan took “London Dreams” to filmmaker Vipul A. Shah, who started afresh on the script. The former repeatedly stepped into Aamir's shoes while Ajay Devgn was roped in by Vipul Shah to step into Shah Rukh's.

This also became coup of sorts as the two stars reunited ten years after featuring together in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's smash hit, “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam”.

"London Dreams" releases worldwide on October 30 and is being marketed and distributed globally by Studio 18.

ASIN REFUSES FARAH’S FILM

Generally, Farah Khan gets what she wants. From shooting Chale Jaise Hawaein in Main Hoon Na in only one constant sequence to uniting the who’s who of Bollywood in Deewangi Deewangi in Om Shanti Om. Now, Asin has wrecked her track record.

Farah Khan and Asin got friendly when she appeared on Farah’s chat show, Tere Mere Beach Mein, and have been in touch ever since. Asin has proved her courage as an actress in Ghajini and her South Indian films and has a big release coming up in the form of London Dreams. She has an Indo-international martial arts film and her endorsement contracts.

A source tells us, ‘Farah thought Asin was a appropriate choice for the female lead in Happy New Year and approached her for the role, but Asin courteously turned her down citing date issues. Asin’s behaviour is quite odd considering she was keen on working with SRK, and when the opportunity knocked on her door, she turned it down. It’s not that she didn’t have good role because in Farah’s films, the actresses have as much of a role as the heroes. Deepika had a double role in OSOand Main Hoon Na redefined Amrita Rao and Sushmita Sen’s careers and is the most memorable film of their careers. There is a huge market for Farah Khan’s masala films as OSO is one of the biggest hits of all time and Main Hoon Na did really well too.’

He further adds, ‘Happy New Year will go on the floors by the end of this year and doing the film would have helped Asin gain entry into SRK’s powerful camp. She isn’t even friends with Salman Khan any more. When established actresses are keen on working with Farah Khan, it is bizarre why she turned down the film when she was the first choice for it. In India there isn’t really a market for martial arts films. Look at how Drona, CC2C and Asoka have fared. Rubbing Farah Khan the wrong way is specialized hara-kiri, especially for a newcomer.’

Let us hope Asin realizes that she will lose out on a very important opportunity if she turns down the film and it would be wise to cancel her other assignments to make time for Farah’s film. If she doesn’t do Happy New Year, it will be another feather in the hat of Kareena, Deepika or Priyanka.

ASIN’S LONDON DREAMS

South sensation Asin made a smashing debut in Bollywood with Aamir Khan and from then on there has been no looking back for the doe-eyed beauty.

Asin will now share screen space with Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan in one of the most highly probable musical film of the year London Dreams. The multi-budgeted film has Salman and Ajay reuniting after almost 10 years and the audiences are waiting to see their onscreen camaraderie again. After the smashing success of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Ajay and Salman haven’t finally got a chance to work together and director Vipul Shah promises fireworks.

While Vipul is all praise for his multi-talented leading male stars, he is in awe of his leading lady as well. Asin who had producers queuing for a chance to work with her after her debut film Ghajini was signed by Vipul forLondon Dreams well before her maiden venture. In London Dreams, Asin plays Priya, a young music fan who joins Arjun's (Ajay Devgan) rock band in London.

‘I had seen Asin in a couple of big South films and really liked her work. I was looking for someone who could essay a beautiful Iyer girl, adept at both classical and western dance, and yet look like she's been born and bred in London. I signed her even before the first promo of Ghajini came on television. Taking a newcomer opposite two big stars was a risk but I was confident of her and followed my instinct. When Ghajini clicked, I knew I had made the right decision.’ Vipul spoke of his leading lady.

Asin was even offered Wanted but the role eventually went to Ayesha, Salman Khan had said, “Ayesha was meant for Wanted and Asin for London Dreams, they both defend their roles and were meant to be a part of these films only.”

After her lively performance in Ghajini, we cant wait to see Asin light up the big screen in London Dreams.

ASIN HOSPITALIZED

Asin was suffering from an acute sinus condition due to which she was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri, suburban Mumbai on the day of Eid.

Sources say that Asin was admitted because she was in pain from severe exhaustion, just like Priyanka Chopra while some other sources counter that claim by saying that she was admitted because she has been neglecting her sinus condition for a while. Her condition got worse because London Dreams had several night schedules and it was cold. Even during the shooting, she would be bundled in jackets in between shots.

‘Even while she was being treated for her sinus problem, nothing could bring Asin’s spirits down. It also helps that the atmosphere in the hospital is very bright and lively, unlike other hospitals which tend to get depressing. She was happily talking to the nurses and singing some songs as she was undergoing her treatement. No one could tell that this girl was a huge star and was suffering from an disease as she was congenial, down-to-earth and cheerful,’ says a source.

Asin is a committed professional and chose to get admitted once she had finished all her assignments around Eid. Kokilaben is near her house in Lokhandwala and was a convenient choice for her. It’s becoming a fast favourite with celebrities. First Priyanka Chopra, who stays in Versova was admitted when she had fainted due to exhaustion and then even Shilpa Shetty was spotted there.

Asin’s father Joseph Thottumkal said his daughter’s stay at the hospital was nothing to worry about. She would be out and about in no time.

ASIN AND SALMAN ARE THE NEWEST FOES IN TOWN

Hot-head actor can't seem to get along with new ice-maiden from the South!

Salman Khan has a new addition to his list of foes, and Asin probably has a first. This is a case of frenemies- friends turned enemies, as Asin and Salman are no longer on talking terms.

Asin and Salman got along like a house on fire when they started shooting forLondon Dreams. In fact, he even told her protective father Joseph Thottumkal that he couldn’t stop him from speaking to his daughter. He was recommending Asin to all who would listen to him. Katrina didn’t take to this very kindly and the duo reportedly had a tiff over Asin.

A StarBoxOffice source leaks some juicy details. “Now Asin and Salman don’t get along and no one knows the reason why. They can hardly stand each other; this is evident from the fact that they don’t have promotional discussions with Vipul Shah together. Asin’s father, Vipul and Salman have discussions together but Asin is not present when Salman is discussing things with Vipul. Asin meets him later on and poor Vipul has to explain the same thing twice."

We pity him because he has to say the same thing (when asked about his movie, star cast, etc) ten times to different media personnel during promotional interviews and now the same thing is happening with his star cast. It’s like he has to switch on a pre-recorded tape. Obviously it is a waste of time.

Asin thought she had struck gold as she shares a good equation with Aamir Khan and Salman had taken a fancy to her, guiding her career and allegedly even helping her to purchase a flat. But their pleasant equation has gone kaput! She has learnt how fickle relationships in Bollywood are and how diplomatic one has to be. We think an army of people will have to stand between them at all the promotional activities!

Vipul Shah denied the story as he needs the entire cast to promote his expensive pet project. As long as they do it, it doesn’t matter what methods they use.

ASIN UPSET WITH ‘LONDON DREAMS’ PROMO

Salman Khan-Ajay Devgan steals limelight. Now that the first promo of Vipul’s Shah’s “London Dreams” has been released, leading lady Asin is said to be not too happy with the very small footage that she has got in the trailer.

While Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan feature highly in the promo, Asin has just one shot, which is a bit disappointing considering how big a hit was “Ghajini”, her debut Hindi film and she has a lot of expectations from “London Dreams”, her second Bollywood release.

Asin apparently has raised her voice against this and has directly spoken to director Vipul Shah.

According to sources, Asin went and met Vipul and voiced her displeasure against the first theatrical promos. Vipul told her that since it is a story about two friends, Salman and Ajay have been shown prominently. He also tried to convince her that she is an important part of the film and the rest of the promos will feature her prominently.

But Asin reportedly was way far from being convinced.