Bollywood inspires southern flicks!

Bollywood’s export to the South

3 Idiots  The Aamir Khan-starrer is being remade in Tamil and Telugu with director Shankar at the helm. The remake has been tentatively titled Rascal. While actor Vijay will replace Khan in the Tamil remake, Mahesh Babu will play the lead in the Telugu version of the film.

Paa
The film helped Amitabh Bachchan bag a national award. And now southern legend Kamal Haasan is making it’s Tamil version. If the buzz is to be believed then music maestro Ilayaraja, who scored music for Paa, has bagged the Tamil remake rights of the film.

Love Aaj Kal
Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer Love Aaj Kal is getting remade in Telugu with Pawan Kalyan and Trisha Krishnan in the lead. The film is directed by Ganesh Babu and produced by K.Vijaya Bhaskar under the banner of Sri Parameswari Films.

jab we metJab We Met
Kanden Kadhalai (I saw my love) is a Tamil romantic comedy film based on the Hindi blockbuster Jab We Met starring Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor. The Tamil version stars actors Bharath and Tamannaah in the lead roles. The film was released last year.

A Wednesday
Actor Kamal Hassan remade A Wednesday in Tamil and Telugu with titles Unnaipol Oruvam (Someone Like You) and Eenadu respectively. The film starred Haasan and Mohanlal (Tamil) and Venkatesh (Telugu) in primary roles.

And the latest imports from the South are...

Bodyguard
Actor Salman Khan’s brother, Sohail, acquired the remake rights of the Telugu film Bodyguard in Hindi. Director Siddique who made the original has been signed for the remake as well. Salman will be playing the lead opposite Kareena Kapoor.

Singam
Actor Ajay Devgn will step into south Indian superstar Suriya’s shoes in the Hindi remake of 2010-Tamil hit film Singam. Rohit Shetty has confirmed that he is making the action thriller. Reliance Big Pictures, co-producer of the Tamil version, is producing the remake.

Ready
Actor Salman Khan and Asin starrer Ready is a Hindi remake of a Telugu film of the same title that successfully ran for 175 days in Hyderabad. The film has already been remade in Tamil as Utthamaputhiran and will now be released in Hindi next year.

Khakha Khakha
Being produced by Vipul Shah, the Hindi version of Khakha Khakha is an action thriller about an encounter specialist, played by Suriya originally. Akshay Kumar wanted the role, but ultimately director Gautham Vasudev Menon signed John Abraham.

Kick
Producer Sajid Nadiadwala has bought the rights of Telugu film Kick. To be directed by Shirish Kunder, the Hindi remake is tentatively titled Sanki and will feature Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha.

I won't give up acting for anything, anyone: Vidya Balan

                                                                             Marriage may or may not figure in her five-year plans but Vidya Balan is not ready to give up acting for "anything or anyone" and feels life has been "good" ever since she turned 30.

"Acting is a part of who I am. I don't think I will remotely give it up for anything or anyone," the 32-year-old actor told IANS in an exclusive chat in the capital.

"But having said that, if it comes naturally to me and I do feel like taking it easy at some point of time, maybe I will. But that shouldn't be a pre-condition to get into any relationship," she added diplomatically.

Vidya, who will soon be seen in "No One Killed Jessica" based on the Jessica Lall murder case, says she is glad women are not giving up their careers just for their personal lives any more.

"I think today women continue to work at every age. It's fantastic! And it is happening in every profession. I met a girl at a store who got back to work within just two months of delivering a child - such is the dedication.

"But, yes, in our profession (acting), in the earlier days, the moment you got married, you ceased to be an object of desire, which is why a lot of actresses retired. Today, no longer! I guess that's also got to do a lot with the fact and attitude that today if someone is with someone, it doesn't stop you from desiring them!" she said and broke into a naughty laugh.

The critically acclaimed actress, who featured in films like "Parineeta", "Ishqiya", "Guru" and "Paa", is on a high these days. Neither her performances, nor her dressing sense are being criticised - and she admits she has started being very careful and fussy.

"Over a period of time, I think rightfully so, I have found the courage to do only what I want to do. I will not get pressurised to do anything that I don't want to do, even if it is a right film, or maybe it's the kind of film that one should be doing.

"It has to challenge me and it has to excite me. It can be an extremely simple film, it could be a mad role, it could be intense...it could be anything across the spectrum...but I have to feel excited," she said.

That's also her mantra when it comes to dressing up - especially since she became the favourite child of India's fashion police. Now she often sports designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee's elegant saris and steals the show wherever she goes with her style.

"I stick to what makes me feel I look good in. If I feel I am looking good in something, I will wear it. And if it isn't, then even if it is the most beautifully crafted creation, I won't. That's the only criterion I use while wearing anything now and I guess that's what has worked for me," she said, as she sat pretty in a black and red gown at a five-star hotel here.

Vidya has completely dressed down for her role in "No One Killed Jessica", where she portrays the strong-willed and simple Sabrina Lall, who fought an over-a-decade-long legal battle to get justice for her youngest sister, model Jessica Lall, who was shot dead by Manu Sharma in 1999.

She has gladly worn an "almost no make-up look" and worn "asexual" clothes in the film, releasing Jan 7.

"There's no shape to the clothes I have worn in the film. Loose t-shirts, men's shirts, loose jeans, spectacles...these are what I have worn to show what a regular girl Sabrina is," she said, and added she dare not be caught wearing those sort of clothes in real life.

After "No One Killed Jessica", Vidya is looking forward to the release of Sujoy Ghosh's "Kahaani", and will start working on Milan Luthria's "A Dirty Picture". The latter will see her at her sensual best as she prepares to essay south-based actress Silk Smitha, best known for her sex appeal. The actress was found dead in her Chennai apartment in 1996.

Akshay, Katrina on a holy trip

                                                                 
                                                               Actors Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif paid a visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Monday. The two were in the city to promote their upcoming film Tees Maar Khan, directed by Farah Khan. While Akshay sported a short white kurta paired with blue denims, Kaif was seen sans make up in a white cotton salwar-kameez, with a quilted black jacket to keep her warm.

Reports claimed that while the two almost got mobbed, thanks to Kumar’s huge fan following in Punjab, he made sure he protected his leading lady.

The actors were then supposed to head to Dubai, but Akshay was unable to do so. “Katrina is already in Dubai! Akshay has to go for an MRI for his back! Doctor is not advising him to travel,” Farah tweeted

Leander Paes on playing a spy

                                                                    Tennis ace-turned-actor Leander Paes is all geared up to play the role of a spy in director Arindam Mitra’s espionage film, Agent K. Currently, Paes is shooting for Ashok Kohli’s Rajdhani Express where he plays an aam aadmi (a common man). According to Paes, his roles in Agent K and Rajdhani Express are poles apart.

“While Rajdhani Express is a social satire, Agent K is a fast paced spy thriller. It’s a guy’s flick. It’s got guns, fast bikes and fast cars — very James Bond meets Mission Impossible style. It’s slick, smooth and has a lot of pulp and fiction in it. The aesthetics of the film have a western feel to it,” Paes says.

Leander PaesFor him, Agent K is not just a film. “It’s more like a project. And I have completed shooting for only one part of it. The project includes the movie and then there are other things involved, which I can’t talk about at the moment. The film will release around April next year,” the actor says.

Explaining how he plans to balance his tennis and film career, Paes says, “I can’t play tennis till I am 100, so while I am still playing the game, I want to work on one movie at a time. This means I have to set my dates accordingly and also take time out for tennis, which becomes tricky. Tennis takes 42 weeks in a year, while a film will take a maximum of 90 to 180 days.”

He credits his multi-tasking ability to his high energy levels and a clean lifestyle. “I think just as another businessman would handle 20 different companies under one banner, I do the same with myself as a brand — whether it’s films, tennis, event management, sports management or my new production venture,” he says.

Meanwhile, Paes feels he is not a talented tennis player. He claims he is better at football. “My god given talent lies in my interpretation of reading between the lines of what someone is trying to teach me, which is either my director or my tennis coaches or a parent.” He emphasises on the need to get the skills right whether it’s tennis or the new acting career he has chosen.