Akshaye with Tees Maar Khan team

Mix up of Akshay(e)s

Akshay Kumar has been on the receiving end of smses meant for Akshaye Khanna; he is fed up of the mix-up.

Having a namesake does have a share of disadvantages, and Bollywood has weathered its fair share of mixups . Feroz Abbas Khan, the director of Gandhi My Father , often spoke about how he received messages meant for actor Feroz Khan. Director Sanjay Gupta and his namesake , a cinematographer, also went through that problem. Ditto jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali and director Farah Khan.

The latest to be involved in an identity goof up are actors Akshay Kumar and Akshaye Khanna. Akshay, who is shooting at Mehboob Studios for Patiala House, has been receiving messages from an assistant called Nikki all through last week. One message reads, Sir it is a 2pm shift at Film City tomorrow. Another says, Sir, what would you like to eat for lunch Initially, Akshay was puzzled by the messages until he finally realised that they were meant for Akshaye Khanna, who is shooting at Film City. Incidentally, Akshaye and Akshay are co-stars in Anees Bazmees Thank You, as well as Farah Khans Tees Maar Khan.

Confirming the news, Akshay Kumar says, I figured this particular assistant had fed my number against Akshaye Khannas name in his cell phone. The messages have been coming religiously, many times. However, Im now wondering that if Im getting all of Akshayes shooting alerts, how is he managing to reaching his shooting on time And I dont know how many of my messages are being delivered to him.

Anees Bazmee's Thank You? Is that a new film?

Tees Maar Khan to release on 24 December

Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder's maiden home production - Tees Maar Khan - is all set to go on floors from 1 March, 2010.

The film has been written by Kunder and will be directed by Khan. It stars Akshay Kumar, Akshay Khanna and Katrina Kaif in lead roles. According to a source close to the development, the three actors have already done a photo shoot for the film at Mehboob Studios on 20 January, 2010.

Speaking to Businessofcinema.com, Kunder says, "Tees Maar Khan will go on floor in March. The first schedule of the film will be shot on a set in Mumbai. Besides Mumbai, the film will also be shot in Malshej Ghat."

Kunder informs that the film is being readied for a Christmas 2010 release and will hit screens on 24 December.

Sardar song still in No Problem

Akshaye in another downmarket comedy?

After directing a host of films for his banner, Maruti Films, Indra Kumar is set to direct a film for an outside banner after a long gap. He is directing a film for Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. Apparently, the working title of the film is 3 Losers.

Confirming the news, Indra says, “What is wrong with that? Sometimes you should make a film with others too. Anyway, I am making Double Dhamaal for my banner. I just thought that making two films for our banner will be very difficult. Moreover, Ashtavinayak was keen to make the film with me and the subject was very interesting. So I said, ‘why not?’ I will be making both the films simultaneously once the dates work out. We will go on the floors sometime in the middle of this year.”

Commenting about the title of the film, Indra says, “My film has four heroes and one more actor remains to be cast, so how can the title of the film be

3 Losers? We are yet to find a title. The film will star Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Govinda and Akshaye Khanna. The heroines are yet to be finalised.”

When asked if his production partner Ashok Thackeria supported his decision to work outside their banner, he says, “Of course. I would not do anything without consulting him. My last film was Dhamaal (2007) which was made around two-and-a-half years ago.

After that, we have been trying to work on different subjects.”

Akshaye in The Italian Job remake?

The cast already has Abhishek Bachchan and Neil Nitin Mukesh, while Akshaye Khanna and Kunal Kapoor are being brought in to play the other male leads.

Rohit Jugraj, who’s writing the screenplay for the yet untitled film, says he has improvised on the original. “Though the producers, TV 18, and Abbas Mustan have bought the remake rights, we’ve changed the Hindi version of The Italian Job considerably. For one, the stakes for the heist are much higher. The situations, fights and adventures are all different - and so are the characters.”

A former Ram Gopal Varma associate who directed James and Superstar, Jugraj admitted that the desi version does have two major female characters. “The original only has Charlize Theron’s character. We’ve written in two female parts. As for Priyanka and Katrina playing the roles, right now I’m not authorised to confirm the cast.”

But reliable sources insist the two divas are indeed on board. When contacted, all Abbas (of Abbas Mustan) was willing to say was, “There are a lot of changes in the script. But in spirit our The Italian Job will remain the same. So far, we’ve not locked in the entire cast. But we’re definitely in serious talks with all the names (Katrina, Priyanka) you’ve mentioned. It’s a very big project and we need to get the biggest names in place before we start.”

The film, which will also be shot in Russia and England, goes on the floors in mid-2010.

Wow. This is a dream come true. I wanted Akshaye to star in a remake from the moment I saw the movie. I bet he'll be playing Edward Norton's villain character. But I'd prefer to be surprised and want to see him in the lead roles, not as a villain. Hope this also means there is a patch up between him and Abbas-Mastan.

Kal nau Baje

Akshaye's legacy

Nishaad

Priyadarshan is a disappointed man. No, his films are doing alright at the box office, but it's just that the filmmaker couldn't get the title of his choice for his upcoming film, as a film by that name has already been made.

Priyan wanted to title the film about caste wars and forbidden inter-caste marriages in Bihar "Ganga Jal", not knowing that this has already been taken for another fable.

Says Priyan: "I thought something like 'Ganga Jal' was the best title for this film because it allowed audiences to know exactly where the plot and characters were going."

In his mind he had settled for the title as the best one for his film, until he shared it with his leading man Ajay Devgn. To his horror Priyan was told by Ajay that Prakash Jha had already used the title. Ajay knew about Jha's "Ganga Jal" because he had played the lead in it. Bipasha Basu who was also part of "Ganga Jal" also laughed when she heard of Priyan's title.

Then began the search for another title. Now, Priyan's drama is called "Nishaad".

Priyadarshan's Ajay Devgn, Bipasha Basu, Akshaye Khanna starrer had been shot without a title mainly because Priyan wanted the film to have a hard-hitting title.

Priyan's script and dialogue writer came up with "Nishaad" because the director barely knows any Hindi.

Alibaug home

Akshaye Khanna has bought a four acre plot in Alibaug and is in the process of constructing a huge bungalow there. The plot is situated near one of the costliest places in Alibaug, Mandwa. The actor will now be neighbours with industrialists Vijay Mallya and Ratan Tata, who already own homes there.

A source says, “Akshaye bought the plot around six months ago and has already begun the process of building his dream house. It’s been seven years since the actor has been looking for a property. The plot is very close to Mandwa and measures about four acres. A major portion of the bungalow is ready. He has built a huge swimming pool and a squash court as he is very fond of playing the game. He stays there regularly and he travels by speed boat to Alibaug. In fact, Akshaye celebrated this New Year at his house in Alibaug with a couple of friends. It will take six more months to get the place completely ready. Meanwhile, Akshaye has been buying speedboats as he prefers to travel by sea than by roads.”

Anil helps Farah to get Akshaye to star in his film

Farah Khan believes three is her lucky charm. She has triplets, her production house is called 3's Company and now she has three namesakes in her project Tees Maar Khan.

After casting Akshay Kumar for TMK, she has just pencilled in Akshaye Khanna for a parallel role in her film. To avoid confusion in names, she will refer to them as Akki and Akshu. The unit hands will have to refer to them as Mr Kumar and Mr Khanna. But then, stylist Aki Narula is also on board her project!

"There is bound to be some gadbad at some time when the film goes on floors in March," laughs Farah. "I can well imagine if I am calling Akki and Aki lands up or when I say Akshaye and Akshay arrives."

When her hubby Shirish Kunder and she were looking at options for another hero for Tees Maar Khan, Akshaye was on the top of the list. "I am glad he was convinced and said yes. Akshaye is half-Parsi like me and he calls me dikri! We get along superbly."

Anil Kapoor played a major role in the casting too. He is close to both Farah and Akshaye and put in a word on Farah's behalf.

Adds Farah, "Shirish went to meet Akshaye on the sets of No Problem at Mehboob Studios last week. Now everything is signed and sealed."

Akshaye will have to shed weight for the film and has already started preparing for the role..
Says Farah, "It's the first time that the two Akshays are working together in the same film. Though both have worked in many Priyadarshan films they haven't done a project together with him either. I am glad they are doing it with me first!"

Tees Maar Khan will have one actress, who will be announced by the second week of January.

Boys will be boys

The reason is because Sanju who has a fleet of cars brings a new car to work each day. Just yesterday, he was in the studios with his red sports model fancy car. And, in between shots all the others ‘boys’ — Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna and Paresh Rawal were apparently just hanging around Sanju’s car, touching it, feeling it... and wanting to take it out for a ride. What’s it with men and machines yaar? “I find them more irresistible than even women,” said one of the actors.

Farah signs Akshaye for Tees Maar Khan

Farah confirms the news. She says, “Akshaye Khanna is playing a pivotal role. We needed a big name and an established actor, who had a good comic timing. Khanna fitted the bill perfectly. Moreover, Kumar and Khanna have never worked together so this is a fresh combination of co-stars. It is a very unique role and the second most important character in the film. Kumar is playing the title role, while Khanna is playing Atish Kapoor.”

Ask her if there is any actress opposite Khanna, she says, “There is just one actress opposite both the Akshay(e)s. It is a strange script and I cannot divulge details about it.”

Glad to know Farah considers Akshaye as a big name for she kept dissing him in the past. I am relieved Akshaye will be seen in a new movie after all.

Akshaye on speed

If you are ferrying your way to Alibaug this weekend, do not be surprised to see Akshaye Khanna zooming ahead in his own speed boat. The actor has the unique hobby of collecting speed boats, and recently put it to good use. While shooting for Anil Kapoor’s No Problem, Akshaye offered the use of his speed boats.

The cast and crew of No Problem were to shoot 2 kms off the sea shore. So Akshaye suggested that they should use his speed boats to travel for the shoot. And that’s exactly what they did, use ‘Freedom’ and ‘Freedom II’, for the shoot. Freedom is a white and yellow boat, while Freedom II is white and blue.

Rajat Rawail, one of the producers confirmed, “Akshaye owns two huge speed boats. One of the boats is 27 feet long, while the other is easily 32. In fact, he just bought the larger one two months ago. I was discussing the two-day shoot scheduled at the Yellow Gate, Fort with my team. Akshaye happened to come and sit next to me, and he figured that I was planning to book speed boats for our travel. He promptly said that we could use his boats and that he has two of them.”

“The boats, I must say, are lovely and we have been using them for the last two days. Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kangna Ranaut and Anees Bazmee, all traveled in the boats. I believe Akshaye uses them to travel to Alibaug, which is one of his favourite spots,” Rajat added.

Akshaye attends Anil's b'day

It was a quiet birthday night for the actor who celebrated his big day with Bollywood pals. Kapoor, who was last seen in the worldwide super-hit, Slumdog Millionaire, was dressed casually and spent the evening interacting and celebrating. Attending the event were his Mr India co-star, Sreedevi, Anupam Kher and Akshaye Khanna, who chose to stay away from the cameras for most of the evening.

Old candids

No Problem first still

Akshoo loves vadapav

Yeh Kehne Se Pehle Tumhari Zaban Kyon Nahi Jal Gayi

No one can take a 'vada pav' away from Akshaye Khanna. He loves it so much that you cannot even call it junk food without getting into an argument with him, "Vada Pav is not junk food. It's got this aalo patties which is placed between the bread. How can it be junk food?" Go for it Khanna! Anyways 'junk food' is nothing but silly 'gora' concept!

Sush hugs Akshoo

Both women dressed in designer saris (costing the producer a few lakhs) were in perfect tandem. What is notable is that Kangna who seems petite could actually measure up quite well to the tall Sushmita. Both women wore flat slippers, exposed their flat bellies and shook their hips so seductively that the men who were watching — Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna had their tongues hanging loose.

Akshaye Khanna the youngest guy of the lot also got rewarded by a nice bear hug from sexy Sush... and after she finished, the actor was strutting around looking very pleased. Well, not everyone gets such benevolence from the ex Miss Universe after all.

Akshaye gets best villain award

Apsara Award for Race.