Shortkut wallpaper

Shortkut song trailer--Kal nau Baje

Akshaye is amazing in this video. While still not perfect as he could be, he's getting there. Now, Akshoo, please maintain yourself in this form. Don't go to seed again.

Akshaye back in action

If Imran Khan hasn’t shot for five months, Akshaye Khanna hasn’t faced a camera in six months. His last release, a dud —Priyadarshan’s Mere Baap Pehle Aap — was a year ago. The year 2008 also saw him in the thriller Race and the sublime Gandhi My Father, a film that didn’t set the box office on fire.

Hits and flops aside, the charming, but temperamental Akshaye still calls the shots in Bollywood because in a room full of bozos who pose as stars, his talent shines through. And so what is this star son doing now?

He is all set to rock the screen in his role in another Anil Kapoor production called—Shortkut-The Con Is on. Puffing hard at his cigarette he says, “Shortkut... has a very nice, strong story. It is not one of those nonsensical comedies where characters attempt buffoonery to get laughs. It is a small film with a big heart.’’

He candidly admits that the six-month sabbatical that he was forced into at the start of 2009 is because of the global recession and the multiplex strike.

Says the actor, “Hindi film industry’s fortunes are directly connected to that of the world finance markets. Two of my films got cancelled.’’ However now that the tide is changing, the reclusive actor will do two films back to back.

The first is Anees Bazmee’s No Problem with Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Suniel Shetty and Kangna Ranaut that will be shot extensively in South Africa this July. And the second is a thriller with Priyadarshan where he plays a CBI officer. The film is based on report that had appeared in The Times of India newspaper.

Asked if star sons get shortcuts into Bollywood, he says, “Of course we are privileged. But someone can only open a door for you. Once you are in the room, you’re alone. Then, you have got to fend for yourself.’’

He concedes that Bollywood is a mom-pop industry, and he feels that it is legitimate for the outsider to think that children of the industry have incalculable advantages. “There is a lot of envy, there is a lot of flak that we as children of the industry get for what we may have achieved or not achieved. We’re under constant surveillance.’’

Popping a piece of pineapple into his mouth, he says, “The reason why Bollywood doesn’t have a casting agent is because there are just 20 actors to choose from. Each year so many girls/boys make their debut, but such few get accepted.’’

He’s happy that he’s in an enviable place, and he’s also happy that he has found a true friend in the much older Anil Kapoor. “What’s age got to do with friendship?’’ he wonders. And says, “If you can describe Anil in one sentence it would be — he is young at heart.” He defends his good friend’s jumping around at the Oscar ceremony saying, “People criticised him for that. Honestly I thought Anil was so endearing.”

His friends aside, Akshaye also has made his share of foes according to the grapevine. Reports have it that he made a snide remark when he heard that young actors like Emraan Hashmi were charging remuneration as high as four crore. The buzz is that Akshaye in his usual sarcastic manner said: “If Emraan charges four crore, then I should be charging much more.’’

“Never,’’ he says, shaking his head vigorously. “I would never say anything derogatory about another actor even in my sleep.’’ Flashing his famous smile he says, “You can check the records. In 14 years, I have never made a nasty remark about any of my colleagues.’’ Of course as always the media is to blame for the gossip circulated!

Which two films have got cancelled? Hope its not Basra and Chandbhai. Could be One way Ticket and the Raj Santoshi movie that never got off. Just hope his current projects No Problem, Basra, Chand Bhai n the Priyadarshan movie are alive.
PS: Yeah, Voice from the Sky could be one of the two. Good catch.

Anil blasts Akshaye?

Good pals Anil Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna recently had a round of "heated discussions". Anil, sources say, called up Akshaye and really blasted him on the phone for not promoting his home production in which Akshaye is a hero.

"Akshaye is hardly around to promote Shortkut -- The Con Is On, which is Anil's home production. Apparently, Akshaye had a difference of opinion with Arshad (Warsi) and he was not attending any promotional event which Arshad was attending. His standard excuse was that he was feeling unwell. After two occasions, we had to bring this to Anil's notice and he was obviously miffed," says a member of the production team.

This was when Anil reacted and decided to call up Akshaye and blast him. "That a film has to be promoted is clearly stated in the contract of the actors. If an actor is not doing that then he is obviously not honouring the contract. So, Anil reminded him of that clause and told him that it is also Akshaye's responsibility to promote the film," the source added.

DNA got in touch with Anil who's in LA, and he admitted that he had made the call but played it down saying that he keeps in touch with his actors for the promotions because he is not around to promote the film.

"I am in touch with all my artistes on a regular basis and I keep guiding and advising the entire team as this is for the time that I am not around during the release of the production," says Kapoor.

Though Akshaye was not available for comment, sources close to the actor confirmed that he had "a heated discussion" with Anil regarding the promotion of the film and post the screaming session, will now be seen at some of the promotional events.

Shortkut stills 4

Akshaye, Amrita duet in Shortkut

They say that 'There is no shortcut to success'. But Akshaye Khanna and Arshad Warsi are here to change this equation in their forthcoming film Short Kut - The Con is On. The film stars the whole battalion of stars including the likes of Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao, Simi Garewal, Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor and Chunky Pandey amongst others. The film has got its lovely music composed by the talented trio of Shankar- Ehsaan- Loy.

Talking about the music, the album has got four songs. Of all the songs, there is this track called 'Kal Nau Baje' which happens to be the only romantic number in the film. While the song is picturised on the 'suddenly-so-sexy' Amrita Rao and Akshaye Khanna, it has been shot at the exotic location of Phuket islands. Well, the story doesn't end there. According to reliable sources from the film, the cast and crew used to travel for a whopping two hours to reach the middle of the ocean to shoot for the song! Not just that, their vanity vans were replaced by yachts while shooting in the sea and they used to commute in a tiny speedboat from the shore to the location.

One just hopes that all of this hard work should get translated into success for everyone associated with this film. After all, someone has rightly said that 'There is no Short Kut to success', we mean...shortcut!

Akshaye's in his element in Shortkut

He's lost a bunch of weight, his wardrobe is better than ever, he's dancing again like he did in Himalayputra, looking like he's in Doli and his comic timing seems to be bang on.

Akshaye is naturally lazy, so he needs someone who can put his foot down and demand that Akshaye be fit and be in his element. Fortunately, Anil is just the mentor Akshaye needed. Thanks Anil.

Of course, with his natural beauty and talent, much more can be done but I am happy that this is not proving to another turkey like MBPA when it comes to Akshaye.

The Making of Patli Galli

Shortkut second song trailer

It looks as if Akshaye is guesting in an Arshad Warsi movie.

No Akshaye, Arshad rift

Just the fact that stories of a reported rift between co-stars is unheard of throughout the making of the film & just when its release is round the corner, things start turning sour between them gets the funny man furious. We hear, now Arshad Warsi is irritated with the rumours that all is not well between him and Akshaye Khanna, his co-star in SHORTKUT - THE CON IS ON

Also regarding the promotion of SHORTKUT at IIFA , the actor clears the air around Akshaye and him not being seen together on a common platform because it seems Warsi was severely jetlagged, having travelled from New York to Macau & thus couldn't make it.

Maybe he's targeted because he is mostly seen in multihero projects like the unnecessary bad blood created between him and John Abraham during DHAN DHANA DHAN GOAL. But then single hero projects can be dangerous enough, to get linked with the leading lady. What's better Arshad?

Akshaye in Race sequel?

There’s good news for Kareena Kapoor who managed to bag the most glamorous jodi award with beau Saif right under John-Bipasha’s nose at a recent awards show. Apparently director Abbas-Mustan have turned to Kareena to star in their sequel to last year’s hit Race and not Bipasha Basu.
In fact, only Katrina will make a return to the female cast of the sequel to the original thriller. Word is that Sameera will also be replaced by the more happening Deepika Padukone. The directors were initially keen on getting Priyanka to complete the casting coup of sorts, by having the top three actresses of today’s times — Bebo, Katrina and Priyanka — in their film. But Priyanka wasn’t interested, and they had to settle for Deepika. The heroes in the film remain the same, and it’s surprising to see the directors retaining Akshaye Khanna who was miffed with them for giving Saif a better deal during the film’s promotions.
Looks like all’s forgotten in the Race to the box-office.

If Katrina is coming in Race 2, why not Akshaye? This news is different from all the other stories, so take it with a grain of salt.

Akshaye doesn't collect award

Akshaye Khanna was in attendance at a recently concluded international awards to promote his coming film ShortKut The Con Is On but he was missing for all the events related to the film.

That's not all. He was present at the award ceremony but didn't go up on the stage to collect the award when his name was announced (For Race in the Best Actor in A Negative Role category).

Strange behaviour

A source present at the venue says in a surprised tone, "Khanna's behaviour was rather strange. He has been to award shows abroad earlier but never has he acted like this. He not only neglected the promotional event for his upcoming film but also failed to pick up an award the next night at the awards ceremony."

Disappearing act

Anil Kapoor, the producer of ShortKut specially flew down from the States where he is shooting for the American television show 24, to unveil the first promo of the film at the function. The organisers flew in Amrita Rao, Arshad Warsi and other cast members of the film.

But when the time came to promote the film, the Indian and international press kept waiting for Khanna, who went MIA for no apparent reason. The source continues, "When his name was announced for an award, Khanna was found missing from his seat.

Anil Kapoor picked up his award instead. It was later discovered that he had already left the building."

IIFA video

Some IIFA footage of Akshaye? I could not get the video to work.

Designed by Akshaye

Apparently, it was this suit that was self-tailored by Akshaye. Nice suit. We're impressed. This site has more info on fashions in Shortkut.

PS: It doesn't matter how good the designer is, the clothes won't look good until you work on your body. Akshoo, are you listening? There's no need for that beer belly.

Arshad hates Akshaye?

They might be starring together in the upcoming film SHORTKUT-THE CON IS ON, but it's reported that Akshaye Khanna and Arshad Warsi cannot stand each other in real life.


Buzz is that the two actors made all efforts not to bump into each other during a recent event much to the surprise of the people gathered there.

It's learnt that the actors who shared great chemistry in their earlier film HULCHUL have developed cold vibes since Akshaye tries to hog all the limelight in his projects. This fact has not gone down well with Arshad , who's making all attempts to avoid his co-star.

With the two on a mission to snub each other, we wonder what Anil Kapoor, the producer of SHORTKUT will be going through.

The Cast of No Problem

Anil Kapoor is acting in his home-production… finally. In his first two films – ‘Gandhi My Father’ and ‘Shortkut’ - the actor was merely the producer, not the actor. "That's because there was no role for me in those two films," Anil tells me, "Why should I force myself in a project, even if it's produced by me? If the director feels he needs to cast someone else, someone who suits the role more than I do, I wouldn't hesitate one bit. In fact, I've never ever forced myself even in films produced by my father or brother."

But there's a role for Anil in his next home-production ‘No Problem’. This one stars Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna and Anil himself in principal roles. "Akshaye has starred in all my productions so far. He's a wonderful artiste," Anil says. Reportedly, Anil has signed three leading ladies for the film - Bipasha Basu, Kangna Ranaut and Neetu Chandra.

Akshaye's secret passion

They are known for their acting skills, but Hrithik Roshan and Akshaye Khanna also have some talents that the world knows little about - singing and dress designing!

Hrithik mesmerised all and sundry with his singing and Akshaye surprised guests with his designing skills at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards extravaganza that concluded in the Chinese town of Macau on Saturday.

Hrithik sang "Tere jaisa yaar kahaan..." at an impromptu 'antakshari' music session conducted by actor Boman Irani, while Akshaye came dressed in his own creation - a formal suit.

"If I actually tell you who has designed my outfit, you will get a shock - it's me," Akshaye told IANS. "Actually, I have a passion for tailoring which many people don't know about. So it's just one of my designs," he added.

Anil Kapoor, who is producing Akshaye-starrer Shortkut: The Con Is On, vouched for the latter's creativity in fashion. "He (Akshaye) is very good at it, but very expensive," he quipped.

Is that why his wardrobes are usually so awful? /sarc

Akshaye at IIFA

Fashion Advice

Akshaye looks much better in Shortkut than he did in MBPA. His wardrobe is also much nicer. A few simple suggestions to look even more dazzling:

Avoid tucking T-Shirts.
Avoid V-necks, stick to roundnecks.
Avoid wearing overalls.
Avoid wearing hats n caps.
Work on your tummy. Needs to be flatter.
Work out better hairstyles (like in your Humraaz days).
Work on your legs. They are too thin.

Shortkut wallpapers 2

Shortkut stills 3

The Gang at IIFA

Amrita teaches Akshaye

Here’s what Amrita Rao did when she was stranded in the middle of Phuket Islands with her Shortkut: The Con is On co-star Akshaye Khanna.

The actress started entertaining him and even taught him to flex his vocal chords. All this happened when the duo had to do a romantic scene on a bamboo tree on the island. The crew was on a separate yacht which, however, ran out of fuel leaving the actors stranded. And much to the amusement of the crew, Amrita kept Akshaye so occupied that he even learnt a couple of songs from her. Akshaye was also overheard telling the crew members how versatile the actress is. Guess it’s small incidents like these that can really shape up into a good friendship, Akshaye is now one of Amrita’s ‘very good friends’.

This is kinda cute n romantic. They look good together.

IIFA Green Carpet

Beautiful.

Akshaye wins award for Race at IIFA

Akshaye wins Best Villain Award for Race at IIFA. Sadly, Anil Kapoor received the gong for him.

Shorkut press conference at IIFA

Shortkut stills 2

Nostalgia: Akshaye on Cine Blitz

Patli Galli trailer--Shorkut

Shortkut wallpapers

Shorkut Promo

Akshaye is damn sexy in this one. Movie looks fun too.

Shortkut stills

Akshaye on Hi Blitz Cover

From November 2006 issue. If you find scans of this issue and article, please send me a link. God knows how much material we've missed because I don't keep tabs on film magazines.

Shorkut promotion starts at IIFA

Shortkut to be promoted at IIFA, at the Venetian, Macau. Entire cast is supposed to be present.

Weekend Fun

Moving into drama

It's awesome that Akshaye is doing three dramatic roles at the same time: Basra, Chandbai and Priyadarshan's new movie. He plays a cop in Basra and Priyadarshan's new movie and some sort of film maker in Chandbhai. These movies are any day better than the work he has done so far, when you think of Aap Ki Khatir or Mere Baap Pehle Aap, so he's definitely moving into a different league. Doing one good movie every four years like DCH and Gandhi, My Father isn't gonna cut it. What matters is consistency. Akshaye's finally achieved it. If Voice From the Sky had also gone ahead, it'd have been awesome. Right now he only has one comedy on plate: Anees Bazmee's No Problem. Hope he won't have date problems as he starts doing so many movies at once.

Akshaye in a new Priyadarshan film and it's not a comedy

A Times of India report of September 2, 2001, based on inter-caste marriage killings in Bihar and which said, ‘Falling in love is a sacrilege in Alinagar, barely 200 km from Delhi,’ apparently made a lasting impression on Bollywood’s comedy king Priyadarshan.

“The memory of that report stayed with me for eight years,” says Priyadarshan who, after working on a script for six months, is now starting a film based on the killings that had shaken the core of India. The film, to be produced by Kumar Mangat, will go on the floors in August and it will feature Ajay Devgan and Akshaye Khanna as CBI officers — one on deputation to the village, the other a local officer.

The female lead is being kept a secret, but there is indication that Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Asin are in talks with the producer. Mangat, refusing to comment on his choice of heroine, says, “Omkara brought a lot of critical acclaim to my banner. It was widely appreciated in the US and at international film festivals. I’m sure this film will also make a huge cinematic statement.”

For Priyadarshan, who has to his credit a mixed bag of films like Viraasat, Saza-e-Kala Paani, Kanjeevaram... and some brain-dead comedies like Mere Baap Pehle Aap and Garam Masala, this untitled venture is a break from his comic reign. “At least I will break away from the remake rut,” he admits candidly.

This Ajay-Akshaye film is a thriller. Priyan points out that even in this current age the barbaric caste killings continue to dominate Alinagar because here any attempt to plead the cause of love and marriage of inter-caste relationships is seen as an intrusion into their affairs.


Omkara is a great movie; it brought lot of critical acclaim to Saif although I liked Ajay better in it. Priyadarshan can make good movies if he applies himself and working with new, savvy producer like Kumar Mangat is always good for Akshaye's career and looks like he is taking up on my advice that he should insinuate into the Saif Ali slot as he's the right age and no one else is there.

Amrita on Akshaye

Right now Amrita is looking forward to Anil Kapoor’s next venture Shortkut. “The film is slated for an April release hence I am busy with the dubbing of the film. It is a story-oriented comedy. I am paired opposite Akshaye Khanna and working with him has been a very different experience. He is one of the best actors we have today,” says Amrita.

Urvashi plays nurse to ex-flame Akshaye

Akshaye Khanna is on a high after signing a couple of big films in recent times. He had been on a self-induced break of sorts to figure out the kind of films he wanted to be associated with. But once he’d done that, there was no dearth of film offers for this talented actor.
Maybe it was all those story narrations coupled with bad weather that got Akshaye down with a bad case of viral. So he decided to take it easy, stay at home to rest.
But word got out and his ex-flame, actress Urvashi Sharma, also got a wind of it. She turned up at Akshaye’s doorstep the very next day to play Florence Nightingale.
Before you get any ideas, Urvashi has focused all her affections on her “close friend” Hurman Baweja and was with Akshaye only for old times’ sake. She probably knows Akshaye well enough to figure out that he’d never reach out to his close friends, even if he needed looking after.
So she decided not to let him have any say in the matter and made her presence felt in his house, looking after him as he recovered from his nasty bout of viral.
We think Urvashi is ready for an alternative profession, what say?

Ex-flame? SO, this affair has gone kaput too?

Get well soon, AK. There will be many more ladies.

Akshaye offered Kukunoor-Ghai film?

Akshaye Khanna may be teaming up with Subhash Ghai once again. The two had worked together in Taal, but parted on a sour note when Akshaye expressed his displeasure at the way his role shaped up. But now, with Akshaye not exactly flooded with film offers, and Ghai having sunk Yuvraaj, looks like neither has many options left.
So when Subhash Ghai offered Khanna his next production to be directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, Akshaye is said to have agreed without much ado. Although people from Nagesh’s unit would like us to believe that it was the director who had convinced Akshaye to do the film, it doesn’t seem to be the case as he has been having close door meetings with Ghai of late.
Dor star Gul Panag is likely to be signed as the female lead in the film, believed to be a comedy of errors. Besides the patch-up, Akshaye has reportedly been paid an astronomical fee to be a part of the project. But then, one wonders, how the patch-up came about?

OK, this was from March and we next heard that Akshaye rejected Nagesh's offer. Looks like this project isn't going ahead. Sad.

Rahul to direct, Akshaye to produce a film?

With his film career never really taking off, Rahul Khanna, the 37 year old son of yesteryears actor Vinod Khanna had left for the US to do some theatre work which he preferred. But our sources claim that he is coming back to Mumbai to work on his directorial debut venture which most probably will be produced by his father Vinod Khanna and brother Akshaye Khanna.

Having faced defeat in the recently concluded Loksabha elections, Vinod Khanna has plans to be based in Mumbai for a longer period now and revive his production company. Our sources further claim that both Rahul and Akshaye have already worked on a script together and it has been planned that Rahul will direct the film himself.

Khanna began his career as a VJ with MTV Asia and was immensely popular across Asia. He made his feature film debut in Deepa Mehta’s Earth with Aamir Khan. He was later also seen as the solo male lead in Mehta’s Bollywood/ Hollywood (2003). Rahul’s mainstream Bollywood films include Elaan and Raqeeb. He has also been seen on stage in the New York production of the hit West-End play, East is East. Rahul’s other international credits include The Emperor’s Club with Kevin Kline.

Ek Ladki--Love You Hamesha

Weekend Fun

Rumor is these two are going out together. He isn't such a good kisser, is he?

Akshaye-Abhi teamed?

For the remake of Hera Pheri. Not sure yet, it's just media speculation but may happen soon.

Hot

Say what you want, Akshaye's rumoured girlfirend is hot.

No Problem shooting starts in June

Recession or no recession... the show must go on. Or so believes director Anees Bazmee, who is on a roll after multiple back to back hits.

The director is all set to start shooting for his next comic caper titled No Problem from June onwards.

Talking about his projects to Businessofcinema.com, Bazmee said, "I have finished shooting It's My Life with Hurman Baweja and Amrita Rao and now the film is under post production. Once I complete that, I will start shooting my next film for Spice and Anil Kapoor Productions called No Problem."

The casting for this film is complete. Sushmita Sen and Kangana Ranaut will be muses to Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna, while old favourite Paresh Rawal will be there to give ample comic relief.

The film will be shot in the now exhausted locales of South Africa. With almost every second film being picturised in the Rainbow Nation, there will be a huge cluster of films all looking alike. However, Bazmee said, "I will first go and do my location scouting. Once I have zeroed in on my locations that will suit my script, I will then ensure that it has not been exposed to Indian audiences. There should be novelty in story and location for audiences to visit the theatres for our films."

No Problem to start shooting next month

Along with this, Sanjay has Anil Kapoor's "No Problem" directed by Anees Bazmee. Besides Sanjay, the film has Anil Kapoor himself, Akshaye Khanna, Sushmita Sen, Kangana Ranaut and Amrita Rao. The film is to go on floors in June/July 2009.

(india forums)

I am not linking to the site because it has malware.

Minus points: Sanjay Dutt is too old for an Akshaye movie. But we don't know what the story is, so it's ok.

Plus Points: Looks like Akshaye might have two heroines opposite him as I can't imagine Amrita Rao working opposite Anil Kapoor.

Anees Bazmee is a hit comedy director, so this movie should do well at the box office.

Akshaye will working on this movie for the next two months and move on to Basra. Together with Chandbhai, we now have four movies of Akshaye to look forward to.

Amal Sinha

Akshaye is going to be called Amal Sinha in Basra. Navdeep Singh made Manorama Six Feet Under which got critical acclaim. Wish he had repeated Abhay Deol here too, because I like him and wanted to see him with Akshaye. It'd be great to see how an offbeat director can mold Akshaye both visually and performance wise.

Akshaye, of course, is doing this movie because Nikhil is producing it. He should get out of that I'll do only commercial movies stance and start working with off beat directors. i'm pretty sure a lot of them would like to work with him.

Saif's star actually took off with Hum Tum where he cashed on the lift given by DCH. Akshaye is at the same age and at the same crossroads. Because he is younger than most and more experienced than them, it'd be easy for Akshaye to slip into the slot someone like Saif has created and is vacant now. He should work on his body, wardrobe and start doing some hip movies and some cool ads.

When I was in India, I watched some stuff on Southern TV and I was gob smacked how they've improved. Some of their ads are better than Hollywood. Akshaye always does stuff with old style directors like Priyadarashan and even his Dinesh Mills ad was distinctly un-cool. He should get out his his complacency and start working with some new, hip film and ad makers. Navdeep Singh is a good start.

Basra director on film, Akshaye

Akshaye Khanna and Madhavan would be teaming up for an espionage thriller titled Basra. To be directed by Navdeep Singh of Manorama - Six Feet Under fame, the film would feature Shahana Goswami as the leading lady and as per the director, would be an 'intelligent commercial thriller'.

Laughs Navdeep, "People keep asking me if I am going full on commercial with Basra after Manorama - Six Feet Under (Abhay Deol, Gul Panag, Raima Sen). Well, my answer to them is that yes, it's a commercial film but with an intelligent way of story telling. Audience won't be taken for granted in this espionage thriller."

Talking about the relevance of the film's title, Navdeep reveals, "'Basra is the name of a port in Iraq and exists for centuries. The city forms a major part of the film's script." Incidentally, Basra is Iraq's second largest city after Baghdad and is also a historic location of Sumer, the home of 'Sindbad - The Sailor'.”

So what are Akshaye and Maddy doing in the film? "While Maddy plays a Mumbai cop, Akshaye is an investigating officer. Shahana plays the role of a journalist. This is all I can reveal at this moment", says Navdeep who would be returning to direction close to three years after he last called the shots for Manorama - Six Feet Under.

There is one more leading lady yet to be finalised and the hunt is currently on for her. Meanwhile Navdeep has his shooting plans more or less chalked out for Basra which is being produced by Nikhil Advani and Mukesh Talreja. "We should begin shooting early August. The film requires a lot of action and both Akshaye and Maddy would be shown kicking their action boots", he says.

So how did he go about bringing together an unusual cast together for his film? Says Navdeep, "Akshaye was a very clear choice for the film since he just fitted the part. On the other hand I had been following Maddy's work over a period of time and especially after I saw him in Aayutha Ezhuthu, the Tamil version of Yuva, where he played the role enacted by Abhishek Bachchan, I knew I had to work with him."

How about Shahana? Is she going to go through an image change and would be seen in a full on glamour avatar? Laughs Navdeep, "Nothing like that actually. As a journalist, she won't quite get that kind of opportunity here. As for her acting skills, she is extremely gifted and movies like Rock On, Firaaq' and even lesser known affairs like Ru Ba Ru and Yun Hota To Kya Hota have been good examples to demonstrate that. Moreover, she is an easy actor to work with, something that is so imperative during film making."

Exactly the sentiment that is shared by Madhavan as well. "Navdeep is my kind of director because for him what holds utmost importance is a concrete storyline. When he narrated Basra to me, I was simply blown over and had no hesitation signing it", he says.

For producers Mukesh Talreja and Nikhil Advani, Basra would be their fourth film as they would be collaborating once again after Salaam-E-Ishq, Chandni Chowk To China and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (which is currently under production).


Nice to see Akshaye in a different gig from Anil Kapoor-Priyadarashan-AbbasMustan stuff he'd been doing lately. Would be interesting to see him do action and this guy is an off beat director. Hope he signs more movies though. I am tired of waiting.

Doli Nostalgia

Some great caps of Doli Sajake Rakhna

Basra to start shooting soon, stars Fardeen, Madhavan with Akshaye

Produced by Nikhil Advani, the film will be directed by Navdeep Singh (Manorama: Six Feet Under). Sources reveal that the high-budget action drama will go on floors in coming weeks.

Singh spent the last few months doing intense research on the subject of the film.

"The movie is based on the Iraqi town Basra. Post 9/11, Basra was in the line of fire when the Americans invaded Iraq to over throw Saddam Hussein's regime. The film is based around the same period."

Tune taal

Kailash Kher will compose music for the film. The source adds, "Navdeep has already started pre-production work on the project.

He has sat down with Kailash and even worked out a few tunes. Since the setting is in the middle east, the film will have music with Arabic influences."

Akshaye n Amisha closer friends than previously thought

Amisha Patel may be nearly a decade old in the industry, but the lady doesn’t have too many friends there. The muphat that she is, she’s made more enemies than admirers.

But luckily for her, Amisha found a friend in Akshaye Khanna, another star who is known to be moody and aloof. Sources say that these two South Mumbai stars have been good friends since they acted together in Humraaz several years ago.

Maybe they bond over their elite South Mumbai attitude that looks down upon the rest of the industry as commoners. They are often seen having dinners in their posh downtown joints.

In fact, sometime ago Amisha was also seen shopping in a designer store with Akshaye. When asked, she’d insisted that they were shopping for her boyfriend Kanav.

Amisha who is more in Delhi these days with the Puris, was back in Mumbai for some meetings recently. While driving through South Mumbai, her car broke down and our la-di-da lady was in no mood to hop into a cab.

She quickly called Akshaye, who was on speed dial, and the Khanna dude who barely answers his calls was there to pick her up in 10 minutes flat. Now, wonder what the raaz is...!

Akshaye campaigns for dad Vinod Khanna

Following Akshaye

I don't follow film magazines at all and depend entirely on the internet for any new Akshaye material. Of course, this means some of the pics and other stuff could have been published a lot earlier but only transferred to net recently. All the pics I've been posting last week I don't think any of them are recent. So, don't get excited that he'd doing more photoshoots than usual or he's looks like this right now. With Akshaye you never know.

Akshaye seeing Urvashi?

"Love is not always such a party though. Take
Urvashi Sharma’s case for instance. The lady stepped out for an evening out with
Akshaye Khanna (ya the duo are often hanging out together) and stepped into an event of the filmy variety. Well much to Urvashi (who’s) embarrassment the MC did not know her name and covered up the faux pass saying that their guest would introduce herself. Must we add here that Urvashi (who again) walked out of the social do. Tsk Tsk kachra
in front of the 'Himalayputra'.

(Stardust)

Good, he's seeing someone finally.

Akshaye Nominated for IIFA

Under Best Actor in a Negative Role category for Race

Awesome Akshaye

He has lost a lot of weight and is looking fab!

PS I: I remember vaguely seeing pic like this. Could be an old one. Can you confirm it guys?

Gandhi--My Father english version premieres

The English version of the film Gandhi, My Father had its global premiere at the Indian Film Festival Los Angeles last night. Produced by Anil Kapoor (the Bollywood actor/Slumdog Millionaire co-star honored in this year's festival), the film chronicles the lesser known personal relationships between Gandhi and his eldest son, shedding light on the legendary leader's inner workings. It was originally released in 2007.

Akshaye's new pics for Subi Samuel

After a long time, he's in a mighty fine shape. He'd make an awesome Indiana Jones.

Akshaye's new pics

Only the first pic is something I haven't seen before. The other two I posted last year and could have been taken even earlier.

(Pinkvilla)

Hulchul song

This song was cut from the movie when i saw it in the theatre. This is the first time I'm seeing it. Woo! Akshaye-Kareena is the hottest pair, wonder why they never made another movie as a couple.

An Akshaye clone in France

Watch these trailers. He is stockier but Jean Dujardin is so like our Akshaye (especially in the second trailer). They are about the same height, have the same hair and nose. Akshaye's mannerisms are a little more pronounced than Jean's but Akshaye is more good-looking of course. This is what Anil Kapoor meant when he said Akshaye had an international appeal and talent to match it but our stupid directors will cast him only in Govinda-type comedies. He has the most international face and personality among all our stars but nobody wants to cash on it.





If any of you Bollywood geniuses are watching, you don't have to slog hard and create something new befitting the stature of Akshaye, just use this material. You're good at copying, no?

Akshaye attends Tanya Deol's collections

Bobby Deol's wife Tanya celebrated the launch of a new line of furniture and accessories with a fun co-hosted by Simran Lal, Beenu Bawa and Amrit Rai of Good Earth that saw hordes of Mumbai's swish set mark their presence. All 3 Deol men - were in attendance as also a number of their film star friends including Abhishek Bachchan, Diya Mirza and Akshaye Khanna. It was a surprise to see Rani Mukherji after such a long time. Tanya said I enjoy my work and it gives me satisfaction.

Kangana paired opposite Akshaye

Kangana owes her perfect 10 figure to a dedicated fitness regime that includes “yoga”, even amid her daily grind (she’s “up every morning by 4 am” and sleeps only at midnight). For someone who trusts her “instincts” while selecting films, 2009 has lots to offer Anurag Basu’s Kites (opposite Hrithik Roshan), No Problem opposite Akshaye Khanna and Milan Luthria’s Once Upon A Time in Mumbai.