The shooting for Dhoom 3 may begin in November 2011 but then it will go slowly because the wrapping up and post production is supposed to be done by the end of the next year. The date for the release has been shifted after a detailed discussion that transpired between producer Aditya Chopra, director Vijay Krishna Acharya and Aamir Khan. The director said, “Dhoom:3 is very dear to all of us as well as to its audience who expect only the best from the franchise. While the shooting will finish in time, we expect the post-production to take much longer. We are trying our best… and therefore did not want to compromise the quality of the film just to meet the release date.”

While Ekta pitched for Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Gupta felt that John Abraham was the right choice. Finally, it has been agreed that John will get the honor of essaying the role of the protagonist Manya Surve, the dreaded gangster on whose life the film will be made. A joint venture between Ekta’s Balaji Motion Pictures and Sanjay’s White Feather Films, the project has Anil Kapoor as ACP Isaque Bagwan, the first encounter specialist of Mumbai, who actually shot down Manya Surve along with officer Raja Tambat(actor yet to be decided) on January 11, 1982.

Shootout At Wadala, a prequel to the Sanjay Dutt – Amitabh Bachchan starrer Shootout At Lokhandwala, has the director Sanjay Gupta returning to his job, he had last directed Sanjay Dutt starrer Zinda back in 2006. A source says,, “Gupta’s new film is a massive crime saga. It spans from late 60s to early 80s. It also delves into the war between the Pathans and the Ibrahim brothers (Dawood and Sabir).”

“The film will have an ensemble cast which will be bigger than the one in the predecessor. Big names are being considered for the remaining roles, A call on the final cast will be taken soon. Unlike Lokhandwala, Wadala will see the heroine playing a very important role,” he adds.

Shootout At Wadala goes on floors in January 2012. The talented bunch of Allan Amin, Resul Pokutty and Sabu Cyril have been appointed to head the action, sound and art departments respectively Crime journalist S Hussain Zaidi has penned the script for the film. The film will be shot in Mumbai, Pune and Ratnagiri.

Boney Kapoor who had produced the original with wife Sridevi and brother Anil Kapoor as the lead-pair, will repeat them for the sequel as well. The change will be with respect to the villain; Salman Khan has been approached by the producer to do the role that the late Amrish Puri immortalized on the screen.

Boney confirms, “I have spoken to Salman about the idea and he is kicked about it. I want only him for the negative lead. But we need to finish the script and show him. I will be roping in international experts to create a very menacing look for him.”

The other good news is that Boney Kapoor is confident about roping in huge investment for the movie and shooting Mr. India in 3D. The movie will be coproduced by Boney Kapoor and Sahara Motion Pictures, a mega budget venture exceed Rs. 150 crore. The movie will be released after Boney Kapoor’s next No Entry 2, which will also have Salman Khan in the leading role.

There are speculations that Boney Kapoor’s son Arjun will be a part of the Mr. India sequel. The original film was directed by Shekhar Kapoor and in all likelihood; Boney will be approaching him again for the sequel. Hope Mr. India 2 creates history as its predecessor.

Salman Khan as Mogambo

Not only Ek Tha Tiger, there are other movies that are awaiting his presence-Kick, Sher Khan and an untitled thriller with Rensil D’ Silva. Meanwhile Arbaaz has decided to wait for Sallu because he firmly believes that his brother’s brand presence is going to increase by the time they come up with the sequel. Arbaaz says “Salman is busy and I have to respect that. He has clearly said that his first priority is to clear all the backlog and only then start a new film. He isn’t doing too many films but for someone of his superstar status, working on 2-3 films a year also requires huge effort. I am waiting for him and most likely would start shooting for Dabangg 2 only in the middle of next year.” Let us hope the wait is worth it; one thing is for sure, if Sallu manages to entertain people with the movies that release between now and 2012, Dabangg 2 may be the most awaited movie, ever in Bollywood!

The name of the sequel will be Disco Fighter, instead of Delhi Belly 2. Delhi Belly has earned more than Rs. 30 crore within the first week of release and is still going quite strong. The other thing to note is that it will be the first time ‘mama-bhanja’ will be seen together on screen. A source says, “The film will be titled Disco Fighter and Kiran Rao is currently writing it. When Delhi Belly was in the post-production phase, Aamir came up with the idea of making a sequel to the film.

Aamir, though not really an optimistic person by nature, was not really sure of the response Delhi Belly would generate. Since it was a different genre, it was a risky proposition. But now the verdict is out, the youth loved the film. Though it has not fared well with certain section of audience who are averse to bad language to toilet humor, the movie has not been ignored at all. In metros, Delhi Belly has got cult status from the youth.

Aamir had believed that if the film did well, he would go forward with the sequel. Though he wanted to direct the film, he has not been able to get the time, considering he is busy with Dhoom 3. So he asked wife Kiran Rao to take over the project. A source says, “The whole idea of the script is Aamir’s and he was just waiting for the verdict of Delhi Belly.” In fact, AK had already revealed to the media that Kiran Rao was working on a script for Aamir Khan Productions.

The source adds that the sequel will begin from where Delhi Belly ends, the Disco Fighter song and dance. “The film will take off from Aamir entering the film as Disco Fighter and the three boys will have an encounter with him. The details of the script are being worked out still,” added the source.

A source told us, “When Puri wrote Bbuddah, he never thought about the future .He was only taken up with the task of creating an interesting character for Mr Bachchan, but as the film progressed he fell in love with the character and decided to carry it forward.”

Jagannadh had met Amitabh a couple of days after the film’s release with the suggestion that they should carry on with a sequel. Initially Big B did not take the point seriously but now after watching audience reaction, he has decided to go ahead with the director’s suggestion. Jagannadh said, “Yes, I’ve received innumerable messages and phone calls asking me to make another film with Big B’s Buddha’s character. I think a Bbuddah franchise is a wonderful idea. I’m working on it.”

The director is also happy to have Sonu Sood in the sequel, as Big B’s son once again. The director adds, “Sonu Sood looks uncannily like the angry, young cop in Zanjeer. He was chosen to play Mr Bachchan’s son over Abhishek because of the novelty value. And so, his role will remain in the franchise.”

The news may come as surprise for Vidya’s fans that were totally besotted by the woman. In fact, the actress went on to win numerous awards and appreciation for the role. The actress even attended the party when Vishal had announced Ishqiya 2. She had also been voicing the fact that she would love to do the sequel with Shah Rukh Khan and Hugh Jackman, if she had her way, underscoring the fact that she all along, thought that she would be in the sequel.

The director Abhishek Chaubey says, “Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi do fall in love again in the sequel but not with Vidya. They fall in love with two different girls. The script doesn’t have a role for Vidya, unfortunately.”

There are rumors that Madhuri Dixit had been approached to play one of the ‘roles’ in the film. “Madhuri asked for a very high fee. So we don’t know whether she is a part of the film, yet,” says one source. Stay tuned to this site for more information about the casting development of Ishqiya 2.

With two points of view emerging, one does not know which one is true but it is a fact that Priyanka is not in the film, while Shahid is very much a part of the proceedings. A source close to the film rubbished rumors of Shahid asking Vishal not to cast Priyanka.. “No, it’s got nothing to do with the personal equation between Shahid and Priyanka. She just doesn’t fit into the sequel. Nor, for that matter, does Chandan Roy Sanyal, who played Shahid’s best friend in the first part,” he says.

The source added, “Vishal is currently scripting Kaminey 2. He will first direct a film with Ajay Devgn to be co-produced by Devgn, Kumar Mangat and himself. He will then start working on Kaminey 2, for which Shahid will have to prepare once again.”

Vishal wants Shahid to get that stunning body again, the six packs that he had flaunted on the first part. So for one of the twins in the movie, Shahid will be flaunting the dream bod again. For Vishal, it is going to be Kaminey 2 first thereafter which, he will direct Shah Rukh Khan in a movie adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s 2 States for director Sajid Nadiadwala.

Story of Double Dhamaal:

The movie starts from where the first one ended. Roy (Riteish Deshmukh), Boman (Ashish Chaudhary), Adi (Arshad Warsi) and his moronic brother Maanav(Jaaved Jaffery) are nursing their bad luck, looking for a way to get back the money that they were so close to attaining in the original. They come to know that the spoilsport Sanjay Dutt, the smart ex-cop has turned into an ace con-man who has two ladies Kamini (Mallika Sherawat) and younger sister Kiya(Kangna Ranaut) to give him company. The four decide to first plead and then blackmail Kabir Nayak (Sanjay Dutt) into making them partners in his business. Though they think that they have life miserable for Sanjay Dutt, we finally know that the four have to eat humble pie.

What works for Double Dhamaal:

The gags are a tad funnier in the second half. Performances of the foursome are great and one sees amazing camaraderie between the actors Riteish, Arshad Warsi, Ashish Chaudhary and Javed Jaffery. The movie picks up in the penultimate moments and the last 20 minutes are entertaining.

What does not work for Double Dhamaal

While Dhamaal worked because of a good screenplay, funny one-liners and a unique theme of the movie being an all guy show, the second one does not have anything going for it. The jokes are stale, borrowed or sheer non-sense, the screenplay is terribly weak and some of the scenes are downright boring. Though the narrative improves a bit in the second half, and there are some forceful gags put to bring in the laughs, one can sense the desperation of the team to get cracking. The result-over the top gags, and meaningless digs on movies like Taare Zameen Par, Peepli Live and Guzaarish. The constantly interrupting songs do not help in anyway.
Don’t really know why the proceedings had to shift to Macau. Nothing else changes apart from the same stale gags and insipid lines. There is so much slapstick overdose; that you feel like heading to a chemist shop to soothe your frayed nerves.

Performances in Double Dhamaa:

Javed Jaffery is brilliant in his role. Just like Tusshar in Golmaal series. Close second is Riteish Deshmukh who despite bad hairstyling hams his way nicely. Arshad Warsi is competent; he has discernibly meatier role compared to what he got in the first half. Ashish Choudhary who looks sidelined in the first half comes across as a cleavage baring moll called Barbara Hori, and while doing so, spoils whatever little could have been done for damage control. Sanjay Dutt is insipid while Satish Kaushik is remarkable. The ladies do not have much to do, Mallika Sherawat finds happiness with an item number and the two girls get couple of scenes each to perform, which they do passably well.

Conclusion:

Double Dhamaal is double torture, so be ready for the risk factor-frayed nerves. It is more painful to digest because people had high expectations on the sequel after seeing the entertaining original

Rating: **(Average)

Double-Dhamaal Movie Still

Double-Dhamaal Movie Still

Double-Dhamaal Movie Still

Sonakhi had been saying all along that she has no problems with Katrina and had even sent her text messages. Katrina on the other hand, had said that she had never received any text message. When the media tried to contract Sonakshi on her number, which had been the same since many years, they were surprised to find that the girl had changed it.

Sonakshi’s mother Poonam Sinha fumed, “Can’t the poor girl be left alone? She is neck deep in work. She has no time for this nonsense. And why will she text Katrina? What has she done to Katrina to mend things? Yeh kya pagaalpan hain?” However, she did agree that Katrina was the reason for her daughter to change the number. “Sonakshi is fed up of being constantly nagged about such things, so she has changed her number”.

It is believed that Sonakshi has told her mother not to take kindly to media questions on this incident. “She’ll be very upset that I am entertaining these topics. It’s becoming a suffocating atmosphere for her. Please let her be”, pleaded Mrs. Sinha.

Sonakshi apparently has a bright future, with a very good body of her work. The confident actress will be seen in films like ‘Joker’ and ‘Rowdy Rathore’ opposite Akshay Kumar, Race 2 with Saif Ali Khan, in ‘Vishwaroopam’ with Kamal Hassan’s, ‘Kick’ and ‘Dabangg 2′ with Salman Khan.

Here are excerpts of the interview with Jacqueline as she talks about her sexy image and her big plans

What do you think of your Bollywood journey so far?
The films I did are different from each other and I enjoyed playing both roles and also the item number that I did in Housefull. I am lucky to have worked in two films. It’s been an exciting phase so far. I have just started my career and have a long way to go.

The Bhatts have been credited with being the best platform to the career of their leading ladies.
I am fortunate that I got an opportunity to be a part of such a huge franchise. The Bhatts are an amazing family and a production house to work with and I guess anyone will back me up for this. I have had the best time working with them as they treated me like family and have pampered me on the sets and they were always open for suggestions. I am looking forward to doing a lot more movies with them. I just hope that I have delivered what they expected.

Have you lived up to their expectations?
There was a lot of speculation and expectations when I signed Murder-2. I guess I have lived up to the expectations as this was the first movie where I’ve done a lot of research. I had to do a lot of homework for my character. I was very particular about how I would project certain scenes. It was very difficult. I suddenly realised that this is what acting is (Laughs).

Can the audience expect steamier and more intense love making scenes in the sequel?
I know people are expecting a lot from this movie because of the success of the first movie. I feel people should leave behind whatever memories they have of Murder. Murder needed to have a lot of sexuality and boldness because it was based on a woman who was cheating on her husband which was shown so beautifully. This movie is completely different.

You play a centre-spread model in the film. Did you have any reservations of portraying such a bold character?
Let me tell you one thing. Actresses cannot have any inhibitions while portraying bold characters. It is something that we learn on the first page of the book on acting. We all portray a lot of characters and once we get into a shot we have to come out of our skin and be a completely different person. I wanted to explore myself. To be honest, sensuous roles appeal to me as they are very different from the regular fare.

A lot of leading actresses have shied away from doing intimate scenes. What is your take on that?
That is something which I cannot understand. A sensuous or a steamy scene can be done very aesthetically or in a way that titillates the audience. As an actor one needs to know the boundaries and has to put a lot of faith in the directors and co-actors. At the end of the day it is acting and if it fits into the script then it needs to be there.

What do you think about the comparisons between you and Mallika Sherwat. Does that bother you?
It bothers me when my role is getting compared to her. The stories are not the same and it doesn’t make any sense to make any comparisons. On a personal level I don’t have any complaints when people compare me to her. For me, Mallika Sherawat is someone who is so real and is unafraid to be herself. She speaks her mind and in an industry which is quite fake, she is someone who is completely different. She needs to be applauded for where she is today.

Will you replace Mallika as the next sex bomb of the industry?
I don’t want to replace her. I am not trying to be a sex bomb or the next sexy actress on the block. I am trying to be versatile and it will reflect in the movies I’m doing or will do in future.

How was your chemistry with Emraan Hashmi?
I got along with Emraan very well. He was very quiet when we met for the first time but as soon as the shooting comenced in Goa, he opned up and we had a blast. He has a very dark sense of humour which a lot of people don’t know about.

Will you do de-glam roles?
Yes, I would love to do it. I hate repeating myself and I would love to do different characters.

What are your future films?
I am doing Housefull 2 We had done a photo-shoot. Asin was very cordial when we met. I have known Zarine and she is a very sweet girl. I consider her as my younger sister. I am playing a very overtly righteous girl who grew up in London and she stands up for what she thinks is right with a comic element in it.

What about Raaz 3?
We will have Mahesh Bhatt making the announcement soon.

Rani does not divulge the details but does give a hint “. I have really not done an item number in my career, but I’m open to it. Doing it totally depends on how the song is being presented and if it excites me. I love dancing and I think such special songs have a lot of energy. It’s fun to see and shoot.”

A reliable source however has said that she is considering the item number for Sajid Khan’s film. There is more awards in store for this petite actress. She will be getting the famous Dada Saheb Phalke Academy Award for her role as Meera Gaiety in No One Killed Jessica. She confirms, “I’m happy that people have loved my film and my work. I have always let my work do the talking and I guess I have proved to my critics that I’m not over. It’s a great feeling to be back winning awards.

The Bong beauty says, “The past three years had been challenging because I didn’t have box office success behind me. People forget the body of work, and the amount of blood and sweat that you put in for years and write you off, so I’m very happy to get this prestigious award.” Though the actor does not have many movies on hand, she is contemplating doing a talk show on the lines of Opah Winfrey show.

This film captures the first official encounter killing of a gangster called Manya Surve in Mumbai. The story is inspired by Hussain Zaidi’s soon to be released book ‘Dongri to Mumbai’. The director will be taking the help of Hussain Zaidi, the acclaimed crime reporter who also wrote a book based on the 1993 bombing in the city which turned into a movie called Black Friday directed by Anurag Kashyap.

Gupta confirmed, “I have wanted to work with Hussain Zaidi, since I first saw Black Friday. It was the most well researched thriller I’d ever seen. I was just waiting for the right chance for us to come together. When I decided to make a sequel to Shootout At Lokhandwala, I immediately thought of Zaidi.”

“When I got to know that Hussain is writing a book on the history of crime in Mumbai, I requested him to let me read portions of it. I found amazing details on Manya Surve, who was gunned down in Vadala. We’ve never had such insight into crime and the underworld before,” added Gupta.

Zaidi will also be in the scripting team of the film. The author confirmed, saying, “Yes, we’ll be working together.”

The regular boys, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra will be in the film, but the girls will be different, possibly new faces. A source said, “It is not clear if Shah Rukh will be in Dhoom 3 because he has also been roped in for Yash Chopra’s next directorial venture.” An official announcement on Dhoom 3′s cast will be made in January 2011. Incidentally, this year will be the year of remakes with movies like Race 2, Partner 2 and Don 2 hitting the theaters.

Story:

Gopal (Ajay Devgn) lives with his brother Laxman (Shreyas Talpade), mom Geeta (Ratna Pathak Shah) and girl pal Kareena Kapoor (Daboo).  The other brats, Madhav (Arshad Warsi), Lucky (Tusshar Kapoor) and Laxman (Kunal Khemu) live with their dad Pritam (Mithun Chakraborty). The warning boys are always at logger-heads with each other, but the trouble sets in when the foster parents decide to marry. However, the road to marriage is not easy because the boys are not too happy with the Hum Saath Saath Hai logic; through Kareena tries her best appease both parties.

What works for Golmaal 3:

Rohit Shetty has a tough job at being funny and since he has put in a truckload of actors and character actors, he has to justify each of them. He does a good job at this; he makes every individual in the movie stand out in terms of a character trait.  Ajay Devgn is hot-headed, Arshad Warsi is a rogue, Sanjay Mishra makes spelling mistakes and Johnny Lever is an absent-minded thief; everyone in the movie has one flaw that raises the laughs. The dialogues and puns flow and the madness do not stop throughout the film.  Apart from the comedy, one may also say this is the most visually appealing movie from the director. He still showcases Goa but there has hardly been any movie that has made this town look this colorful.  If you look for a plot in this film, you are watching a wrong film. But if you want to chill out and enjoy clean comedy with clever punch lines and car chases, you are on your way to be entertained thoroughly.

What does not work for Golmaal 3:

It would be better if Rohit Shetty was more imaginative in getting a better ending to the movie, rather than the typical ‘all on the  house’ ending he has been doing for the first two parts, often reminiscent of what director Priyadarshan does in most of this films. Though in a multicarrier comedy, one does have to go that way many a time, it could have been better if there was more imaginative humor and situations rather than the predictable ones.

Performances in Golmaal 3:

It is not possible to isolate a single one performance as one, as it is a clubbed effort. All of them are good and effective, Ajay Devgn with his grunge look, cropped haircut and diamond studs looks menacing, Kareena Kapoor is spunky and cheerful,  Tusshar as usual brings the whole house down as a speech marvel; Shreyas Talpade and Arshad Waris impress big time while Kunal Khemu, the new entrant is funny as well. Rohit always manages to make his character actors stands out and give them their due. So in this respect, three people, Ratna Pathak Shah, Mithun Chakraborty and Johnny Lever are absolute riot. The other regulars Vrajesh Hirjee, Viju Khote, Ashwini Kalsekar, Sanjay Mishra and Mukesh Tiwari definitely make the whole proceedings quite entertaining.

Conclusion: Watch Golmaal 3, it is just about the perfect way to enjoy your Diwali holidays.

Rating: ****(Very Good)

Golmaal 3

Golmaal 3 - Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade

Golmaal 3 - Kareena Kapoor

Golmaal-3

Golmaal-3, Kunal Khemu, Tusshar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi

Though Hrithik is quite close to Shah Rukh, it was believed that he had flown to be a part of SRK’s birthday celebration. But then, there are emerging reports that director Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani were very much interested in having Hrithik on board for Don-2 with SRK.

A source adds, “Roshan’s character is a stylised one with interesting shades and they felt only he could do justice to it. But Farhan and Ritesh want to keep Hrithik’s role hidden till the film’s release as it’s one of the highlights of Don 2.

For Hrithik, Don 2 team is like his second home as he is quite close to Farhan and Ritesh, as he had acted in their film ‘Lakshya’ where he had won critical acclaim. He had also done special appearance in Farhan’s sister Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Luck By Chance’ and is playing main lead in her next ‘Zindagi Milegi Na Dobbara’.

The source adds that Don 2 is already a star-studded affair with Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Kunal Kapoor and Boman Irani in the film, and Hrithik’s entry is going to really up the ante. Also it will be the second time Hrithik and SRK will be coming together again in Don 2 after Karan johar’s “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”. Both Hrithik and SRK have loyal fans and seeing their favorite actors in a single frame is definitely going to be thoroughly entertaining.

According to Kareena, she finds the third installment quite boring with repetitive comic situations. She also revealed that she was bored of shooting in the same location time and again. She also seems to be miffed with director Rohit Shetty for giving the film an outdated look. Let us hope that this is just a misnomer because Kareena has been seen actively promoting the film along with the director in various TV shows.

Last heard, the casting of Race 2 would have Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and John Abraham. There were reports that Sonam Kapoor would be one of the female leads, but the main female lead was supposed to be Priyanka Chopra. However, that has changed with Deepika Padukone doing the role of the main lead instead of Piggy Chops. Ramesh says, “To be frank Priyanka was never actually in the film. Yes, we were in talks with her initially but due to date issues, since she is busy shooting for Don 2, we dropped the idea.”

He adds, “As of now we have finalized Deepika, who will be playing the female lead in the film. Apart from her, there will be two other actresses who will also be in the film, but they have not yet been locked.” Ramesh says that the script is ready and the film will go on floors very soon. “We have already finalized and locked the script, and are looking to start shooting next year. While for the music, it’s going to be Pritam.”

With Deepika proving her worth in films like Lafangey Parindey, she is definitely going to be the toast of Bollywood with the performance oriented films that are coming her way.

David has also decided to do away with any tense moments that both the actors have, by hosting a house party to celebrate the Govinda-Salman friendship.”And why just the Salman-Govinda friendship? It will be to celebrate the Salman-Govinda-David friendship. I get very disturbed when I hear about their so-called rift. Arrey yaar, both are far above such bickering. Look at Govinda’s track-record. He has been at the top for decades. As for Salman, with Dabangg he has proved he is beyond all competition. I hate to see people talking about two of my closest friends in this negative way. So yes a party celebrating Salman and Govinda’s friendship and my friendship with them seems a good idea,” says David emotionally.

David is a busy man at the moment. He stresses, “I’m committed to direct a film Rascals for Sanjay Dutt Productions from next month. Dutt is one of my oldest and closest friends. The first film I directed had Sanju in it. Then I’m committed to directing Partner 2 for Salman Khan and Govinda. So my career is devoted to friends.”

David’s younger son who was waiting in wings to be launched has found a mentor, not in his father, but in Karan Johar. The burly director says, “All I can tell you at the moment is that my elder son Rohit is directing his first film Desi Boyz and my younger son Varun is going to be an actor. I’d have liked to launch both in their respective careers. But I am committed to making films with my friends.” Rascals stars Ajay Devgn and Kangna Ranaut and will have the typical David Dhawan brand of the 90s which rocked big time. But will it work? David says, “Why not? Why open the car bonnet to check the motor when the vehicle is running just fine? When others are copying my style why should I move away from it?”

The buzz is that the Roshans are not really confident whether they should go ahead with the sequel to Krrish, which released in 2006. Hrithik has denied that the movie is shelved but a source close to the film says, “Krrish 2 is definitely not shelved. But what is sure is that Rakesh and Hrithik feel that a lot more work needs to be done on Krrish 2.

Robot has definitely changed the way Bollywood looks at special effects for its future release.The source adds, “Krrish 2 will definitely happen, but at a later date. As of now, it seems that the Roshans’ next will not be Krrish 2.” When checked with Rakesh Roshan if he was delaying the film to improve its technical appeal, he said, “No, not correct. I might start Krrish; wait for the announcement.”

It is believed that Brad Bird of the ‘The Incredibles’ fame will direct the movie and J.J. Adams who directed the script of the third in the series will be writing the script for the fourth one. Initial reports state that Anil has been signed as one of the villains in the film. However, now, there is news that Anil will be playing a pivotal supporting role in the film. This is definitely one of the most plum international projects most people in Bollywood would envy!

Mallika is believed to be quite happy for working opposite against Sanjay Dutt against the Dhamaal sequel and has reportedly said that money is not a issue with her. This is strange considering that she had made it clear that she would charge nothing than an extremely flattering figure post her hit Murder. Producer Ashok Thakeria who is in Los Angeles added, “Mallika said she will take anything we give her. She’s just happy to be a part of brand like Dhamaal and that too opposite Sanjay Dutt.”

The other female lead in Double Dhamaal, Kangna Ranaut also seems to be okay with whatever is being given as remuneration. Kangana will be cast opposite Riteish Deshmukh in the film.  Thakeria says, “We met up at Ritiesh’s home on  Tuesday evening for a script reading session. Instead of having a proper workshop with the actors, Riteish suggested an informal get-together at his home. All of us barring Mallika (who is in LA) and Sanjay Dutt (who is in South Africa) from the Double Dhamaal team – Kangna, Javed Jaffrey, Ashish Chowdhry, Indra Kumar and I met up at Riteish’s house for a script reading. We were cracking up after every line. It was that funny.” Let’s hope the audience cracks up too.

In the third sequel, there will be Nana Patekar, Abhishek Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt who will replace the Baburao-Raju-Sham trio; the characters that were played to the  gallery by Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty respectively. The film should be going on the floors by 2010 year end.

Hera Pheri has been the biggest comedy hit since 2000 and though there were many comedies that have made money; they have not been able to be as successful as Hera Pheri.  Though the movie did not open well back then, it went on to become the biggest hit of the year and is still being remembered as one of biggest hits in comedy films.

Now for the change in the cast; it seems that there were differences between Akshay Kumar and Firoz Nadiadwala over the budget of the movie.  Though they could not come to a logical conclusion, they decided to part ways for this project.  A source confirms,  “Akshay and Firoz could not come to a conclusion and Firoz then decided to completely change the cast of his film, which will now be titled New Hera Pheri.Initially he had only thought of replacing Akshay with Abhishek (guess that would have been too personal) but later he decided to make a fresh team.”

Aamir and Yash Raj productions had last worked in Fanaa in 2006, which turned out to be  one of the biggest grossers  of that year. If things go right, this will be the second time they will be teaming together and the second time when Aamir wil be doing a negative role. The last time he did, it was for a flop movie called “Aatank Hi Aatank” where he had a small role, back in the 90s.

For Dhoom 3, Aamir has neither denied nor confirmed anything because he is one person who likes to get everything broken down to the smallest detail before giving his commitment. At this stage, Dhoom 3 is just planned, and it has not even been scripted.

Kunal Kapor, the actor of Rang De Basanti fame, is delighted. “I am very excited about the role, as well as being part of a huge franchise like Don. And the fact that I get to share screen space with SRK makes it twice as exciting.”

The producer Ritesh Sidwani denies that he has replaced Arjun Rampal in the Farhan Akhtar directed movie. He has however agreed that Kunal  is a part of the film. Ritesh counters, “Kunal hasn’t replaced Arjun in the film. There is no Jasjeet(the part Arjun played in Don) in the film. Instead we have introduced three new parts in the film and Kunal plays one of them and Lara Dutta plays the second one. We still have to cast for the third character. From the original cast we have Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani and Om Puri. When did we say that Arjun was part of Don 2?”

According to sources, Producer Ramesh Taurani and directors Abbas-Mustan plan to pool in all their resources and creativity to make the sequel a far slicker and sexier version of the first one. However, Ramesh Taurani has denied that Priyanka Chopra will be in Race 2 and said Bipasha Basu will be a part of the second version. Let’s wait and watch as the suspense unfolds.

Sagar had also directed Minissha in Hum Tum aur Shabana and is now planning to have her on Bheja Fry sequel.  The shooting will go on floors in July and will be shot in a  start to finish schedule, to be shot entirely in Malaysia.  Minnisha is ecstatic. “I am quite excited about the movie. I have just finished Hum Tum aur Shabana and I would love to be  a part of Bheja Fry 2.”

Kookie Gulati cannot believe his luck because his film has had the biggest opening since My Name is Khan and is still drawing people to the theaters. Confirming this, Gulati says, “We had left the ending open, suggesting there might be more to the plot than what we had just seen. But there was just a hint of a fear. What if Prince fell flat on its face? What would people say about even suggesting a sequel?” Luckily the response to the film has been overwhelming. Kookie adds “I have an idea for the sequel which I’ll now develop. Since it’s the plot that has worked in Prince we’ve to make sure the sequel is even stronger in terms of content.”

A person from the team of Prince says, “When we approached the top leading ladies they all either said a straight no nor or begged off with the date excuse. They had no faith in the project. More importantly no top leading lady wanted to work with Vivek. On the day after Prince opened Vivek began to receive congratulatory SMS’s from some of the leading ladies who had declined to work with him in Prince.”

Vivek Oberoi confirms this indirectly, “I wouldn’t like to dwell on the past. All is good now. And I’d just like to concentrate on the positive things. Yes, we are making a sequel. In fact when we put in a suggestion of it in the first film we had finally decided to edit it out because it was vain at that point of time to think audiences would like our film enough to see a sequel.”

Ahsaas Channa, the female child actor has been played as a little boy in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and also in RGV’s Vaastu Shastra, and in both the cases the makers had no clue about her gender. Ram Gopal Varma maintains that he wants to make Phoonk series all the way till Phoonk 33! He states, “As far as I’m concerned Ahsaas is the heroine and the crow is the hero of Phoonk 2. Yes, she had played a male child in my earlier horror film Vastu Shastra. I didn’t know she was a girl then and it’s none of my business if she’s a girl or a boy. All I’m concerned with is she’s the best actress I’ve worked with.”

Says Ramu, “When I made Bhoot with so many established stars I realized somewhere that the known names took away from the terror factor. The trick in horror films is to cast relatively unknown face so that the audience becomes one with the characters’ fears.” About being called gimmicky for promising prize money to anyone who can watch Phoonk 2 alone in the theatre Ramu smirks. “Those who think I’m gimmicky better take a close look at the horror genre. It’s by its very nature gimmicky. When I said I’d give money to a man watching the film only if the ECG machine shows his heartbeat to be normal I was told that was impossible. Which is a fine by me. I don’t want anyone to win!”

Wanted which was the second biggest hit of 2009, after 3 Idiots, will have its sequel next year. The original team of the successful film will be in Wanted 2 and it is speculated that Ayesha Takia may drop out of it. ‘Wanted’ which was adapted from the Jagganath Puri’s Telugu hit, will possibly have its sequel releasing in both the languages next year.

Partner(2007) directed by David Dhawan was one of the last biggest hits of the director who is known for slapstick humor. It is learnt that both Salman and Govinda will be a part of this one, though the lead actresses may change.  Dhoom 3 may just have Shahrukh Khan as the villain this time.  Don 2, the sequel of the Farhan Akhtar blockbuster of 2006, will have changes in the cast, but Shahrukh Khan who is quite excited by the idea, and Priyanka Chopra, will remain.

Things have improved quite a lot for everyone involved in Rock On.  The person who has benefitted the most out of it is Arjun Rampal who has got a National Award for Best Supporting Actor.  He is also being taken seriously as an actor now.   Arjun has also reportedly, become a good guitarist. He had started taking guitar lessons for  Rock On and has continued improving on it, so much that he has fallen in love with the music instrument.

As for Abhishek Kapoor, he has admitted that he has couple of ideas in his mind that he could use for the sequel. He says, “, I didn’t want to rush into a sequel just because it was a commercially viable thing to do. The sequel had to stand on its own feet and not just be a carryover of the original. I now have a couple of ideas which I am working on.’”

As of now, the director is working on an onscreen adaptation of the Chetan Bhagat best seller ‘The 3 Mistakes of My Life’. He adds, “I’ve brought Chetan Bhagat on board for the screen adaptation. We are retaining about 40 percent of the novel. I’m also doing a film called Sid written by Ashok Banker. It’ll be in English for the international market.” However, it seems that he will be putting all of these in the backburner as the entire team is energized about Rock on 2.

The flop status of Blue notwithstanding, the producers of the movie have gone ahead and announced the shooting of the sequel to Blue. The movie will have Akshay Kumar opposite Katrina Kaif, taking it off from where the first movie in the series ended. Sanjay Dutt will be paired opposite Lara Dutta while Zayed Khan will have a fresh pairing, opposite Neha Uberoi, who happens to be Sanjay Dutt’s business manager Dharam Uberoi’s daughter

It is believed that the sequel of Blue will be titled ‘ Aasman’.  The title has been reportedly suggested by Akshay Kumar who is quite an expert in giving movie titles (remember Singh is Kinng and Heyy Babby?). It is believed that a role has been written for John Abraham who will have a crucial role in the film and will be paired opposite Sonal Chauhan.  With so many actors, we hope that it does not become chaotic and script-less as the first one, Blue did.

Director Tony D’Souza said, “I really want to work with John. All I can say is the producers are ready to back me with my next project with the same budget as Blue. It will start off as an undersea adventure and then move to the sky.” The producers are likely to host a huge bash soon where the sequel will be announced.