Yash Raj approaches Aamir Khan for Dhoom 3

Yash Raj Films has plans to launch a line of five movies as a celebratory mark of its golden jubilee next year. The banner is in talks with Bollywood hotties to play meaty roles in those movies. It was earlier reported that Aditya Chopra is keen to rope in Aamir Khan to play a lead role in one of the movies. Recently, Yash Raj Films approached Aamir Khan to play the villain in Dhoom 3. Many would wonder why Aamir is offered the negative role. If previous two movies of the Dhoom series are to be considered, it is clear that the villan in the movie has an essential part to play. John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan donned the villain's cap in Dhoom and Dhoom 2 respectively. Another reason for cinegoers's curiosity to see Aamir in a Yash Raj Films is that the actor has not worked with the banner since Fanna. It has now become the most-awaited movie since Aamir is a part of it. Aamir has neither confirmed nor denied the news. Dhoom 3 is at the planning stages. The spokesperson of the banner revealed that even the scripting is not finished, so finalizing the cast is out of question.

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Lafangey Parindey fails to fly high at box office

The title of the movie might be crisp as nachos, but Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone starrer edgy love story "Lafangey Parindey" was not crunchy enough to attract the audiences to theatres. "The business of 'Lafangey Parindey' was nothing great. It was below expectations as the movie could manage only 50 percent occupancy over the weekend on an average, " Amit Awasthi, senior manager (Programming and Operations) of Spice Cinemas, told. "The content was appreciated, but it couldn't gather hype because of the star cast. We are hoping it stretches till the second weekend, " he added. "Lafangey Parindey" opening day's collection was approximately Rs.35 million (Rs.3.5 crore) across India. According to estimates, the movie's opening weekend net collections should be in the range of Rs.100-Rs.110 million, reports businessofcinema.com. Aamir Khan Productions' "Peepli Live", that was made at a budget of Rs.100 million has earned about Rs.210 million in its first week at the Indian box office. Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (cinemas) of Wave Cinemas said: "'Lafangey Parindey' is over as far as business is concerned. It could manage an occupancy of only 30-40 percent over the weekend. Though the content was OK, it had no buzz." Produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF), directed by Pradeep Sarkar, the story revolves around a street fighter Nandu (Neil), who can combat blindfolded and a visually challenged Pinky Palkar (Deepika) who can dance on skates. While Deepika's performance in the movie has won her appreciation, it has proved a disappointment for Neil, whose last outing "Jail" too bombed at the box office. "The movie has been only average with only 30 percent occupancy over the weekend. It wasn't appreciated that much and now we have no hopes for it too, " said a source from PVR cinemas. Amit Shah, chief manager (programming) of DLF DT cinemas, however, blamed the incessant rains for low footfalls. "The weekend was not at all good. Despite a pretty OK content, the rains played spoilsport in the capital for footfalls. People just didn't come out of their houses to watch a movie. We got only 30-35 percent occupancy over the weekend, " said Shah. "Considering tomorrow (Tuesday) is Raksha Bandhan, hope it gets some footfalls but otherwise now there is no scope for the movie picking up, " he added. Deepak Taluja, senior vice president (business and operations) of Fun Cinemas, said: "The weekend business was lukewarm. The occupancy was 30-35 percent. The content was OK but not very highly appreciable. Though weekdays now look slightly down, it looks positive for the next week as there are no big releases as such."

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Rakta Charitra: RGV to delete controversial scene?

Ram Gopal Varma is facing the wrath of fans of megastar Chiranjeevi and his brother actor Pawan Kalyan. The reason is the filmmaker's upcoming Telugu movie Rakta Charitra. One of the scenes in the movie shows a man's head being tonsured by the lead actor Vivek Oberoi, who plays the late controversial political leader Paritala Ravindra. In real life, Paritala Ravi was rumored to have tonsured Pawan Kalya's head. This has angered the fans of the actor. On the other hand, the director argued that the movie does not even show the face of the person being tonsured so the fans should not object. He also questioned the fans on how could they conclude that the person in the movie depicts Pawan Kalayan. when they can't even see the face of the person. Varma had even held a meeting with Chiranjeevi in Hyderabad to settle down the issue. He also reportedly offered to delete the tonsured scene from the movie. The movie also stars Suriya, veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Radhika Apte in other important roles. Now, the big question is whether Ram Gopal Varma will delete the controversial scene from the movie to appease the fans of Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan?

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Bobby Deol's father-in-law dies, leaves behind fortune

Bobby Deol's father-in-law Dev Ahuja who was recently in the news for leaving a large chunk of his fortune for Tanya Deol, passes away A day before banker and promoter of Centurion Bank and MD of 20th Century Finance Devendra Ahuja, 74, passed away, son-in-law and actor Bobby Deol was shooting in Toronto with buddy Akshay Kumar for Anees Bazmi's Thank You. Deol was unable to concentrate on his shoot because he was concerned about his father-in-law's health. Filmmaker Samir Karnik, a family friend, says Deol was expected to shoot a love song this week in Agra. "Bobby has been concerned about his father-in-law's health ever since the property dispute erupted." Ahuja had apparently disinherited his son Vikram, and wanted to leave a large chunk of his fortune to daughter Tanya and son-in-law Bobby Deol. After I-T officials raided Ahuja's Nariman Point residence and office on May 10, they recovered documents that proved that Ahuja had transferred a major part of his property to his daughter. The public dispute left the Deols in an embarrassing position. Deol told close friends he didn't want to be part of the wealth dispute. Says a close family friend, "All he ever wanted was for peace in his wife's family, and his father-in-law to be healthy." When news of Ahuja's illness reached Deol in Toronto, he wanted to return. Kumar who has connections in Canada made arrangements for his return. Ahuja died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday morning. Deol was expected to return to the city on Saturday night via London. The funeral is expected to take place on Sunday.

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Sallu back as Prem after patch up with Sooraj Barjatya

The distance between Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya has finally been bridged. Salman, known as 'Prem' in previous three movies from Sooraj Barjatya's Rajshri Productions, has been offered a lead role in the next cinematic venture under the same banner. As per the recent reports, Salman has already been signed by Sooraj for a cameo role in his Love You Mr. Kalakaar. Differences crept in between Salman and Sooraj following Raj Kumar Barjatya's disapproval for the actor after the blackbuck killing accident. A source close to Sooraj Barjatya informed that everyone at Rajshri Productions had thought that Soorajji would not plunge into directorial ventures any more. Without Salman, his scripts were incomplete. The source added that Salman was as intimate with the Rajshri household as hand in glove. But, the blackbuck killing incident turned the relationship upside down. Salman played the male lead in three of Rajshri's movies – Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Apke Hain Kaun, and Hum Saath Saath Hain. Though the scripts of Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon and Vivah were also penned down keeping Salman as a lead character in mind, he was not cast in them ultimately. Now after a period of four years, Sooraj Barjatya has put on the director's guise to be back in business again.

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I love 'Losing My Virginity'

If you thought Bollywood celebrities only read scripts, here is a surprise. From fiction to philosophy to thrillers to romances, they love reading books and consider it their favourite pastime. Many of the B-town celebrities spoke to swore by well-known tomes like "The Idiot", "Chariots Of the Gods", "The Kite Runner" and "Interview With A Vampire". Sameera Reddy: I love reading and my favourite book is "Losing My Virginity" by Richard Bradson. Neil Nitin Mukesh: My favourite book is by a man called Shiv Khera and the book is "You Can Win". The reason it's one of my favourite books is it makes you feel rather positive about life and about yourself in general. I have read it almost four times and every time I read it, it teaches me something new. Chunky Pandey: I'm currently reading a series of books by Erich von Däniken, the one I just finished is called "Chariots Of the Gods". I loved it. The book is based on the premise that what humans across the globe refer to as gods were actually extra terrestrials and aliens who visited earth and gave us advanced technology that was described as miracles in ancient texts around the world. Eesha Koppikar: One of my favourite authors is Richard Bach and I also loved reading "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. I am not too fond of fiction. I like philosophical reads. Deepika Padukone: I read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini and I really liked it. It's a wonderful book." Bobby Deol: I haven't read a book in some time, but I used to love vampire books. I was obsessed with vampires. I love "Interview With A Vampire" by Anne Rice. Cyrus Sahukar: I love "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. It was the first book I read by Oscar Wilde and I have been a fan ever since. Every line is so beautifully written that you can revisit it at any stage in your life and it will always make you think. Mugdha Godse: I like reading and "Only Love Is Real" by Brian Weiss is one of my favourite books. That book has really changed my concept about love. It has pointed out how your soul can find your real love. Rajat Kapoor: I love reading and my favourite is "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It's a fat book, but it was so engrossing I finished it in just four days. I just didn't want to leave it. Trisha: I like fiction. But I liked reading "The Kite Runner". It's serious and not my kind of book, still I liked it a lot and read it thrice. The first two times I read it in quick succession, with a one-week gap. Arbaaz Khan: Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" is one of my favourite books. I have read it a couple of times. Randeep Hooda: I read a lot. I read biographies. I read every day. I think reading makes your imagination big. My favourite book is "Papillon" by Henri Charriere. It's a very old book about prison escape. Then I like "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho and there are a number of others. Koena Mitra: The last book I read was by Paulo Coelho. I really like his writing, it has a sense of realism to it and one can actually relate to it." Kim Sharma: I am not an avid reader. I like reading romantic novels. I am the Mills & Boon type of a reader.

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Soha Ali Khan bikini waxing MMS scandal is a dud

We have reason to believe that searching for the 'Soha Ali Khan waxing MMS scandal' might be an exercise in futility Over the weekend, Bollywood websites and blogs went into a tizzy with reports of a "Soha Ali Khan waxing MMS scandal" video. After trawling through several dead links and investigating the matter in detail, we can safely assume that it's a campaign by vested interests with an explicit purpose: to malign the actress. Apparently, Saif's little sis underwent a bikini wax session at a beauty salon recently. Unknown to her, there were cameras strategically placed in the room that recorded her in various states of undress and in some scenes, from close quarters, says the report. She didn't know... Mention is made that she is completely at ease, implying that all this was done without her knowledge and that the going price of the clips are anywhere between $20 to $30. It appears that a "leading" website (unnamed in every website and online report) shot this video in association with the salon. Supposedly, the video shows her getting undressed and wearing a towel. Over time, her body is revealed. The salon attendant is then seen waxing her body including the bikini area. The video has been made into two episodes with "before" and "after waxing" shots. Not to be simply content with that, the conversation (we assume doctored) borders on the "kinky". It's a troubling trend that actresses are frequently becoming victims to the online demand for show-and-tell videos. Websites in order to attract hits, go to weird lengths to advertise MMS videos even as innocent actresses pay the price. With most people choosing to believe that these "skin flicks" are "real", it seems like a battle they're losing. Soha remained unavailable for comment.

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