Don't cook up controversies about my past: Preity

Does Preity have a British ancestry? A story doing the rounds on websites that Preity Zinta is of British parentage has the actress who turns a year older on Jan 31, completely flummoxed. But this isn't the first time that Preity's lineage is being questioned. "Some years ago there was this rumour that I was related to Dharmendra. I didn't mind that at all since he's so goodlooking." The bit about the Brit has Preity less amused. "I don't know where that come. I'm a full-on pahadi girl. Both my parents are from Himachal Pradesh. I'm a complete Rajput girl. And yet I've been flooded with inquiries about my 'British blood'. Arrey yaar, who's spreading these strange rumours? And they erupted so suddenly. I wonder who's responsible." A section of Preity's supporters see this as a ploy to discredit her lately-vocal tirade against the vote-politics of the nation. Preity wants to stay away from politics of every kind. "For those who feel threatened because they feel I'm getting into politics let me assure them I've no intentions of getting into yet another alien territory. Movies are my life. And now there's cricket and the IPL. Politics is not my scene at all. There's no need to cook up controversies about my past."

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Me married to Salman? What rubbish: Katrina Kaif

A report in a Marathi paper that she's married has the actress incredulous with disbelief. "It's complete rubbish and the paper is denying it. When I marry the world will know. Right now I've no such plans." But she isn't denying that she's with Salman. In fact one of her abiding regrets is that she and Salman have not been able to form a saleable pair on screen. Katrina had hoped Yuvraaj would work, so that she and Salman would be a saleable pair and filmmakers would sign her with Salman as eagerly as they do with Akshay Kumar and Ranbir Kapoor. Apparently Subhash Ghai kept writing the script as the film progressed. After a pause Katrina says, "I'd like to stick to a bound script from now on. The time has come for the entire film industry to get completely organized. A script helps both the director and the actor to connect wth each other and with the plot. I'm not going to be shy about insisting on a script. Tell her she had very little space in Yuvraaj, and Katrina admits, "Yeah, that was something I grew gradually aware of. I didn't have that much to do. But that's okay." Katrina's sister Isabel is not getting into Bollywood. Not right now. Says Katrina, "That was something which was blown out of all proportions. At the moment she's too young to take up an acting career. In fact my sister is off to drama school. Something I never got to do, and I wish I had. Not being a trained actress bothers me me and I am happy that my sister is taking that route." However, not attending school doesn't make Katrina feel inadequate as an actress. "I think I had to undertake my own journey and do things my own way. I learnt on the job. I think I've acquired knowledge of the camera on-camera. So no regrets about not attending any acting school. If I had regrets about any aspect of my career I'd be the most ungrateful person on the planet. Look at the level of acceptance I've received in so little time. Some people don't get this kind of success after working all their lives." Katrina is nonchalant about not being considered a lucky mascot any more after the failure of Yuvraaj. "I think that's just people talking a lot of nonsense. Actors far more intelligent and talented than me have had to deal with ups and downs. Sooner or later I'd have had to deal with failure. No point in brooding about it. I've learnt my lessons from the Yuvraaj experience." Commenting on the constant speculation on their relationship Katrina says, "That's bound to happen. If you're a public figure and at the end of the day neither of the party is clarifying anything, there's bound to be a lot of speculation and unnecessary comment. But I'm not going to get provoked into giving explanations. Because once they start, they never end." What about that damning picture of Katrina with her face covered as she entered her birthday party last year? "That wasn't when I entered the party. The picture was atken was while we were leaving. I was tired….and yes, I was disappointed. I didn't want it to be turned into tamasha. It wasn't meant that to be. I realize I can't be talked about only for my work. You can't have things exactly the way you want them to be. You can't have fans and now get blown away by the breeze once in a while."

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Even my Bikinis and zero figure make news: Kareena

Her confidence and attitude might reflect on her face but Kareena Kapoor seems to claim that she's not arrogant at all. She's said, "The world is yet to understand what is it like being Kareena Kapoor. They are busy making speculations. Let them do so." She makes it clear that she's not happy about the fact that her flop films make a lot of unnecessary news. She's said, "When any of my film flops, every news channel would run it as a ticker. I guess the case is that I was never an underdog. People and media like those who come from small towns and make it big. They don't like people who are something and manage to achieve bigger things in life. We have to keep innovating ourselves constantly but they enjoy running us down." She's proud of 'Tashan' for which she flaunted her size zero look throughout 2008. She says, "Irrespective of the fact that the movie worked or not; every single bachcha knows about the film — my bikini shot, orange juice diet and… zero figure. Even my daughter will know about the film." Only talking about the love of her life Saif warms her up. She says, "He is too relaxed. He is in his own industry. Saif will never sign a film until it interests him to the core. Not even, if it calls for sitting idle for a year. He only works in films he believes in. And one of them is the upcoming Saif's home production, directed by Sriram Raghvan where we'll act together." Come what may and whatever the world says, this gal loves to pull a Kapoor and flaunt her attitude every single time. That's Kareena Kapoor for you.

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Dev D shows less sex than any normal Hindi film: Anurag Kashyap

Your film Dev D's promos have managed to create a lot of flutter. Could you tell us a little about the film besides the fact that it's a modern day interpretation of Devdas. The film tries to explore 'Devdas'- the adjective which has become a part of our day-to-day lingo these days. It's a film about how today's youth look at love, relationships etc. Today everybody is looking for instant gratifications. It's the age of fast cars, fast money, and fast love. Dev D visualizes how Sarat Chandra would have written Devdas in today's times. The posters of the film show Abhay Deol being credited for the Concept of the film. Could you tell us a little more on that? Yes...Dev D is Abhay Deol's concept. Abhay was the trigger point to make me look at Devdas in another way. He told me a story about a guy who visits an LA strip club and at the end of the story said that "Guess what...that guy is Devdas". That triggered off a lot of ideas in my mind. I have always been accused of not being able to make a love story. This time I decided to make a love story which is real and identifiable. How did the title Dev D come about? The title Dev D just happened like that. We were clear that we didn't want to use Devdas and at the same time we refer to some people with abbreviations such as Dev D and that's how we decided to stick to this title. The earlier Devdas, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, released just 6 years back. Was there a need to remake a Devdas so early? My film is not a remake of Devdas. There is just a minor similarity with Devdas It's a modern day story of today's youth and their take on love, relationships etc. One big flaw in the earlier Devdas which I noticed was that it was always about this one character Devdas. My film explains the point of view of Dev, Paro and Chanda. And it's been told musically which is how the songs fit it into the narrative. The songs are the state of mind of the various characters. Coming to the cast, how did you zero in on Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill and Kalki for the three protagonists? As I told you the film is Abhay's concept, so he was part of the project right since the beginning. Even Mahi for that matter came on board really early. We met her at a party and both Abhay and I decided that she is perfect for the role. As for the role of Chanda, we auditioned several girls for nearly 3 moths till we found Kalki. Chanda's is a very different and bold role. Who plays the role of Chunni Babu? Dibyendu Bhattacharya plays the role of Chunni. Chunni is the one who introduces Dev to Chanda. He is a pimp, a drug peddler, a notorious kind of a guy who hangs around in the dark alleys waiting for his latest prey. The promos give a very eclectic feel...with the viewers not knowing what to expect.... That's a good thing (laughs). At least this time they are excited and don't know what to expect. With No Smoking, they were not excited and didn't know what to expect. The music of the film has created a rage especially 'Emosanal Atyachar'. Even the other songs seem like tunes which one has never heard before...could you tell us about the brief given to newcomer Amit Trivedi? That's the whole idea. I wanted to convey the sound that today's youth is listening to. I chose Amit on the basis of his talent and just told him to be himself. I did not give him any specific brief. My only contribution to the music is the 2 words- 'Emosanal Atyachar' A section of the media feels that the film is high in sexual content...Is it true? I don't think so. The film does deal with sexuality but it shows less sex than any normal Hindi film. You won't find those pelvic thrusts and other such sexual innuendos which we see in numerous films. Have you taken references from the shocking DPS MMS scandal? In the last few years there have been a lot of scandals and the DPS MMS is just one of them. The MMS scandal is just one aspect of the character's life. I just wanted to show what happens to someone when his/ her privacy is affected by such cheap, hidden cameras. The person who is at fault is not one who is committing the act but the people who are watching it and downloading it. The previous Devdas had a tragic end. Have you tweaked the ending this time around? I have tweaked the whole film (laughs). Only the starting point is the same. Many a times, during the release of a film, there are various stories doing the rounds of a possible affair between the lead pair. This time things seem to be different and everyone is talking about your and Kalki's relationship. I am seeing Kalki and that's all I would like to say. Ironical as it may sound, while making a film on Devdas, you seem to have found true love (Laughs)...Yes...in a way. Apart from Dev D, you also have Gulaal releasing soon. What's that film all about? Gulaal is a film about student politics. It's about the kind of separatism that's going on in the country based on religion, language, caste etc. The film is a metaphor of what is happening in the whole country but it is set in a fictional town of Rajasthan. It's a very angry and powerful film. We finished shooting last year but for a while the film couldn't find any takers. Now its finally releasing next month and you will see the promos of Gulaal with Dev D. Post the debacle of No Smoking and Hanuman Returns, how important is the success of Dev D for you? Very important Finally, what else are you working on in terms of future projects? After Dev D and Gulaal, I am working on Bombay Velvet, a thriller produced by Studio 18 and Doga with Sony Pictures. Doga stars Kunal Kapoor and is based on Raj Comics' popular Indian superhero- Doga.

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Kaminey will not have abusive language

"Just because the film's name is Kaminey, it doesn't mean that there would be 'gaali-galauj' in it. You can't help people from speculating though, can you? I don't know where these reports started getting generated. It's all rubbish", reacts a prominent crew member of Kaminey after browsing through the reports floating around the abusive content of this Vishal Bhardwaj directed film. It was recently reported that since the film's narration had quite a few expletives, UTV Motion Pictures, the producers of the film, were alarmed and hence urged Vishal to drop all the foul language. "Let's look at this way; we are talking about two big brands here - UTV and Vishal. None of the two would either take a decision in isolation or bow down before something that they are not convinced about. Let's talk about UTV first. It is a premier filmmaking house. Do you think it would have agreed to make the film in the first place if it wasn't convinced about the content and how it would eventually shape up", he questions. He adds, "UTV is not new in the business. It knows how to package a film and present to the audience. It can differentiate between a mainstream film and the one for the niche audience and hence pitches it in the market accordingly. Kaminey couldn't have afforded to have 'gaalis' in the first place because it is as mainstream as it gets." Talking in defense of Vishal Bhardwaj, he says, "Also, knowing Vishal Bhardwaj, we all know about the kind of conviction with which he makes his film. Do you think he would be willing to knock off something just because of pressure from factors outside his control? When he made Omkara, he knew what language he was talking about. The same holds good for Kaminey. First and foremost there was no foul language in Kaminey to begin with. And even if it had and Vishal would have shot the film in the way the script was written, he wouldn't have changed a frame until and unless he could convince himself that it wasn't required." Says a source close to UTV, "Come on, we are talking about Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra here. We can't alienate our family audience and children if we have a colorful language in the narrative. Making Kaminey has been an out and out exciting experience. Let's not spoil the fun by bringing in such stupid talks. Someone out there decides to speculate something and everyone out here has to start defending something in a manner as if we are standing in a witness box. Not happening!" Featuring Shahid Kapoor in a double role with Amol Gupte playing the main baddie, Kaminey is expected to release on 5th June.

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Rani unlucky at home

On her astrologer's advise Rani Mukerji has reportedly decided to move out of her bungalow in Juhu and buy a flat somewhere in Versova, an area she lived in when he career was prospering.

Rani shifted to her Juhu bungalow last year but ever since then her career has only gone downhill. Her last couple of films have been miserable flops and she is now working in only one movie. This is in sharp contrast to the success she enjoyed just a few years ago.

Her astrologer has told her to shift out of her bungalow for sometime, as it could be the house that’s bringing her bad luck.

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I am a very sexless person: Kangana

In all her movies she has exposed and stripped with no inhibitions. From 'Gangster', 'Woh Lamhe', 'Metro', 'Fashion' to her latest 'Raaz', Kangana has effortlessly done that. So it's but natural if people think that Kangana wishes to flaunt a blatant sexy image. But the dame begs to differ. She's been saying, "Even though I have worn fewer clothes, I don't think I look vulgar. I am a very sexless person. I have never tried to create a sexy image of myself. From the very first day, I have been clear about my objectives. I am an actress and I am here to do my job." So basically she means to say that though she sheds her clothes, she doesn't compromise with her acting. That's not the only thing that Kangana denies. She says that there are no differences between her and her boyfriend Adhyayan's dad Shekhar Suman. She's said, "Nothing serious happened on that particular day and the media has just spiced up the entire issue. The argument took place between Shekhar and Mohit and the media had unnecessarily drag her name to make the news spicier." Kangana sure knows how to be a part of controversies and spice up her life. She's already done a good job of it. No wonder she's survived so well in B-Town.

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Size doesn't matter to me!!!

It would be a double celebration for Aishwarya and Abhishek in New York this week. On 3 Feb it was the premiere of her latest international film Pink Panther 2 followed by Abhishek's birthday two days later. The couple plans to bring in his birthday in style. In New York, Aishwarya is looking forward to the release of her film. "They wanted me to be here for the film's promotion from earlier on. But I couldn't because of my prior commitments in India. We've a series of premieres lined up beginning with the one in New York on 3 Feb. From there it's a crazy whirlwind trip that will take me to several countries and continents from Paris to Berlin to Moscow to Madrid. The final destination for my 15-day trip will take me to a screening of the film at the Berlin film festival. Then I'm back and I go straight to resume Mani Ratnam's film." Aishwarya will be returning to India on Feb 14. "Abhishek is in New York with me. But he won't be able to accompany me for my other premieres because he has to be in India for the promotion of Delhi 6." A part of the press has been writing about how minuscule Aishwarya's role is in Pink Panther. Sighs the diva, "It's a bit silly and exhausting to even talk about the length of my role based on what's seen in the trailers. Did anyone question my role in Khakee when there was only one shot of me in the promo? Isn't that a very myopic view of contemporary acting? In my very first film Iruvar I thought I transcended this footage fetish, " She makes it crystal clear thar footage is not a burning issue for her. "The choices I've made in my career aren't just about footage but an opportunity to work with actors directors and technicians who enrich my life. Believe me working in Pink Panther was a joy. It was a wonderful experience working with a stalwart like Steve Martin and the rest of the cast and crew. Why spoil it by questioning how much footage I have? So many Indian actors have worked in international ensemble casts." Getting somewhat indignant Aishwarya Rai, "I didn't work in Pink Panther 2 because it was an international project. I got the script. I chose to be happily be part of the film. They shot exactly what I was offered. I don't need to work with stardust in my eyes. Of course Pink Panther is a Steve Martin vehicle. Is that something to question? All the rest of the wonderful cast including Jean Reno and Andy Garcia play supporting roles. I treasure the experience of working in Pink Panther 2." Interestingly Aishwarya was offered the lead opposite Will Smith in 7 Pounds which opens in Mumbai this week. "Will Smith and I will work together for sure, " laughs Aishwarya. "There have been a number of offers. Dates just don't work out. If he's keen to work with me, so am I."

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