After Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, it is now Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan who will be seen in the role of a spy in super-slick espionage film called ‘Crooked’. After wrapping Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ravaan’, the couple will kick start the shooting of ‘Crooked’. By stepping into the similar roles of Saif and Bebo who are playing spies in Sriram Raghavan’s ‘Agent Vinod’, Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan became follower of the trend set by Saif and Kareena.

Producer Ritesh Sidhwani said, “Our slick espionage thriller will be in the same genre as The Bourne Identity. It will be shot in Greece, Istanbul, Thailand and India. Apart from Ash and Abhi, ‘Crooked’ stars Gul Panag, Jimmy Sheirgil and Boman Irani.

Director Abhinay Deo is in the wrapping up process of Aamir Khan’s productions ‘Delhi Belly’ with Imran Khan and Shernaz Treasuryvala and will start working on ‘Crooked’ shortly.

With only a few more days to go for the IIFA awards 2009, we take a look at the top four Best Dressed stars who walked the green carpet last year. No 1 – Ashwarya Rai Bachchan: This time around Ash managed to top the list of the best dressed. With hubby Abhishek in an Armani by her side, Ash looked stunning in a red Dior outfit. She had recieved a lot of flak for the pink lehenga which she wore to IIFA in 2007.

The Cannes tamasha has begun and so has the string of controversies linked to it. But to begin at the beginning, as we all know, Rakesh Roshan and his son Hrithik are there to promote their film Kites, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan too is there as the brand ambassador of L’Oreal. And so is Anil Kapoor and daughter Sonam.
According to reports, Barbara Mori, the hot Mexican heroine of Kites is there in Kites as well for the film’s promotion. That should be enough to send tongues wagging about the alleged affair between her and Hrithik. Of course, Papa Roshan is believed to be going red in the face denying that there is anything going on between the two. Then of course, there is the rising star Sonam Kapoor. She may be just two films old, but she has managed to grab quite a few prestigious brand endorsements, including L’Oreal. It was reported that she would be walking the red carpet along with Aishwarya, who is the French company’s international brand ambassador. But it seems that Ash put her dainty foot down and refused to share the limelight with the newcomer. So Sonam’s plans of making a red carpet entry were nixed. Well, better luck next time Sonam. So while Abhi Ash made their red carpet entry yesterday, it seems that Hrithik and Barbara will be doing the same today. As for Sharmila Tagore, who is also in Cannes, she is too dignified to be a part of any controversies. Anyway, as is befitting her position as one of the jury members at this prestigious festival, she is keeping to her business.

Don’t get too excited. No, she doesn’t have any plans to steal Abhishek away from Aishwariya. If we remember correctly Abhishek was Kareena’s debut co-star in Refugee. They later shared screen space in ‘Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon’ and ‘Yuva’. Not only were these two co-stars, but also great friends. When Kareena’s sister Karishma and to-be jiju Abhishek broke up, their friendship also came to a halt. The situation was sour enough to make the two buddies stop talking. Sources believe Abhishek kicked Kareena out of several projects, Dostana being one of them.

Not that our ladli Bebo minds. Why work with someone who is not comfortable with you? That would put of them in a unpleasant situation. For Kareena it’s not about movies. She is sad things got to this dire point where she no longer has a space in ex-buddy Abhi’s heart. However, she openly announces there is still room for him in hers and the door will always be open.

Hopefully the ex-friends will patch up soon. We would love to see the revived chemistry.

Mumbai, March 21: With ‘Dostana’ raking huge moolah at the box office
and scripting a runaway success story, it seems Karan Johar is once again gearing up to repeat his ‘Dostana’ effect with a sequel!

Last year’s ‘Dostana’ was a rib-tickling comedy, which saw two straight men – John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan feigning homosexuality in order to stay closer to their girl pal – hot chick Priyanka Chopra.

According to the latest B-town news, both Karan Johar and Tarun Mansukhani, the producer and the director of ‘Dostana’ are working on the sequel of the gay comedy, which will undoubtedly take the story forward. Tarun Mansukhani is working on the plot and wants an engrossing storyline to support the flick.

Most probably, Karan will be repeating the hit ‘Dostana’ scouple of John and Abhiskek. It is believed that Abhishek looks forward to ‘Dostana’ as a brand, which requires a sequel.
The makers are also on the lookout for a new face to replace Priyanka Chopra.

‘Dostana’ sequel will trace the camaraderie of two guys from Miami to Punjab while elucidating to people their straight status, yet like Johar’s earlier flick ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’, both friends will be found in inexplicable situations much to the duo’s chagrin!

It seems Karan Johar would surely have enough experiences to share on ‘Dostana’ act!

The Bachchan junior is trapped between Balki’s ‘Paa’ and Mani’s ‘Raavan’, his schedule is so hectic that he finds no time to take a break and what makes his timetable more tight is his changing look. If in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’, Abhishek Bachchan sports a moustache then in ‘Paa’ he is sporting a clean shaved. To complete one day shoot of ‘Paa’, Abhi not only rushed to Kuala Lumpur but also gets rid off his beard which he had grown for ‘Raavan’.
Says Abhishek, “The new clean-shaven look was needed. It was just one day’s shoot for Paa. Now for next week I have to go back to the earlier look for Mani’s look.”
Moreover, Abhishek’s ‘Raavan’ look was the most liked one among fans and many even requested Abhishek to keep his moustache permanently as it suits him very much.
However, he has to go for another look for Abhinay Deo’s untitled film.
Really, it’s no easy to essay any character, along with the role; you have to change their outlook too.

 

The actor is expected to speak on the finer points of Indian cinema. This speech will be his first international speech.
We spoke to our source, ”Abhi is happy to get a call from them and speak on the occasion. This call is very important for him and so he is taking his role very seriously. It’s a big honor, considering Bollywood is still in its early stage and from Bachchan family he is first to give lecture in this school.”
About this international speech his pa Mr.Amitabh Bachchan commented in his blog, “Abhishek moves to New York and Wharton later tonight.”
The 13th Wharton India Economic Forum to be held in Philadelphia on March 21st will see the face of leaders, politicians and experts from across the world, sharing their outlook and vision on the ‘Road Ahead for India’ – the title theme this year. Apart from Abhishek, former sportsmen Sunil Gavaskar, Geet Sethi and Vijay Amritraj, Sabeer Bhatia, film director

Rohan Sippy and Rahul Gandhi are expected to share their viewpoint.

Ek raat ki baat….This week Abhishek had just one day’s shooting for Balki’s much-discussed Paa. For that he not only had to rush to Kuala Lampur he also had to completely change his look to a clean-shaven one in contrast to the droopy-mouche look that he sports for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan.

Says Abhishek, “The new clean-shaven look was needed. It was just one day’s shoot for Paa. Now for next week I have to go back to the earlier look for Mani’s look.”

Apparently the Raavan look is a hot favourite among Abhishek’s fans. He has had numerous requests to keep that look permanently. However he needs to sport another look for Abhinay Deo’s untitled film.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan’s intimate scene in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’ may be an added advantage of the film but the director chose to edit it as the issue is very sensitive and it may hurt the sentiment of the religious people. Mani is playing safe by dropping the love-making session of Ash who plays a married woman and Abhi a kidnapper.

‘Raavan’ is a modern day adaptation of the great ancient epic, ‘Ramayan’. Here’s showing Ash being kidnapped by Abhi and during their stay, Ash falls for Abhi. Confirming the news an insider said, “There was also a love-making scene between Ash and Abhishek in the script but Mani decided to do away with it after realising the sensitivity of the subject. Even though he may deny it, the fact remains that the film is a modern day adaptation of the epic, with the focus being on the Ravana-Sita chapter."

The shooting of the film took place in high security as the director did not want any clippings to get leaked in the public.

As a child, Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan was awestruck by Zeenat Aman, so much so that he went and asked the 1970’s trendsetter if he could sleep with her.Abhishek used to love accompanying his father Amitabh to outdoor shoots and he especially enjoyed it when he got the chance to go with his dad for the shooting of 1983 film “Mahaan” that also starred Zeenat Aman.

On the forthcoming episode of Farhan Akhtar’s chat show “Oye! It’s Friday”, the junior Bachchan reveals how crazy he was about Zeenat, said a source.

“On the show, Abhishek recalls an incident wherein all members of the film’s cast and crew were having dinner. He spoke about how, when Zeenat-ji left after finishing her dinner and was going back to her room to hit the bed, he asked her if he could join her and sleep with her in the room,” added the source.

Though he had a hearty laugh recalling the incident, Abhishek apologised for it and also said that it was his sheer innocence at that time. This episode of “Oye! It’s Friday” will be telecast March 13 at 10 p.m. on NDTV Imagine.