Abhay-Sonam drum it up

 Both were spotted sharing hearty laughs and Abhay also lifted the mood of the party when he took to playing the dhols.

History has it that things had soured between the two actors during the shoot of Sonam's home venture, Aisha. Abhay was not happy with the way his role and the film turned out and went as far as saying that the producers (Rhea and Anil Kapoor) were more interested in the styling than the content of the film. There were reports that the duo has buried the hatchet when they signed for Raanjhanaa, but not all were convinced.

It all started when Abhay walked in with his girlfriend Preeti Desai in a rather boisterous mood. He grabbed a dhol from the live band and started playing. This was enough to set the mood and almost instantaneously and almost everyone joined him on the dance floor.

A source from inside the party told Mirror, "Sonam and Swara Bhaskar had come up with the idea of having dhol players at the venue. There was also a DJ. All the actors along with Anand were sporting enough to put on their dancing shoes."
 Others guests included Anil Kapoor, Kangna Ranaut and Jimmy Shergil, Aditi Rao Hydari, Vishakha Singh, Tusshar Kapoor, Ayushman Khurana, Prabhudheva, Tigmanshu Dhulia among others. The party went on till wee hours of the night.

When contacted Aanand said, "The film is over but the relationships we had developed during the shoot will last long after the film has had its run in the box office." At their film's success party, Deol played the dhol while Sonam played coy.

When director Aanand L Rai threw a bash at a suburban restaurant on Wednesday to celebrate the success of Raanjhanaa, the entire cast including Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol put their best foot forward. But, more than the lead pair, it was the chemistry between Sonam and Abhay that grabbed eyeballs.

Car fancier than his train?

 As Shah Rukh stepped behind the wheel, Deepika got into the passenger seat. A source told us, "They were gone for a good 15 minutes. Shah Rukh loved riding Bhushan's car." A few minutes later, Bhushan got into his car and drove homeward.

When contacted, Bhushan confirmed and said, "Yes, this did happen. Anything for Shah Rukh. He is a dear friend."

As for Deepika, it must be quite a challenege to keep up with her costar who is almost two decades older than her but could give her stiff competition when it comes to stamina. Right Dippy? SRK took Dippy for a spin in a sports car around Film City. Apparently, he's never driven one before.

So we have been talking about Shah Rukh Khan's boundless energy. And here's some more proof of the same. The other day, after he attended monster of a media session to promote his upcoming film, the star did not go back to Mannat immediately. Apparently, he whisked off his Chennai Express co-star Deepika Padukone for a ride around Film City in a sports car owned by T-Series head honcho Bhushan Kumar.

It all began when Shah Rukh spotted Bhushan driving into Film City in his flashy sports car. During a long animated conversation between the two of them, Shah Rukh told Bhushan that he would like to have a quick spin in his sports vehicle.

From shy to sassy

 Recently, when Aamir Khan invited his colleagues for a special screening at home, a luxury sedan rolled in with an unlikely trio- Karan Johar, Priyanka Chopra and Arjun Kapoor. Hours later, Arjun was spotted at a chic restaurant, having dinner with Ranbir and Katrina. A few weeks before this, Arjun was the life and soul of a party hosted by his cousin Sonam, attended by Bollywood's hottest pack - Ranveer, Parineeti, Priyanka, RK, Deepika, Varun, Alia, Siddharth, Imran Khan. This is around the same time twitter was abuzz with pictures of yet another cosy trio - Kareena, KJo and Arjun.
If you still haven't guessed it, Bollywood's new Mr Congeniality has arrived. Arjun Kapoor, Fubu to his friends, seems to have come a long way from his bespectacled, 140kg avtar to the dashing, very sociable guy who seems to be in very frame that matters. Yes, especially with Alia Bhatt.

The metamorphosis of Boney and Mona Kapoor's son has taken many by surprise. But those in the know say this has been in the making since the 28-year-old's debut film Ishaqzaade became a success.

Anil Kapoor, Arjun's uncle who stood by him through the impressionable years when his parents' marriage went through wear and tear, says: "We never knew he wanted to be an actor, he always wanted to be behind the camera." But being friends with Arpita Khan those days meant getting close to Salman as well, who encouraged him to get into shape.
Shedding weight prompted shedding inhibitions. Says the Kapoors' family friend Indra Kumar, "The change in his demeanour came after he lost weight. But the warmth that he exudes comes from his mother, the late Mona Kapoor. She was very loyal to her friends. Arjun is exactly like her. Success seems to have brought out the best in him."

Poonam Dhillon, who's known Arjun since his childhood, ascribes his underplayed wit to his father: "Arjun is popular because of his wit, which he has inherited from his father. His sense of humour clicks with his peers." Padmini Kolhapure, who was also very close to Mona says: "Boney, Mona, Tutu and I used to hang out a lot. Unlike other star kids, Arjun didn't have a swagger. But just an impish charm which is a winner even now."
  Arjun may have also benefited from the tremendous goodwill his mother enjoyed in the fraternity. What earned him respect however was the fact that unlike every star kid, he was not launched by his father. In the process, he acquired some crucial people skills. The image he has created for himself, is that of an affable, approachable guy. Tanuj Garg, Balaji's CEO, says, "I see Arjun as a sibling I never had. He is down-to-earth and freespirited and as non-celebrity as is possible. He is his own person and that's what makes him different and special."

Arjun, who is just two films old and one hit old, seems to have an easy way with the media as well. A producer on request of anonymity said, "Mona was worried about how her son would handle the media. But Arjun seems to have become sharper, confident. He says it as it is, but with a smile." From a social recluse to a guy who is on everyone's friend list, we trace the metamorphosis of Arjun Kapoor aka Fubu.

Clooney's ex, Stacy, back in the ring

Former WWE fighter Stacy Keibler is being lined up to make a return in the company's Raw and SmackDown TV shows- to cash in on her break-up.
Bosses want to team her with wrestler Daniel Bryan, who sports a beard like the one George grew for Syriana.
A source said: "Stacy is considering lots of offers from WWE to capitalise on her name. She was one of WWe's most-loved divas and this is the perfect time to get her back, as she has never been more famous than since she dated George.
They're convinced that a return would attract a lot of viewers."

Assange film to premiere at Toronto Film Festival

The world premiere of the The Fifth Estate, a ripped-from-the-headlines drama about Julian Assange and the creation of WikiLeaks, will open the 38th Toronto International Film Festival, which typically yields a number of Oscar contenders.
The 2013 festival will features films starring Meryl Streep, Idris Elba, Colin Firth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, George Clooney and others, organizers said on Tuesday. The 11-day event opens September 5.
The Fifth Estate, directed by Bill Condon, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Assange, the founder of anti-secrecy website Wikileaks.

Fifty Shades of Poonam

Poonam Pandey, who became a household name by merging sleaze with cricket in the virtual world, tells us why porn is not her thing.

The living room of a tiny flat in Suyog Apartments, off Juhu-Versova link road, is split into smaller sections to accommodate the producer's office, a hang-out nook for production staff, a kitchen area where a peon can make chai behind a hanging towel, and a bench where people who wish to collect their payments can wait until the producer is ready to sign a cheque. Together, these elements comprise Eagle Home Entertainment, the firm that is presenting Nasha, an erotic film starring Poonam Pandey.

Two obese men are all over the place too, flitting from room to room. It makes the office seem more crammed than it actually is. Then Rama, a PR agent, comes forward, "Poonam is running an hour late. She had to be on a radio show." So for an hour, we wait and patiently zone into a poster of Nasha that has made dextrous use of Poonam Pandey's limbs and bodily contortions to create the alphabets that add up to word 'Nasha'.

The 'S' among these alphabets stands out for its merges Ms Pandey's body with that of her co-star in a two-headed snake of carnal desire. The heat is on indeed, for the producer is getting increasingly tetchy at the prospect of hosting a press show at Juhu PVR. "That'll be too expensive!" he yelps. "Find me something else. And how are you planning to fill up the seats for this preview?" To this Rama replies, "Sir, it's a sex film. Log aayenge."

Then Poonam arrives, dondonning a diaphanous grey off-shoulder, laced with large diamonds at the edge. It's a nice dash of bling and not something that will steal the thunder from what Poonam Pandey has had to offer us in the past three years of her cyber-ubiquity. A peon opens a flat on the ground floor and lets us into a living room that has a divan by the window and a black leather sofa by the wall.

A faux-Chinese plaster of paris curio has pride of place on a table made of orange wood. "Why didn't you strip after we won the World Cup?" I ask her after we settle down for the interview. "Well, I stripped for the Kolkata Knight Riders, but during the World Cup, I was tired of the court cases that had piled up. I'm still clearing the back log of court cases from the time." Then realising that perhaps this answer is not in her best interest, she quickly adds,"Actually, I have no cases against me anymore."

For a persona that was a champion for the legalisation of pornography in India, Ms Pandey, in her new avatar as an actress, is now loathe to the genre. "Look, I supported pornography because India needs change.

That doesn't mean that I want to become a porn actress. I don't even like the comparisons being drawn to Sunny Leone. Nasha has dialogues; it's not all oohs and aahs."

Isn't her hyper-sexualised aura also her Achilles' heel? How will she cope with ageing, when the prospects begin to sag? "I'll come up with a strategy. I'm all about strategies."

What's Nasha about? "It's about when you cross the limits." The limits of what? "Of sex." How was her chemistry with her co-star, Shivam Patil? "He's good, but he was very shy. At times, during our intense scenes, I had to haul him up and scream, 'Come on, I'm not raping you!' Gosh, I can't believe I just said that. I'm always getting into controversies."

Ms Pandey has a trope of feigned giggly innocence and covering her face with her palms when she delivers what she thinks is a punch line. This statement is meant to create ripples. Noor Baig, a photographer who is also doubling up as her Man Friday in the absence of her manager, gasps with adulation at Ms Pandey's moxie.

"You made a lot of money by associating yourself with erotic tele-chatting networks, didn't you?" I ask her of her past. "That was merely a tele-brand exercise," interjects Noor. "I didn't see it as an erotic phone line thing. I saw it as a great platform to connect with my fans," says the lady.

Which is the one filmmaker she would really like to work with in the near future? "Madhur Bhandarkar." Has she ever been the victim of the casting couch given how carnally loaded her image is? "Never, not once. Things can only happen to you if you let them happen to you. You are not a kid."

What prompted her to select Nasha when she had supposedly rejected so many offers before it?

"It is true that I had a lot of offers prior to Nasha, lekin voh gut feeling nahin aa rahin thi [sic]."That's about all we could stomach. It was time for photographs.

Murgadoss avoids five star food to save costs

...for producer Vipul Shah. He ate simple Udipi meals instead.

One quality you'd never really associate with the film fraternity is thrift. However, South-based director AR Murgadoss seems to be an exception.

The filmmaker, in Mumbai for the past many months to shoot the remake of Thuppakki starring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha, bowled over producer Vipul Shah with his simplicity and thoughtfulness.

Apparently, Shah had accomodated Murgadoss in a suburban five star, instructing his team to take care of all his needs. When Murgadoss's bills reached Shah, he was surprised to find that there were no food bills attached. Later, Shah discovered Murgadoss had been relishing simple south Indian fare at a restaurant down the road instead of ordering high-priced meals at the hotel only to save him the additional costs.

A source told Mirror: "Murgadoss found the food at the hotel extremely expensive and not worth it and hence, he tried to avoid what would be an unnecessary cost to the producer." Murgadoss would wake up in the morning and walk down to a restaurant nearby. "He is a very simple man, and is happy with his basic south Indian meals. This has been happening for the past few months," the source said.

When contacted, Shah confirmed the story and said: "See, it's not about the money but I would like to mention here that it's great that a director feels this way.

Murgadoss is a very simple man and for a director of his calibre to think about the production cost of such a small thing says a lot about him."

Sooraj finds a gym buddy in Tiger

 Apparently, Sooraj was already there when Tiger walked in and they spoke for a while before resuming their workout session. Sooraj was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on July 1 after his 20-day ordeal in prison for allegedly abetting actress Jiah Khan's suicide. Recently, he was in Hyderabad with Salman Khan, who is launching him in the remake of Subhash Ghai's 1983 blockbuster, Hero. He may have been in the news for all the wrong reasons but it's heartening to see Sooraj Pancholi getting back to his normal life.Tuesday evening, Mirror spotted the aspiring actor pumping some serious iron at a Bandra gym, and giving him company was Jackie Shroff's son Tiger.

A source told Mirror: "Sooraj loves to gym and the time that he spent with Salman has been very motivating for him. He is getting back to his normal life doing the same things that he used to before he was taken into custody. Tiger is also a big fitness freak since his childhood days."

Sonakshi gets nostalgic

While attending a fashion event in Bangalore, the actress recalled her early days as an usher.

Sonakshi Sinha, who is riding high on the success of her recent film Lootera, walked the ramp at a fashion show in Bangalore on Tuesday night.

The actress had begun her career as a volunteer in such events and from being just another backstage girl to being a showstopper; it has been quite a long walk. And Tuesday's event saw her getting nostalgic. She stayed back after the event and spent around two hours with the backstage crew.

An eyewitness told Mirror, "After the event, she met the volunteers backstage and had a casual chat with them occasionally posing for pictures. She recounted her on-job experiences and almost became a part of the crew. She also insisted they have dinner with her."

No room for Akshaye in Border 2

After signing Sunny Deol, JP Dutta has also got Suniel Shetty on board for Border 2, which he plans to put on floors in October. This has led to speculations that the director might repeat the lead cast of the 1997 blockbuster.

However, when Mirror caught up with him, he said that he is yet to sign a couple of more actors, but he has ruled out Akshaye Khanna.

Dutta explained: " I thought of casting Akshaye but I realised that I wouldn't have a role which would justify his talent," then added, "For reasons best known to him, he has been on a self-imposed exile."

About casting Suneil, he said: "I can't think of making a film without Suniel. We share a great comfort level."

Talking about why he chose to make a second part of Border after 16 years, he elaborated: "I felt like making another war film. I was going through the history of armed forces and the Battle of Shakargarh Bulge caught my imagination. I felt it was a story that needed to be told on celluloid." Fought between December 4 and December 16, 1971, this was one of the vital battles fought as part of the Indo-Pak War.

Dutta is confident of repeating the box office success of Border with this film. However, he seems to have learnt few lessons as well. "My last war film, LOC Kargil (2003) registered 97 per cent collections in the first week, despite being four hours long. But yes, I must say that I will keep the length of Border 2 shorter," he said.

But it hasn't been easy for Dutta, who returns to wield the megaphone after seven years and he elaborated: "It took me a long time to get the required permission to shoot in the areas I wanted to. I was told by government officials that there were technical issues. Permissions weren't so difficult when I made Border."

While Dutta was guarded about the details of Suniel's role, Sunny will not be seen in his much-loved Sikh avatar, he said rather emphatically: "Every film has a different story to tell."

So, Kat gets all the time with RK

 The actress will pack her bags once shooting commences. A source from the crew said: "She will leave by the end of the month. Anushka Sharma, who stars opposite Ranbir in the film, is scheduled to reach in the first week of August." The two ladies are not known to be too fond of each other. Kat was apparently miffed with RK when he got too pally with Anushka at an award function in Vancouver.

MEANWHILE

Ayan gets cool cola deal

Meanwhile, Ranbir's best buddy Ayan Mukerji, who was also spotted with the couple in Ibiza, is on a roll. The Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani director has reportedly landed a plum deal with a cola company.

According to sources close to Ayan, the director has been offered a whopping Rs 10 crore to direct three advertisements for the cola giant.

A source close to the production house claimed: "Ayan will make three films for the brand, and he has been paid very handsomely for the same."

However it is not clear if Ranbir will be a part of these commercials. When we contacted the cola brand RK is associated with, the spokesperson denied signing any such deal with Ayan featuring RK. It will be interesting if the two friends are pitted against each other in the world of cola wars.Ranbir Kapoor reached Sri Lanka to shoot Bombay Velvet on Tuesday and even before hitting the set, the actor popped a surprise. He is being accompanied by a 'special guest', his girlfriend Katrina Kaif. It seems the two can barely stay away from each other. A few days back, they were spotted holidaying at Ibiza.

A source told Mirror, "Fans who had thronged the airport for a glimpse of their beloved star, were in for a surprise when they saw Kat walking in along with Ranbir."The actress has checked into the same hotel as Ranbir and later in the day, they were also spotted working out together in the gym.

Now that the shooting of Bang Bang has been postponed due to Hrithik's recovery and Ranbir's film will not start rolling before the end of the month, the lovestruck couple will have enough time to spend with each other.