Om Puri plays Maoist Kobad Ghandy

Prakash Jha's best-kept secret in his new film Chakravyuha exploring Maoist insurgency is out. Om Puri plays the real-life character of the controversial capitalist-turned-Maoist Kobad Ghandy.

Ghandy's fascinating journey from Malabar Hill to the Naxalite jungles of Karnataka has flummoxed fascinated and fired the imagination of generations of social scientists. At 63 Ghandy's saga continues to be in enigma of social protest and insurgency.

Emraan, Vidya to shoot with secret cameras

The director Rajkumar Gupta of Ghanchakkar plans to shoot his lead pair Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan in busy areas of South Mumbai with secret cameras. Such locational liberties with two of the most popular stars in places like Worli, Nariman Point, Colaba and Fort, appears potentially dangerously.
Laughs Gupta, "It is suicidal. I plan to shoot with them in South Mumbai from the second week of September with secret cameras. But I can't predict how secret Emraan and Vidya's impromptu presence on the crowded streets and sites of South Mumbai can be. While we are shooting in relatively quiet spots of Mumbai in August during the rains the September schedule is a b**ch."
Emraan and Vidya need substantial workshop training to face the camera as a loud boisterous Punjabi couple.
Says Gupta, "They play characters they've never played before. It a challenge to them as much to them. I am sure Emraan will accommodate us as much as possible."
Freshly joining the Ghanchakkar cast are Rajesh Sharma who played the helpful cop in Gupta's No One Killed Jessica, and Namit Das the bright young actor who played Ranbir Kapoor's pal in Wake Up Sid.

Tiger to roar in the city of Nawabs

Salman Khan is coming down to Lucknow for the promotion of his upcoming film 'Ek Tha Tiger'. Salman had a tight schedule and he had an option of visiting only one more place but he chose to visit Lucknow.
The city of Nawabs finally managed to call Salman to their place over any other city. Lucknow people are surely going to be lucky to have Salman in their city. Salman feels that he has a huge fan following in Lucknow, so he is quite eager to go and meet his fans.

Along with the fans, one more thing which is attracting him to go Lucknow is the very famous food out there. Lucknow is very famous about its various cuisines. And especially now being the season of Ramzaan, Lucknow has many other mouth watering cuisines to serve to Sallu Bhai. The Tundey Ke Kababs, biryani, Kashimiri Chai, Kulche-Nahari are just a few enough to tempt the tiger.

Ek Tha Tiger is a film very close to Salman Khan and for his fans of Lucknow to be a part of it is surely going to be an epic moment for them.

Nana Patekar makes Priyan quit smoking

He used to be a chain smoker but managed to kick the butt (and alcohol) nearly four years ago. And now, Nana Patekar, who is working closely with director Priyadarshan on Percept Pictures' Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal, has succeeded in influencing Priyan (as Priyadarshan is fondly called), who used to be a heavy smoker, to give up the habit.
Self-professed teetotaller Nana told TOI, "Priyan is like a little child. He is so excited by his film that he lives and breathes it, and doesn't take care of his health. I had asked him to quit smoking but when Priyan met me this time and told me he is indeed quitting the addiction, I felt very happy. Smoking kills you."
Asked how he managed to quit smoking and drinking, Nana said, "It happened suddenly. One morning, I just got up and said, 'No more cigarettes.'" We do hope Priyan sticks to his decision.

Salman Khan 'Being Tiger' now!

That he supports an NGO by the name 'Being Human' is well known. However, at a promotional event for his upcoming Eid release Ek Tha Tiger yesterday, Salman Khan was spotted sporting a tee that read 'Being Tiger' instead.
An eyewitness told TOI, "The T-shirt he wore was personalised for him. He thought it would add more impact during the promotions of his film. However, later, Salman loved the quote so much that he decided this will be added to the latest collection of the 'Being Human' merchandise." All the excitement notwithstanding, one can't help but notice that the star looks very tired in the photograph. Sources close to the actor say he has been very busy with various shows and events promoting Ek Tha Tiger that the weariness is now showing. Obviously, Salman has too much on his plate and his health issues aren't making it any easier for the actor. We do hope the pressure of 'Being Tiger' doesn't get in the way of Salman's remaining human.

Rajkumar Yadav to do a full monty

After John Abraham in New York and Neil Nitin Mukesh in Jail, it's Rajkumar Yadav's turn to do a full monty in his next film titled Shahid, based on the fascinating true story of slain human rights lawyer and activist Shahid Azmi.
Explaining that the stripping on celluloid is not for titillation, director Hansal Mehta told TOI, "The nakedness of the character is symbolic of the violation of human rights and stripping of equality in our society. The scene in question is very intense, where the protagonist is detained by the police and stripped naked as part of an interrogation. It was emotionally draining for Rajkumar. My initial instruction to him was to remove only his shirt but ultimately we decided, he had to strip. As I said, the nudity is symbolic."
Rajkumar has acted in films like Love Sex Dhoka, Ragini MMS, Shaitan and more recently, Gangs of Wasseypur.

Dhoom 3: Aamir Khan starts 'Dhoom 3' shooting

Aamir Khan left for Chicago on Monday night along with wife Kiran Rao and son Azad. And he obviously did not waste time to start shooting.
On Wednesday, the actor was seen on the roads of Chicago, outside the Fairmont hotel, Millenium Park, pretend-riding a bike a la Dhoom style.
After all, it was for the third installment of the successful YRF franchise he was shooting for.
Interestingly, the front tyre of the bike was removed and it was attached to a towing vehicle where the cameras were kept.