Tired of watching Vishal Malhotra play the hero’s best friend over and over again? He was Shahid Kapoor’s sounding-board in Ishq Vishq and Kismat Konnection.

But now Shahid has found a new best- friend on screen. It is Indian Idol finalist Meiyang Chang from Dhanbad in Jharkhand.

Meiyang who rose to fame not only through his singing in Season 3 of the reality show but also with his relationship with fellow-contestant Monali Thakur, makes his movie debut in Yash Raj Films’ Shahid-Anushka Sharma starrer directed by Parmeet Sethi.

Chang, as he’s affectionately known in the industry, has been strictly prohibited from talking about his acting debut.

So we asked the film’s music composer Pritam Chakraborty if he had any hand in Meiyang’s casting. After all Meiyang Chang’s girlfriend Monali Thakur rose to fame with Pritam’s composition ‘Zara Zara Touch Me’ in Race . It’s believed Pritam played cupid between the two Indian Idol contestants.

Pritam denies having a hand in Meiyang’s love life or his career. “Chang is a dear friend and he is seeing Monali. But I had nothing to do with it. Nor did I have any hand in his casting in Parmeet’s film. I’m only the music composer on that project.”

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When Boney Kapoor was invited to the ongoing Cairo International Film Festival, it was in the capacity of being a Guest of Honour. However, to his pleasant surprise, he was also bestowed upon a Lifetime Achievement award, something which he didn’t see coming at all. What acted as a cherry on the top, literally so, was the fact that the felicitation happened yesterday, 11th November, which happens to be Boney Kapoor’s birthday.

“I have turned 54 today and this award makes me wonder if I have really aged. In fact I feel that I have just started”, chuckles Boney Kapoor when this writer spoke to him yesterday, “It’s my birthday and this award has really made me feel so special. More so because I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was a special invitee there as a Guest of Honour and was required to provide organizers some documentation around my work over the decades. I didn’t have any clue that this profiling was being done to hand me over a Lifetime Achievement award.”

He was in the elite company of actors like Samuel Jackson and Salma Hayek amongst others who were also special guests at the event. Other than them, there were also quite a few renowned Arab and Egyptian film personalities with whom Boney Kapoor hobnobbed with.

“Yes, it was good to be with Hollywood personalities. However, what I liked most was the fact that I was on stage with Adoor Gopalakrishnan who is on an extremely different end when it comes to filmmaking sensibilities. He too was bestowed upon the same award. It is great that industry in general is acknowledging the contribution of filmmakers belonging to farthest extremes”, says Boney over phone from Cairo.

Generally an award belonging to this category signals retirement time for many a filmmaker. However, Boney has been further buoyed by this and is now aspiring at starting newer projects soon.

“I don’t think I have reached my peak to even think of retirement”, he laughs, “There are only a few lucky ones who have managed to survive the industry as a filmmaker for as many as 30 years. I guess there are just 8-10 of us. God has been kind with me to pull me out of the financial mess I was in.”

“With two back to back blockbusters in the form of No Entry followed by Wanted, I am raring to go. I have to be consistent from here on, pick my projects carefully and ensure that I do not repeat my mistakes. Being in a good situation like this, I can’t let it slip away again”, he signs off.

Next in line for Boney Kapoor is Satish Kaushik directed Milenge Milenge [Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor] and brother Sanjay Kapoor’s debut production It’s My Life [directed by Anees Bazmee and starring Harman Baweja, Genelia D'Souza and Nana Patekar].

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A ghost, an eccentric theatre actor or a flamboyant genie, Amitabh Bachchan has done quite a few over-the-top roles and not delivered big hits in four years. But for filmmakers, the megastar is still a phenomenon they can’t wait to sign on.

“I would love to cast him for all my films. I just hope that I keep getting ideas where I can fit him, ” said R. Balakrishnan, director of his forthcoming film “Paa”.

Relasing Dec 4, “Paa” features Amitabh as a progeria patient.

“Amitabh Bachchan has crossed that mark of a hit or a flop affecting him. He is a phenomenon. He is the first veteran where stories are written keeping him in mind. Whether or not a film works is besides the point. He is not competing with anyone here, ” trade analyst Taran Adarsh told over phone from Mumbai.

“Every director wants to work with him at least once in his career. They’ve grown up watching him on the big screen. He is an encyclopaedia on acting. He has a different range altogether. He is a superb actor…and we can’t deny that fact, no matter what the fate of a film, ” he said.

Some of the 67-year-old thespian’s films have turned out to be over-hyped in terms of both content and characters, with the recent one being “Aladin” that was declared a dud on the first day itself. Amitabh plays a flamboyant genie in the movie.

Even his special appearance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s “Delhi-6″ early this year, as Abhishek Bachchan’s grandfather, could not save the film from sinking. But he still rules the desire list of filmmakers.

“He is in demand because he is Amitabh Bachchan. He is a cult (figure). He has worked very hard and given success after success earlier. After his comeback from a break a few years ago, he is now having fun with cinema, ” said film critic Omar Qureshi.

“And he can afford to do that even if it means doing a crazy character in ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’. He is doing roles that he finds interesting. If the film doesn’t work, that is not his fault.”

And cinema too has undergone a sea change with time.

“Take his characters in ‘Nishabd’ and ‘Aladin’. No one could dare do that earlier. He is just going with the flow. His performance cannot be doubted. He is too good as an actor, ” explained Qureshi.

While Amitabh featured in duds like “Family”, “Darna Zaroori Hai”, “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna” and “Baabul” in 2006, a string of flops followed in 2007 too with “Eklavya: The Royal Guard”, “Nishabd”, “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom” and “Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag”. Two of his outings the same year – “Cheeni Kum” and “Shootout at Lokhandwala” – were critically acclaimed but were not money grossers.

Last year was again disappointing with commercial failures like “Bhoothnath”, “Sarkar Raj”, “God Tussi Great Ho” and “The Last Lear”.

But writer-turned-director Rumy Jafry has no regrets for the failure of his film “God Tussi Great Ho” because it starred the Big B.

“It’s a dream for every director to work with him. Despite his age, he still works as a student and is completely a director’s actor. Neither does he interfere in anything. Look at ‘Paa’ for instance. He sat for close to five hours just for the make up and that shows his patience, ” said Jafry, who cast the Big B as God Almighty in the movie.

Jafry can’t stop praising the veteran’s professionalism.

“The whole world knows that there is no bigger actor and star than Amitabh Bachchan. There is no star in the industry more disciplined than him. Even if he was 10 minutes late, he would make sure to inform, while there are actors who are over two hours late without any notice, ” Jafry told.

But Bachchan prefers to be modest and says he is just a character artist nowadays.

“May be in the early years, they (audiences) came to watch my films because I was in it. But now I am just one of the credit titles. I am not that important, ” Amitabh had told in a recent interview.

“I am a part of the crew and the cast. Even in my early years, I used to think that. I think the product itself is more important. It’s the film that is going to make you or your name or give you visibility. If that goes wrong then everything goes wrong. So one must work as a team so that the product works, ” he added.

The star is still on a signing spree and has four projects lined up – “Paa”, “Teen Patti”, “Rann” and “Johnny Mastana”.

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The two did seem to appear as a diabolic couple but Preity brushes all talk off with a ‘good friend’ comment. Her last filmy appearance was in an item song in Main aurr Mrs. Khanna. So, what is happening in her professional and personal life?

As far as her films are concerned, she says, ‘I am reading a lot of new scripts, and I am very excited. I want to do commercial films with Saif or SRK now, as my fans want to see me working with them. I recently joined Twitter and it feels great to interact with my fans on a one-on-one basis. Also, I am very excited about Kurbaan and Paa. I can’t wait to watch them. My film Har Pall, directed by Jahanu Barua, is complete, but I don’t know when it will release.’

Preity was out of the country for six weeks as she had gone to LA for a vacation, and now, she is back in the thick of things. ‘Some days have been pretty hectic for me. Like today, I am here at a press conference against child trafficking and then I have to be at the MAMI closing ceremony. But it’s fun,’ she smiles.

Preity Zinta is one of the ambassadors for A.C.T: Against Child Trafficking, and devotes a lot of her time, money and energy to support the causes of the emancipation of women and child trafficking. To raise money for her charities, she has decided to start a women’s basketball team called the Dream Girls Team. She said, ‘I will be the captain of my team, which will include female supermodels, film stars and socialites of international repute. NBA trainers will train us, and we will compete with international teams. I am glad I bought an IPL team, because now, I am financially secure for life. I can pamper myself, fly first class and buy all my favourite brands. I love living rich,’ she flashes her dimpled smile as she signs off.

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Sources on the sets of Raavan starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai had revealed that director Mani Ratnam had been miffed by Govinda’s late arriving on sets and tantrums about his cameo role of Hanuman.

Due to his unprofessional behaviour Mani had even shortened Govinda’s role in the film leading matters to worsen between the two. However Govinda is vehemently denying all such rumours and has spoken of his affection for both Mani and the lead stars of the film which were the main reasons for him to do the film.

Govinda said in a recent interview, that it was wife Sunita that coaxed him to do the cameo role as she is very fond of Abhishek and Ash, ‘I love and respect Mani Ratnam. But when I got the offer, I saw it was a small cameo. I couldn’t really make up my mind whether I should sign the film that has me in only four scenes. I had movies up my sleeve in which I had chunky roles. But I was thinking hard as I didn’t want to let go of Mani Ratnam. I was dying to work with him, My wife Sunita convinced me to do the movie. She felt doing the film was important because it starred Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya and she adores both of them. Thus I gave in to her demand. But I’m happy that I have given my best. Mani has increased my scenes in the film. Reports saying that Mani has chopped off my character because I reached the sets late are completely false.’

However the though of Hanuman Bhakts taking offence to the movie is also worrying Govinda but he’s confident of the film as Mani has represented his character in the right manner.

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Kareena said, ‘I am looking forward to doing roles that I connect with. Kurbaan, for instance, has a socio-political theme and is about what is happening in the world today. It is relevant and I connected with it.’

When asked about the kind of roles she wants to do, she replied, ‘I want to work with off-beat directors like Sudhir Mishra, Rajkumar Gupta and Dibakar Banerjee but my role has to be meaty. I don’t want to be just a beautiful and glamourous doll. I don’t have to do a small role in an offbeat film just to prove I can act. I am looking for a serious challenge and a title role in an offbeat film, like I have had in Chameli, Omkara and Dev.’

And Kurbaan and 3 Idiots were challenging in different ways. ‘They will take me beyond whatever I have done and achieved so far.’

She is currently absorbed in KJo’s remake of Stepmom. ‘This is an important and challenging role for me because I am sharing space with Kajol, who is a spectacular actress. I have to make sure my performance is up to the mark. I also have the responsibility of essaying Julia Roberts’ character to perfection, which is why I attended some acting workshops. My character is a contemporary and urban girl. I am so absorbed in this movie that I haven’t got time to think about anything else, not even Saif’s Agent Vinod, which is like an in-house film for me.’

Main aurr Mrs. Khanna has proved to be a debacle. When asked about it, she said, ‘I did the film for emotional reasons. Karisma and Salman have been buddies and co-stars. She asked me to do it and I couldn’t say no.’

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He belongs to a political family and expectedly, keeps himself abreast with the goings-on in the political arena. “I have to keep myself updated. I can’t stay without it,” Ritesh Deshmukh smiles. So why didn’t he ever think of joining politics? “My brother is in it. Also, I strongly feel that there would be a clash of ideologies if two people from the same family dabble in it. I am glad I am in movies,” the talented actor reveals.

In the recently released DO KNOT DISTURB, Ritesh was cast with Govinda, an actor known for his impeccable comic timing and in his next release, ALADIN, Ritesh gets to share the screen space with none other than Amitabh Bachchan. The challenges are only getting bigger and bigger.

“It’s an honour to work with these actors. I thoroughly enjoyed the process. In fact, I learnt so much by merely watching them. But it was tough stepping from one set to another. DO KNOT DISTURB is a madcap entertainer, while ALADIN is a fantasy/adventure. The roles are different too, but when you have such brilliant actors as co-stars, things do get easier,” Ritesh states.

Ritesh singles out ALADIN director Sujoy Ghosh for the expert handling of the subject material. “I didn’t want to judge Sujoy by his past films. He came to me with a solid script [ALADIN] and I agreed to be a part of it instantly. Also, let’s not forget one thing. If people like Mr. Bachchan and Mr. Dutt [Sanju] can repose faith in his abilities, who am I to question Sujoy?” Ritesh says.

Ritesh now looks forward to Milap Zaveri’s JAANE KAHAN SE AAYE HAIN, which stars him in the principal lead. And those who’ve seen the rushes of the film feel that the Milap-Ritesh combo is sure to win hearts.