Sarah Jane Dias shoots for Pepsi commercial with Ranbir Kapoor

She's playing a good game ever as she is set to make her debut with Abhishek Bachchan starrer Game, and even before her first film is out in the theatres worldwide, she has already shot with her second co-star Ranbir Kapoor.

You heard! Sara Jane Dias tells me, "I just shot a commercial with Ranbir Kapoor a few days ago for Pepsi and he again, like Abhishek Bachchan, is so down to earth and a great guy."

Yes, she has shot a commercial with Ranbir Kapoor but that ain't a bad start either. I mean, to be paired opposite India's best and current heart-throb is an achievement for a newcomer like Sara.

She further adds, "Despite the fact that he is from a filmy royalty, he is really well read and well spoken. He knows how to hold a conversation and it's nice to be able to meet people like Ranbir Kapoor because it's only when you meet such people you come to know that they are normal."

So impressed with Ranbir's professionalism, she said, "He is a thorough professional. He comes on the sets, does his work and then leaves the moment the shoot is over. No more time to loiter around."

She ends the talk but not before confessing her favourite Ranbir Kapoor film. "I loved him in Raajneeti and Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahaani."

Yeh hi hai right choice baby! Aha!

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Priyanka's sadistic wife-beating husband - Irrfan Khan

The cat is out of the bag. Irrfan may seem to be a gentle poet in Saat Khoon Maaf who woos and wins Priyanka Chopra's love in the pristine landscape of Kashmir. But within the sensitive skin lies the character of a sadistic animal. At home, Irrfan is shown to repeatedly beat up his wife Priyanka before having sex with her.

Says a source, "The character is incontrovertibly modelled on this gentle romantic superstar of yesteryears. He was a suave soft spoken ladies man in public. He swept the teen heart-throb of his times off her feet (stealing her away from her then-boyfriend).But after marriage her life turned into a living hell. In real life she walked out on the marriage. In the film Priyanka slaughters Irrfan after one wacking too many."

The most traumatic experience of Priyanka Chopra's career as an actress was getting beaten up repeatedly by Irrfan Khan. Method director that he is, Vishal Bhardwaj wanted the real thing. The blows raining on Priyanka are not make believe.

Irrfan plays a poet and a pervert. For the public, he's a gentle Kashmiri poet reciting beautifully penned words. In private, he is a brute and an animal who gets sexually excited by beating up his wife Priyanka Chopra.

Says a source from the film, "Vishal was very clear about the violence. He warned Priyanka that the slaps kicks and punches would be real. And she was all for it. But when it came to the crunch she couldn't help saying, 'Ouch!' every time a blow fell on her."

By the time Priyanka finished shooting her scenes with Irrfan, she had welters bruises and wounds to show for her commitment to the role.

Apparently, Irrfan was not the least inhibited by the violence.

Says the source, "She was given real blows, no fake ones. There were torn lips and swollen cheeks throughout without any makeup. Once, only once, Priyanka got a chance to get her own back. In one sequence her character gives Irrfan a tight slap back. Priyanka gave it her best shot, with the director's permission. Vishal Bhardwaj told her to slap Irrfan real and hard. 'He's from the NSD. He knows about method acting.' But Irrfan got scared. He told Priyanka to slap him with only four fingers."

This too is a scene that could be straight out of the ex-superstar's marriage. Apparently, after every bout of violence he would fear getting some of it back from his wife.

When contacted, Irrfan refrained from comment. He has been briefed by Vishal Bhardwaj to keep mum about his character's dark violent secret.

Finally after some persuasion Irrfan spoke about his character. Said the actor, "To reduce my character to a wife-beater would be to take away from his complexities. This is a man, a poet in a state of constant turmoil. He is forever seeking something; he knows not what. When he finds Priyanka's character, he feels his search has ended. But he realizes that he has embarked on another journey after marriage. In his endeavour to find himself, he ends up doing things he doesn't understand. He doesn't know why he's doing what he's doing."

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"Bryan Adams is coming back to Delhi" - Suniel Shetty

Bryan Adams is truly 18 till he dies. He proved it when his Delhi concert was unceremoniously cancelled on Tuesday. Instead of sulking, he immediately got down to working out a fresh date for the Delhi concert. Rather than sulk over the spilt rain.

Says Suniel Shetty who organized the Bryan Adams concerts, "He's definitely coming back to Delhi. We won't disappoint his fans. I didn't know Bryan before he came to India for the current concerts. He's a really chilled-out guy. Truly 18 forever at heart. No one was shedding tears over the cancelled concert."

It was a Save The Children endeavour that, alas, could not be saved from the rains. A heavy downpour washed away Bryan Adams's live concert in Delhi on Tuesday.

But Suniel seemed unperturbed. Speaking from Delhi on Tuesday afternoon he said, "We're in the process of setting a new date for the Delhi concert. Bryan performs in Hyderabad. Then he heads for Bangladesh and Nepal. We'll set a new date for Delhi concert as soon as he finishes his other commitments."

Looking at the positive side of the fiasco, Suniel says, "Good that the rains happened before the Delhi concert. Imagine if it had happened during the concert. All of Bryan's musical equipment would've been destroyed. It isn't such a loss, really. We will set a date for the Delhi concert at the earliest."

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Hollywood Bowl adds composer A.R Rahman to 2011 season

Looks like our Indian maestro is in the best phase of his career, and ever since he has moved to the West, his luck is just getting luckier.

The Hollywood Bowl has added an event to this year's season - 'Journey To India' with composer A.R. Rahman.

The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheatre in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances. It has a seating capacity of 17,376. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its band shell, a distinctive set of concentric arches that graced the site from 1929 through 2003, before being replaced with a somewhat larger one beginning in the 2004 season. The shell is set against the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills and the famous 'Hollywood' Sign to the Northeast.

On July 10, India's most prolific and successful movie composer (five time Oscar nominee including 127 Hours, and two Oscar wins for Slumdog Millionaire), A.R. Rahman returns for an evening of his atmospheric film scores - performed by the LA Phil and enhanced by scenes from his films - plus traditional Indian music and some of Rahman's spectacular Bollywood hits, with dancers.

A.R. Rahman, the man who has redefined contemporary Indian music, is the pride of the Indian nation and a role model for millions around the world. In a country where film music is the most popular form of music, Rahman is truly the emperor. A.R. Rahman, hailed by Time as the 'Mozart of Madras,' is one of the most successful artists of all time and, according to a BBC estimate, has sold more than 100 million albums of his works, comprising music from more than 50 movies.

All we are waiting for is the day when India's best, A.R Rahman merges with Hollywood's best, Hans Zimmer. Is everyone listening?

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Mukta Arts acquires stake in Maya Digital Studios

Entertainment conglomerate Mukta Arts Limited acquired a minority stake in Ketan Mehta's Maya Digital Studios.

After taking this stake, the Mukta Arts group is now present in all the major verticals of the film industry starting from Film Education (Whistling Woods International), Programming & Distribution (Mukta Movie Distributors), Exhibition ('Mukta Cinemas' chain of multiplexes open in April 2011) and now in the Animation & VFX industry in Maya Digital Studios.

The new studio will be based out of the Mukta Arts Head Office Building 'Mukta House', in Filmcity Mumbai & will have 4 primary business lines - Original IP creation, outsourced Animation & VFX work for international projects, international co-productions & 2D to 3D conversion.

Rahul Puri, Executive Director, Mukta Arts said, "Animation and VFX have been on our radar for the past couple of years and we have been exploring the right entry point into this sunrise industry. So, while investment in Maya, has been a matter of timing, we have been considering this industry for a while."

Mukta Arts Chairman Subhash Ghai said, "Ketan Mehta is a highly artistic & creative filmmaker and has also proven to be a visionary when, almost a decade ago; he realized the potential of Animation & VFX as a key component of filmmaking and forayed in the same. We are confident that this partnership of Mukta Arts' tradition of path breaking cinema and Maya's potential of success in the fields of Animation & VFX will bear fruit, sooner rather than later."

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Atif Aslam turns actor with Bol

Musicians like Lucky Ali, Sukhwinder Singh, Himesh Reshammiya, Ali Zafar and a few others have all been bitten by the acting bug. The latest to join the 'band' wagon is none other than Pakistan's vocal maestro - Atif Aslam. Pakistani filmmaker Shoaib Mansoor of Khuda Kay Liye fame has cast the singer in the lead role of a doctor in his latest Pakistani flick Bol.

The attention grabbing story is based in the heart of Lahore, taking you through a journey in the life of a family experiencing the ups and downs and the problems faced between the Shia and the Sunni Muslim communities. While the older generation clings on to the pain and separation, their younger counterparts would love to forgive and forget. The Pakistani thriller is slated to release later this year.

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Ranveer - Anushka team up for YRF's next titled Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl

After the heartwarming success of Band Baaja Baaraat, director Maneesh Sharma is back with his team, in Yash Raj Films' next offering, titled Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl.

Starring Ranveer Singh, who has won everyone's heart with his endearing and scintillating performance, as well as the Best Actor (Debut) at all the award shows this year, and the accomplished and charismatic Anushka Sharma, the film is produced by Aditya Chopra and is based on a story developed by him. Habib Faisal has written the dialogues, the screenplay is by Devika Bhagat. The music will be composed by Salim-Sulaiman, lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya and the film will be shot by Aseem Mishra (DOP), all of whom have been a part of Band Baaja Baaraat.

Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl is a fun-filled 'Rom-Con' where a smooth and charming conman, Ricky Bahl, cons girls for a living but finally meets his match.

The film starts shooting early-April with plans to be in theatres worldwide on 9th Dec 2011, the same weekend Band Baaja Baaraat released.

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