Sunny ditches Jaipur to shoot in Odisha today

So much has been written on Sunny Leone beginning to shoot for " Jism 2" on April 1 in Rajasthan. Work was to begin today but things went completely out of gear on Friday afternoon. 


To acclimatize herself to the climate, Sunny had landed in Jaipur on Wednesday morning along with Pooja Bhatt, Arunoday Singh and Randeep Hooda. But the rising mercury levels was too much for her to handle. And the adult star insisted that she wouldn't be able to shoot the song sequences that Pooja had planned in the sand dunes! 


Says a source, "All hell broke loose and Pooja was at her wit's end trying to figure out how to handle this situation. Repeated requests to Sunny fell on deaf ears. Both Randeep and Arunoday tried to reason with Sunny but she was clear about the fact that her health was a priority and would not compromise there. She said she wouldn't mind shooting in the forts but when it came to canning the shots in the deserts, she just wouldn't be able to pull through." 


That's when it was decided to change the location for shooting the dance numbers to Odisha. Says the source, "Things are being kept hush-hush but it's a fact that Pooja and her unit took a flight to Bhubaneswar on Friday night. Sunny is scheduled to arrive today. She will be heading straight to the Ramachandi beach to shoot a song. However, the unit doesn't want to talk about this change in plans because of the huge popularity of Sunny in Odisha. It's a fact that in the whole of India, it's Odisha where Sunny has been googled the maximum number of times. They just want to quietly shoot the song on the beach with Sunny and Randeep and then return to the forts in Jaipur." 


Industry sources say that there is more in store. Apparently, talks are on to rope in John Abraham and Bipasha Basu to do a special dance number for this movie. "Pooja's "Jism" had launched the careers of John and Bips. They have agreed to work together again for the "Jism" franchise." 


Says Mahesh Bhatt, "Sunny was supposed to sizzle on the screen but the Jaipur heat was too much for the hot star and made her throw a tantrum. She said she can't shoot in the desert of Jaipur. So, we decided to shoot in Odisha. The temperature there is not any better but what works is that Sunny is the most goodled star from there in India. Meanwhile, Bipasha and John will do an item song for "Jism 2" to outshine Sunny." April Fool! 


So, did you believe all the goss that we gave you about "Jism 2"? If you did, you just forgot one thing and that's the date today. When we called up Mahesh Bhatt and told him that we wanted to pull a fast one on the readers on April Fool, he agreed to give the fake quotes all in good humour. 


Now for the real story. Says Bhatt, "We will be shooting in Jaipur for 10 days. Sunny Leone is one of the most professional actors I have seen. Nothing on earth can change our plans of shooting the movie in Jaipur. The heat is hardly a factor for an actor." 


And is there any truth to Bipasha being a part of "Jism 2"? "The film had gone to Bipasha and Mallika. But Pooja was not intuitively comfortable with them. It was a tired space and that's why we decided to have Sunny in the lead. 


Apart from Sunny, Arunoday and Randeep and a talented supporting cast, we don't need anyone else to prop the movie.The music is being done by Arka and Mithoon," Bhatt signs off.

Movie Review: 3 (Tamil): All Hype, No Juice

3', starring Dhanush and Shruti Hassan hit the screens with unprecedented momentum thanks to the universal hit song 'Kolaveri Di'. But unfortunately the Aiswarya R Dhanush film '3' will most probably go down in memory lane as just the 'Kolaveri movie'.

In the cinema, excitement was ripe in the air. Everyone seemed ready to welcome the worldwide trending star Dhanush on screen. The cine hall kept thundering with sounds of a thousand varieties. The film got a rather unexpected but steady start, that slowly started looking like a cliché, then slowly withered off into dullness. By the time the song 'Kolaveri' arrived, the film had gone way out of pace to match the tempo of that song for an audience whose interest had petered off. Yet, there were many who were seen dancing up front near the screen!

As the film slowly whined towards an end, the shouts of proclamation had turned out into unpardonable screams of abuse. '3' lacks everything but 'Kolaveri' in it. The film is made to be intensely romantic and passionate. It is the extremes of human passion that leads the lives of the two main characters 'Janani' (Shruti Hassan) and 'Ram' (Dhanush). The opening parts of the film depicting the falling in love of two teenage hearts, amidst all the fear and indecisiveness of the age has been shot well enough, with good music and camera work. The only problem is that it has been seen many times over and over again on the big screen; at least a couple of times from Dhanush himself. The presence of Prabhu as Ram's father is indeed a refreshing sight to see and yet you feel terribly disappointed how underutilised he is in the movie.

Both Dhanush and Shruti Hassan have performed well as 'Ram' and 'Janani' and with oodles of chemistry, but the intensity of their performance fails to be on par with what the script demanded. Anirudh Ravichender is a very talented musician, yet the songs in ‘3’ do not have enough substance in them to make up for a dragging storyline. Sunder Ramu as 'Senthil', dear friend to 'Ram', has played his part quite well. The 'intensity' factor was definitely seen in his face wherever it was needed. Velraj has done a terrific job with the camera. The cinematography is one department which turns out to be a huge, but sadly, the only positive – again, other than Kolaveri – in the movie.

Aishwarya R Dhanush's debut film would bring her credits and even accolades for trying, but won't be recognised for the skill in her craft. '3' tries to make a new theme by joining two over used, worn out themes, which fails to make the right sort of connection with each other to make for a smooth transition from one to next. That said, the film has given both actors a tremendous opportunity to display their acting talents and both have given their best. Dhanush especially, has put up a commendable effort as the loving teenager and psychologically disturbed youth. But having the statutory warning of 'consumption of alcohol is injurious to health' on the screen every time liquor is shown is frustrating.

To sum it up, the film ends with the message that suicide is not the only option; well, it is true, you can also opt not to see '3'!

I’ll never sing for SRK again

Since last singing for Shah Rukh Khan ("Dhoom Tana" in " Om Shanti Om") in 2007, Abhijeet Bhattacharya has kept out of the limelight. The singer has been in the real estate business for some time, and is also investing in art. "I am also involved with a coffee brand and will soon join hands with an Australia-based coffee brand to launch retail outlets here," he says. He tells us why he's moving away from singing, the profession that made him a household name.

So you're a full-fledged businessman now?

Who doesn't want to broaden one's avenues? Singing was never my bread and butter anyway. Also, there are things I am hurt about.

Such as?

I don't know why our filmmakers never give singers due credit. During the end credits of " Main Hoon Na", the singers' names appeared right at the end. Worst still, segments were shot with the chaiwalas and dressmen, but not with singers. My family saw the film and felt betrayed. The same happened with "Om Shanti Om". And here I am... Shah Rukh Khan's voice! I conveyed my disappointment to Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.

He also got Akon to sing for him...

Except for pubs and discotheques, where does one hear that song? But folks still fondly remember the "Chalte Chalte", "Yes Boss" and "Main Hoon Na" numbers. It is these songs that have immortalised Shah Rukh. I will never sing for him again.

What if he approaches you? Sorry bol do! When you can make up with Farah Khan, whose husband tweeted rubbish about you, then there should be no problem with a simple man like me. But this is not about me. I want all singers to get their due. There is this one incident I just can't forget.

Go on...

I was in Chennai to record a song for this very famous music director currently ruling Hindi filmdom. There was a wooden bench, not even a sofa, and a singer, a Padmashree winner, writers and a renowned lyricist were there, waiting for over seven hours to meet the man. I did not want to be humiliated like this and I left. I will soon start a studio that will give newcomers, talented music directors and singers a platform to record numbers free of cost.