True Libran

The talented actress will be going to Los Angeles to have a meeting for another Hollywood biggie. And that’s not all. After attending the meeting, Divya will welcome 2010 with her bunch of friends in the city. So looks like this trip will surely be rewarding for the actress form both the professional and personal side.

The icing on the cake was  the actress receiving an award for the Best Supporting Actress in a Comic Role for the movies Welcome to Sajjanpur and Love Khichdi. She raced past many other gifted actresses competing in the same category. And that’s not it. Divya is also wooing the hearts of millions by her stage shows. Looks like the upcoming year has a lot in store for Divya.

Centre of attention

A popular Italian designer styled Abhay Deol’s suit at the Venice film festival that screened Dev D there. “Abhay looked dashing as ever. What added to Abhay’s charm and glow was his eye-catching performance in the film. Dev D received a ten minute standing ovation at the film festival. It was a sight to watch,” says a source.

 The star even got invited to jager de coulter party that which takes pride in having only the crème de la crème as its invitees. Abhay was bestowed with gifts at the event. “Bvlgari presented him with their latest collection of silver ring and pendant. Abhay never expected this kind of warm welcome. It was a touching moment for him. The Italian edition of Vanity Fair featured Abhay Deol in it. He was one of the few actors selected at the Venice film festival to be photographed and featured in the magazine. “Abhay’s performance in Dev D had created waves at the festival. It is for the first time that an Indian actor has been selected among other talented from all over the world. For Abhay it was indeed an honour,” adds the source.

‘I was living in my car before Avatar’

Sam Worthington, the star of Avatar, says that being a part of the blockbuster has changed his life dramatically. About the current success of his film, Worthington recently said in an interview that Cameron had changed his life forever by giving him a role in the film.

“I was living in car before I signed up for Avatar. Jim has changed my life. I am extremely proud of being a part of this film and very, very thankful to Jim for giving me this opportunity.” Avatar, which released in theatres last week, has become a huge hit worldwide, making Sam Worthington an overnight star.


‘Gulumaal’ emerges a hit

After successfully producing his first Hindi film Aloo Chaat and a Kannada film, Housefull, actor Anuj Saxena presented a Malayalam film Gulumaal — The Escape under his production house Maverick. The film starring Jayasoorya, V K Prakash, Jagathy, Chackochan, Suraj, Salim Kumar and Biju Kuttan, and directed by V K  Prakash which released on December 4, has become a runaway hit. In two weeks, its collection has crossed one crore mark and is expected to cross two crore in 50 days through major theatres.

It was released along with two big films — Palerimaniyakam, a Mammotty starrer and My Big Father starring Jayaram.

The film has taken one of the biggest surprise openings, where the the first three days were a cool 94per cent collections pan Kerala. Says Anuj Saxena, “It’s good to know that Gulumaal is a runaway hit. Regional cinema has its own market. My production house is coming up with a Gujarati film also which is into post production right now and will make one more Malayalam film soon. Our Hindi film Chase, directed by Jagmohan Mundhra, will release next year.”

The film was made at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore and released in the USA this Christmas.

Much-awaited comedy

It is not common to have three acting geniuses in one film and when there is, one can surely expect fireworks at the box office. Come February, audiences will see National Award winners Ajay Devgn, Konkona Sen Sharma and Paresh Rawal in a Warner Bros Pictures India and Wide Frame Films production titled Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? directed by Ashwni Dhir.

And as the title suggests, the film is a light-hearted comedy based on a couple (Ajay and Konkona), who land up with an uninvited guest (Paresh Rawal) at their home. Amita Pathak, daughter of Kumar Mangat will take on the reins of a producer for the first time with this project.

The music for the film will be composed by Pritam with choreography by Raju Khan and Ahmed Khan, while the lyrics have been penned by Irshad Kamil. The screenplay for the film is by Robin Bhatt, Ashwni Dhir and Tushar Hiranandani, and the film is edited by Dharmendra Sharma. 

The cinematographer of the film is Aseem Bajaj, sound recordist Shubhash Sahu while production designs will be by Sabu Cyril. To be shot over 50 days at Yashraj Studios and other locales in Mumbai, the film is slated to release on February 26, 2010.

Virtual war

Guess who the new Twitter enemies are? Film-makers Karan Johar and Pritish Nandy! They lash out against each other on a social networking site after one criticises the other’s film. Both are quite active on Twitter — Karan a lot less than Pritish, who is a veteran by now. Earlier, Pritish ran into a bit of trouble when he spoke against Kareena Kapoor's performance and appearance in Kambakkht Ishq. Now, it's the turn of her producer Karan to back that statement.

A few days ago, Pritish posted on Twitter a review of Kurbaan from a website. The review ripped apart Karan’s latest release. Karan tweeted right back taking a dig at Pritish — “Surprised how much time Pritish Nandy has to uplink google reader updates, must take a lesson of time management from his busy schedule.”