No IPL, I'm not a billionaire: Saif Ali Khan

Some of his Bollywood peers own one. But Saif Ali Khan says he has moved on from his dream of owning an Indian Premier League (IPL) team since he's "not a billionaire" and wants to focus on acting and production instead.

"We were at one point considering getting involved, but now I think it's quite a blessing in disguise that we didn't, you know. It was far too expensive," Saif told in a casual chat in his hotel room in the capital.

Shah Rukh Khan owns an IPL team, so do Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta. But Saif has stayed away.

"When other people got involved, it was a more reasonable idea than when we were going to get involved. You see, I am not a billionaire. Compared to three or four years ago, last year was not something that was working for us in that way," says Saif.

"And now I feel it's all for the best because I'd like to concentrate on films and film production rather than divert my time and give so much and not be sure I'm getting back 100 percent. It'll take a long time to make something like that work," he added, sipping water out of a wine glass.

His association with cricket, however, goes a long way. After all, he is the son of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, former cricketer and erstwhile royal.

The actor has also been rubbing shoulders with current skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in commercials for Lay's chips. Now there's an all new Lay's Flavour World Cup 2011 campaign and Saif was here to unveil the same, as its endorser.

So is he planning to catch any match live during the upcoming ICC World Cup starting Feb 19?

"Oh! I'd love to go and watch it live. Can you get me a ticket?" the 40-year-old asked childishly before confessing he really wants to watch a match between "India and Australia" live during the tournament.

Sporting a trimmed Zappa moustache minus the goatee, which is his new look for Prakash Jha's "Aarakshan", the actor was visibly jet lagged after the completion of his new year vacation in Gstaad, Switzerland, with beloved Kareena Kapoor.

Asked how he was taking his graduation from actor to producer, Saif said: "It seems like a natural way to go after years of working for other people.

"We've learned a lot from other production houses like Yash Raj (Films) and Dharma (Productions). I'm really grateful to them. Now it's time to do things on your own," added the actor who successfully produced "Love Aaj Kal" (2009) and is currently providing support for his spy thriller "Agent Vinod" under his banner Illuminati Films.

Any particular scripts that Saif the producer is looking at?

"I think all sorts of...the same kind I'd look at as an actor. Anything from a weird kind of offbeat film to 'Agent Vinod'," he said visibly engrossed in the trailer of Aamir Khan's "Dhobi Ghat" on a giant screen hung in his room.

But will he star in all his productions?

"Not necessarily at all, but probably initially. That's the whole idea. If we make more than one movie a year then I'd like to work with other people also and the same goes for my production people," he said, stretching himself on a chair.

Asked if he was looking at rolling out a particular number in a year, Saif responded: "No. Nothing like that. I'd imagine that would be pretty dangerous. Ideally, we should be making two films a year with various budgets from big to small."

Saif's other future projects include "Race 2" and another home production "Cocktail", a love triangle to be directed by Homi Adajania.

Aishwarya and Aamir Khan finally bury the hatchet

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has always maintained a respectable relationship with megastar Amitabh Bachchan but the same cannot be said with ‘Bachchan bahu’ Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

The face-off started when Ash abandoned Aamir Khan’s project Mangal Pandey at the last minute. At that time, Aamir called up his good friend Rani Mukerji, who finally appeared in the film.

However, they finally patched up after so many years and that happened at the 10th wedding anniversary of Akshay Kumar and his wife Twinkle. Ash and Aamir had a cold war, since these years but now they have settled the issues.

Usually, Ash does not stay in any party for more than 10 minutes but when she came to know that Aamir and Kiran Rao are on their way, the beauty queen waited for them to reach the party.

When the couple reached the party, Ash went forward and bonded with the actor like never before. They spoke warmly and discussed about Kiran’s upcoming movie Dhobi Ghat. After spending some time together, Aamir had to leave early. Soon after his exit, Ash also left the party.

A source from the party revealed that both were seen very comfortable with each other and it seemed that they have forgotten the bitter past and planned to move ahead with good will of each other.

Now, when the dup has settled their issues, can we expect any joint project in near future?

Tees Maar Khan

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Akshaye Khanna

Director: Farah Khan

Rating: **

Farah Khan tried all the industrial tricks to give a real hit during the Christmas with the hit pair Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in Tees Maar Khan. However, all the hype created around ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ could not safeguard this latest Farah Khan flick.

Akshaye Khanna plays a superstar Aatish Kapoor, who dreams to win an Academy Award one day. Katrina is a wannabe actress Anya, who also happens to be the girlfriend of Tees Maar Khan (Akshay Kumar).

The conman disguised as a Hollywood filmmaker ‘Tees Maar Khan’ plans a big train robbery of 10, 000 kilograms of antiques and goes for a fake shooting of a film. He even goes on signing Aatish Kapoor as the hero and appoints some villagers for this purpose.

But then, the viewers will scratch their hair to find logic behind Aatish signing for the act. The film does not have the typical flavor of Farah Khan films.

It seems she messed up the things after signing Akshay and Katrina or more concentration went to the much talked item number ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’. The spice factor is missing and tries to go by the slapstick way.

The film is a remake of 1966 movie Caccia Alla Volpe but one change in the Hindi version is that the robbery is shifted to train than the original ship.

However, Farah could play around the interesting train plot and somewhere the magic and charm got lost. It seems Sheila is the only spicy thing in the story with her raunchy choreography.

Why would Shah Rukh do that to me: Ajay Devgn

In one of his most candid interviews, Ajay Devgn talks about everything -- from his favourite toons to his rivalry with Akshay Kumar

Ajay Devgn is a risk-taker. He debuted as an action star but today he's just as popular in the comedy and the drama genres. With four successive hit films in a row, he has never been in a better position.

While most actors are comfortable in their comfort zone, AD has acted in films as diverse as Raajneeti and Golmaal 3 this year.

And his Friday release is a live animation film, which has not been attempted by any A-List actor in India.

I spend an interesting hour with the actor at his Juhu bungalow to chat about his latest film Toonpur Ka Superrhero over cups of coffee. Read on...

Your fav cartoon characters while growing up?
Tom and Jerry were my favorite toons. I found them cute and maybe because I liked action, I liked their attacks on each other. Also the cat-and-mouse games were quite intelligent and interesting.

Do you still watch cartoons?
Yes, with my daughter Nysa, who watches cartoons all the time. She knows I love Tom and Jerry so whenever I walk in, she puts that on and we watch it together.

Your favourite animation film?
There are several but my favourite is The Lion King because it's a complete film. It can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. It has the right kind of emotions, fun moments, good music and a message given without being preachy.

Who's your favorite superhero?
I like Superman because he has actual powers and doesn't need any gimmicks. Also he's a superhero and yet human, and has an emotional connect.

What cartoons does Nysa watch?
She's always watching cartoons on all the different TV channels. I don't even know the names " there are so many new ones now!

Has Nysa seen Toonpur Ka Superrhero? What was her reaction?
Yes, she has seen it with all her friends and they all loved it! She plans to see it again.

How does Toonpur compare with Hollywood animation films?
It is on par with Hollywood animation films. Whatever happens to the film tomorrow, nobody can predict now, but after I saw the film, I told Kireet that this kind of animation has never been seen before in India.

I also told him, 'Whatever happens to the country after watching the film I don't know, but you have gone to Hollywood'. That's for sure! In Hollywood, people recognise talent for what it is and Kireet is extremely talented in the animation field.

Why has this genre never been attempted by an A-List actor?
Kireet narrated the script to me and I liked it. He has a great animation background and has won several National awards but I wasn't still very sure because in our country there's still a hitch that Hollywood cartoons are of a much higher standard. So though I liked the concept, I wasn't sure about how it was going to happen.

So we shot a scene and then he did all the animations and came back to me. Kireet told me that this was the quality of the film that we would shoot but I still wanted to see the final quality. We saw it on print at the theatre and it was fabulous. That's when I said yes. I felt we had an opportunity to make something never done before in India, and we should do it.

Did you also do this for Nysa?
I won't say exactly that I did it for my daughter but yes, she was in my mind. I did it because the concept was nice and very different.

There has been a buzz that Shah Rukh Khan's Ra.One and Toonpur Ka Superrhero are the same especially about the part about the child wanting his dad to become a Superrhero. Comment.
Honestly speaking, I don't know where this came from because I don't know Shah Rukh's story, nor does he know the story of Toonpur. So how can we decide whether it's similar or not? Also, Toonpur was shot almost two years ago.

Any comments about the Guppy vs Bappi Lahiri controversy?
He's filed a case without seeing the film. It's not a wise decision. See the film first and then take a call. I can understand Bappida's point of view because 'Bappi' and 'Guppy' sounds alike. But the clothes and jewellery worn by the character and his style may just as well be Elvis Presley's.

Did you plan Toonpur's release along with Tees Maar Khan tomorrow because of your rivalry with Akshay Kumar?
Why would I want to harm my own film for so-called rivalry? I would be the happiest if my film was a solo release. TTMK is a big film.

Why would I want to clash with a film and eat into each other's business? It would be foolish of me to do something like that, which I am not. The only reason we had to come out on December 24 is because Toonpur is a film that needsa long weekend. I needed a week which continued from Sunday to the next week and that's Christmas week because it's a time when children want to go out and have fun.

We had no choice. We were almost ready six months ago but didn't release it then as we wanted a Diwali or Christmas release.

Don't you consider Akshay your rival or competitor?
Not really. I know we always have had releases on the same day for the last year or so, including this Diwali but that's a coincidence. Nobody plans this. Like the Golmaal 3 release date was decided when we started shooting for the film.

A tabloid reported that Shah Rukh allegedly urged Eros to release Toonpur with Tees Maar Khan to spite Farah Khan...
Rubbish! Why would Shah Rukh do that and why would any producer listen, do it and harm his own film? When you make a film, the most important thing is THE FILM. You want the film to work, that's why you make the film and that's how you decide the release date, the marketing, promotion and publicity of the film.

If you had to cast any other actor in your role in Toonpur, you'd pick...
Nobody can be as good as I am in the film! (Starts laughing) I know it sounds pompous but it's a very difficult film to do because here I am acting with nobody around me. I am doing action sequences and emotiing with nobody around. It's a very difficult performance.

Courtesy: Mid-Day.com

Kareena Kapoor Shops Endlessly In Bad Mood! Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor is overall a very satisfied personality, but her fans know little about her on and off mood or mood swings. She is very moody and at times, when she is irritated, she goes on an endless shopping, without beau Saif.

 

Bebo doesn’t take Saif along with her, as she very well knows the fact that no man in the world has enough patience to accompany his girl in her endless shopping. She rather prefers to go alone and take her own sweet time, without interference.

 

Now-a-days, Bebo is having mood blues and she has even told Saif that she is very irritated and wants to be just left alone. To overcome her unpredictable mood, she goes on long shopping sprees.

 

Sources suggest further, “Kareena and Saif usually have small skirmishes since Saif finds it really tough to accompany Bebo on her shopping expeditions. Such is the level of incompatibility here that Saif has decided to let Bebo be on her own. Even Kareena prefers the same since she wants to take her own sweet time while shopping, something which Saif can hardly stand."

 

So popularly called ‘Saifeena’ in Bollywood, the couple is expected to get married by the year 2012.

Big B, John joins to save tigers

Bhopal: Bollyood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has taken time out of his busy schedule to visit Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh to participate in the Save Our Tigers campaign. He feels the cause is more important than his films.

“The tiger`s cause is more important than my films. Kids should start tiger clubs and create awareness,” Big B, 68, who is busy with a telethon for the Save Our Tigers campaign, told told a TV channel.

Big B and Bollywood hunk John Abraham, who often associates himself with social causes, arrived Saturday evening and will stay in Pench till Dec 13.

Pench Deputy Director O.P. Tiwari said the two will take part in the programmes related to Save Our Tiger projects.

Spread over 758 square kilometers, Pench is among the six tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh and is the original setting of Rudyard Kipling`s most famous work, “The Jungle Book”.

Talking about his participation, Amitabh said in a message on his blog: “Tomorrow (Sunday) starts the Telethon for the Save the Tiger campaign. There is a desire and hope to collect as much money as one can for the benefit of those that manage and look after these regal animals and prevent them from being poached and destroyed.”

Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Jee

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Emran Hashmi, Omi Vaidya, Shruti Hasan, Shazahn Padamese, Shraddha Das

Director Madhur Bhandarkar

Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Jee is a movie, which as the title suggests, is about the essence of a human heart which almost always retains its child like quality. The heart is where life's entire essence is.

Thus to prove this point, director Madhur Bhandarkar has significantly dealt with the subject of love in a very humorous way.

The movie stars Ajay Devgn portraying the character of Naren, a middle aged manager of a multinational Bank. There he falls head over heels in love with a young girl barely out of her teens called June Pinto, played by Shazahn Padamese.

Omi Vaidya as Milind Kelkar is the typical idealistic poet living in his own transient world has a deep crush for a girl called Gungun Sarkar played by Shraddha Das. Gungun who is a very ambitious and career minded gal has a thing for the playboy Abhay played by Emran Hashmi.

Abhay or Emran is strongly attracted to a young and vibrant gal called Nikki, played by Shruti Hassan who is an out and out loud mouth. Nikki does not hesitate to call a spade a spade, a trait which is simply loved by the Casanova Abhay.

This entire gamut of affairs and secret liaisons creates a total chaos and as each event gets entangled with the other the movie becomes one big platform of drama and melodrama.

Madhur Bhandarkar, who is known for making realistic cinema, has put in the flavor of realism in this movie too, with the characters all very believable and something which a common man can relate to. The music has been scored by Pritam. The movie releases on the 28th of January 2011 so watch out for this one!