It’s a double whammy for filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar. Not only his movie Heroine got shelved following actor Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan’s pregnancy, but also actress Priyanka Chopra, one of the possible candidates to replace Ash, is now all set to essay a similar character in filmmaker Kunal Kohli’s movie.


Chopra has teamed up with her rumoured ex-boyfriend Shahid Kapoor for the movie that tells a tale of an actress's way to the top in 70s, as against the Ash's character which was set in the 90s. Though Priyanka is playing a heroine of the 60s and the 70s, the character has a lot of similarities with that of Ash in Heroine, barring the costumes.


"Priyanka will be doing exactly what Ash couldn't do. She is playing a heroine who fights her way to the top and how she is exploited and exploits others en route. We were anyways gearing up to release Priyanka's movie ahead of Ash's just to steal the thunder. But now with Ash’s project getting shelved, the roads are clear for us," says a source, who is also a part of the unit. When the rough storyline of Ash's Heroine was made available, Kunal instructed everybody to keep the storyline of the film under the wraps.

భారత క్రికెట్‌ జట్టులో కీలక ఆటగాళ్ళు, ఇప్పటి వరకు సన్నిహిత మిత్రులుగా వున్న కెప్టెన్‌ ధోనీ, ఆఫ్‌ స్పిన్నర్‌ హర్భజన్‌ సింగ్‌ల మధ్య 'లిక్కర్‌ బ్యారన్‌' చిచ్చుపెట్టింది. దీంతో వారు 'లీగల్‌ బ్యాటిల్‌''కు సన్నద్ధమౌతున్నారు. 'లిక్కర్‌ బ్యారన్‌' విజరు మాల్యాకు చెందిన యుబి స్పిరిట్స్‌ కంపెనీ ధోనీని బ్రాండ్‌ అంబాసి డర్‌గా తీసుకొని మెక్‌డొవెల్స్‌ నెంబర్‌ -1 ప్లాటి నమ్‌ తరుఫున ఒక వాణిజ్య ప్రకటనను రూపొందిం చింది. అందులో ఆఫ్‌ స్పిన్నర్‌ హర్భజన్‌ను కించపరిచే రీతిలో చిత్రీకరించారని అతని తరఫు న్యాయవాదులు మెక్‌ డొవెల్స్‌కు నోటీసు జారీ చేశారు. ' ఆ ప్రకటన హర్భజన్‌ను అవమానపరచడంతోపాటు అతని కుటుం బాన్ని ,మొత్తం సిక్కు జాతిని కించపరిచే విధంగా వుందని' వారు తమ నోటీసులో పేర్కొన్నారు. 'ఇటు వంటి వాణిజ్య ప్రకటనలు భారత జట్టు ఐక్యతను దెబ్బతీస్తుందని, జాతి వ్యతిరేకంగా వుందని హర్భజన్‌ తల్లి అవతార్‌ కౌర్‌ చేసిన ఆరోపణల మేరకు దివానీ అడ్వకేట్స్‌ అనే లాయర్ల బృందం ఈ పిటిషన్‌ దాఖలు చేసింది. విస్కీ ఉత్పత్తిలో మెక్‌డొనాల్డ్‌కు రాయల్‌ స్టాగ్‌ ప్రధాన పోటీదా రుకాగా, మన దేశంలో లిక్కర్‌ బ్రాండ్స్‌ ప్రచారాన్ని అనుమతించనందున మెక్‌డొవెల్స్‌ నెంబర్‌ -1 ప్లాటినం సోడాను, రాయల్‌ స్టాగ్‌ క్రికెట్‌ పరికరాలను అడ్డం పెట్టుకుని ప్రకటనలు యిస్తుంటాయి. మెక్‌డొవెల్‌ తన ప్రకటనలో హర్భజన్‌ను అవమానకరంగా చిత్రీక రించిందని, దీనికి ఆ కంపెనీ బజ్జీకి, అతని కుటుంబానికి బే షరతు క్షమాపణ చెప్పాలని, పరువు నష్టం క్రింద లక్ష రూపాయలు చెల్లించాలని, లేని పక్షంలో క్రిమినల్‌ చర్యలు తీసుకుంటామని హర్భజన్‌ తరఫు న్యాయవాదులు నోటీసులు జారీ చేశారు.

Talking to media persons, Sailajanath said the Seemandhra leaders would present their views and stress the importance of keeping the state integrated. He said they would appeal him to adopt the Justice Srikrishna Committee recommendations before taking any decision on bifurcation of state.

He said the Centre can adopt the sixth recommendation of Justice Srikrishna Committee, which clearly opposed the division of state. He said that regions development would be possible with the implementation of 6th option only.

Ruling out disunity among Seemandra leaders, Eluru MP Kavuri Sambhasiva Rao said that Minister of state for Human Resources Development D Purandeswari, and Union Minister of State for Textiles Panabaka Laxmi did not attend the Seemandhra convention due to their busy schedule.

One cannot think of a single personality in Indian film industry - be it a director, producer or actor who has so mastered the internet as a communication tool as RGV has done. Even before he sets to make a film, one thing RGV sets in motion is an unrelenting publicity buzz. The film based on Maria Susai Raj's murder and acquittal is a case in point. In his characteristic style RGV has stated that he is licensed to take cinematic liberties because he is a story teller. In one stroke he brushes aside the need to pursue facts and says he is more interested in the feelings side of the story. In his own words this is what he wrote in his column ... I am interested in knowing "What kind of mental state would have led to a killing at 7.30 am in an apartment building in the heart of Mumbai's suburbs? How could a young man and woman, who seem so perfectly normal, turn into monsters in a minute?" These are exactly the kind of provocative thoughts that RGV sets up in a viewers mind. Funnily enough for him, a publicity hungry media just cannot seem to have enough of his kind of sound bytes.

Abhishek Bachchan, Asin and Ajay Devgn starrer Bol Bachchan seems to be in news for all the wrong reasons. Rohit Shetty, who's gearing up for the release of Singham, was all set to direct this remake of yesteryear's cult film, Golmaal when one of the lead actresses in the film, Genelia D'Souze stepped out of the project. Initially, Samantha was said to be in talks with Rohit Shetty for the role; however, the makers finally opted for Genelia. However, days before the film goes on floors, she has stepped out.

While it's not clear if she was shown the door or if she stepped out voluntarily, rumours are rife that she was not happy with her role in the film. Apparently, she rubbed the makers on the wrong side due to this.

However, other reports suggest that she opted out due to clash of dates. She's currently acting in Naa Ishtam with Rana and has to complete few songs for Force, a remake of Khaka Khaka Whatever maybe the case, she surely seems to have lost out a big film which could have restarted her career in Bollywood. Now, the hunt is on for another actress to replace Genelia in this film.