Bollywood's young brigade

Kareena Kapoor drops a bomb, says Karan Johar's Shuddhi shelved

Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan is not part of Karan Johar's Shuddhi and according to her the project has been shelved.

Hrithik Roshan was cast in the lead for the film but he quit due to health reasons. Kareena, who was finalised opposite Hrithik, also left the project.

Kareena Kapoor has reportedly rejected offers from Ashutosh Gowarikar, Bejoy Nambiar and Sujoy Ghosh

Reportedly, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone were also offered the movie but they are now working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Bajirao Mastani'.

There were rumours that Salman Khan and Kareena would be part of the film but the 33-year-old actress has rubbished such reports.

"Will Salman be part of Shuddhi? It is all created by you all (media). 'Shuddhi' is shelved. Karan is working on The Warrior remake I think with Siddharth Malhotra and Akshay Kumar. This is what Karan said. It (shooting) will start in August," Kareena told reporters here.

The actress is at Ramoji Film City to shoot for Rohit Shetty's next Singham Returns', which also stars Ajay Devgn.

Kareena said she shares a good bond with Johar, contrary to reports that all is not well between them.

"Karan and we meet often. He loves to party. He is a very good friend. He is a brother to me and we share a deep bond. He is somebody who can be there for you," Kareena said.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/kareena-kapoor-karan-johar-shuddhi/1/368412.html

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a Shani devotee

According to a source, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a Shani bhakt and makes it a point to visit the Shani temple near her house in Juhu every Saturday. An eyewitness tells us that Aishwarya brings daughter Aaradhya along with her every week and does a small puja. It seems that at times, people don’t even come to know Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is around, as she’s always simply dressed during her temple visits.

Angelina Jolie to become Namibian citizen?

The 39-year-old actress was recently bestowed with an honourary damehood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth in her Birthday Honours, but as she is an American she cannot officially use the title.

Angelina Jolie is in talks to become a citizen of Namibia so she can become a dame.

However, the 'Maleficent' star has now been advised she could refer to herself as Dame Angelina Jolie by becoming a citizen of Namibia, which is part of the Commonwealth and she feels using the title would help with her charity work.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "Angelina was blown away when she was made a dame. She thinks it will add gravitas to her in her humanitarian work.

"Gradually she will focus less on acting and more on world issues and this helps to detract from her Hollywood history."

Angelina has close ties to the African country as it is where she gave birth to eight-year-old daughter Shiloh - her first biological child with fiance Brad Pitt - in 2006. The youngster is considered a Namibian citizen and has a passport issued by the country.

The Namibian Embassy says it would be happy to consider the A-list actress for citizenship.

A representative said: "We would welcome Angelina Jolie to make an application for citizenship, just like anyone else."

Angelina - who also raises adopted kids Maddox, 12, Pax, 10, and Zahara, nine, and biological twins Knox and Vivienne, five, with Brad - has become a lauded public figure for her humanitarian efforts in ending sexual violence in conflict zones through the United Nations (UN).

Shah Rukh Khan: My entire childhood was spent in the laps of India’s finest actors

 As Shah Rukh Khan says, "In theatre, just like in life, there are no retakes." The fact that in theatre an actor stands bare, performing live in front of an audience, makes it the toughest form of acting as it comes without retakes and almost no frills of enhancing your stardom. 

Your performance is your only tool. This live performance requires years of discipline and training. And while theatre may be a niche form of art, viewed by a select elite and intellectual audience, many of our most popular and respected stars have been trained by it. We highlight some of them for you to bring out the contribution of Indian theatre and its gurus in the life of Bollywood.

READ: ​ Shah Rukh Khan second richest actor in the world

Your memories of NSD (National School of Drama)?
My father used to run the NSD mess (located opposite Modern School) during Nadira Babbar's time. He ran restaurants, but he would spend most of his time there and not at his other restaurants. I studied at St. Columbus and would come there and wait for my sister for two hours and then we would go home. I was a very cute child and my entire childhood was spent there in the laps and roaming around with arguably India's finest actors. It sounds very strange, but I used to call Raj Babbar, Babbar sher uncle as he used to teach me some of the greatest plays, be it Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda, Razia Sultana or Tughlaq. I have only grown up wanting to be an actor growing up watching these actors, be it Rohini Hattangadi along with many others. I may not meet them now, but they have taught me how to act. Anupam Kher used to come there, Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah) bhai used to teach at Modern School. I have watched all their plays and rehearsals for months. I remember watching Raghu bhai (Raghubir Yadav) who was the junior most then, singing the Ganpati puja during rehearsals.

READ: Shah Rukh Khan is 'India's Most Popular Father' 

Theatre is known to discipline an artist. Did it discipline you?
Hugely. Physically, it taught me voice and body control and patience, but besides that, it taught me the fact that rehearsals have to be so rehearsed that they look natural. People feel that I perform effortlessly and deliver my lines with so much ease, but learning your lines are basic things that theatre teaches you. Besides, doing theatre you can sense that you have done it right as a live audience teaches you that. And the most beautiful part of being an actor is that you can be seen by thousands of people, but you can't see the thousands from the stage. You are quiet on stage. And yet everybody is looking at you. To be able to be looked at and called upon to perform and to be able to do so. Theatre teaches you that. That is why you will sometimes find some of the best actors uncomfortable with performing live, but anyone who has done theatre will not be uncomfortable. It lets you be the person who is stared at and yet not feel conscious. It makes you invisible to the stares. A lot of my understanding of acting and being able to do what I am able to prolifically on stage or in front of the camera comes from nine years of solid theatre training. And not just in acting, but in all aspects of it, be it makeup, lighting, being able to send junior artistes on stage, cueing, props, costumes, everyone had to do everything. I realised that making of an actor is not due to acting. Making of an actor is due to the peripherals. So I have a lot of respect for all aspects and for the entire team. Theatre teaches you to be in a group and it teaches you to move in a group. So, in any film that I have worked in, they will tell you that everyone had so much fun as it has always been a team effort. Theatre has helped me to create that atmosphere in each and every film where I have been the lead actor. I always create an atmosphere of theatre on every film that I have worked with.

Is there any difference for you in being an actor in a film or an actor on stage doing theatre? 
No difference. You develop a sense of superiority if you are a theatre actor. That's all as you just feel that hume zyada maloom hain. Theatre is like life where there is no retake.

The new kid on the block’s personal photos with cousin sisters Karisma and Kareena have leaked

Armaan Jain is getting a first hand taste of the price he has to pay for fame and glamour. Private pics of Armaan with his family and first cousins Kareena Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor have made their way on the internet. These were photos clicked before he signed his debut film Lekar Hum Deewana Dil.

We don’t know if Ranbir Kapoor’s cousin will be a bit more careful in posting his personal pics on social media, or will he continue the Kapoor tradition of wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Not many know that Armaan has assisted director Karan Johar on My Name Is Khan, Student Of The Year and Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu and always harboured an ambition to be an actor.

Several Bollywood bigwigs including Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have been gushing about Armaan. Even B-town’s young brigade including Deepika Padukone, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Diana Penty and Abhishek Bachchan gave an overwhelming welcome to Armaan on Twitter. We are sure that the dude will certainly go a long way