The truth behind why Salman goes ‘shirtless’ on and off screen

Salman Khan has been seen in his shirtless avatar in most of his films, be it in Maine Pyar Kiya, Dabangg or Ek Tha Tiger.

But the actor says that his choice of going shirtless so often, both on and off screen, has nothing to do with exhibitionism. "I don't take my shirt off because I like to show my body off. Instead, it is because I'm very choosy about the fabrics I wear. I cannot wear woollen or other such fabrics as they cause irritation. In fact, most of my new tees are first stretched and washed before I wear them. And whenever I get a chance, I choose to take off the shirt," he admits.

We're not complaining.

indiatimes.com

I’d like to hack into Katrina Kaif’s account: Manish Paul

Manish Paul is looking forward to the response to his debut film Mickey Virus, directed by Saurabh Varma. The host-turned-actor had to go undergo thorough training for the role.

"Being a host for such a long time, it took a lot of effort to cut myself out of that mould and think like an actor. For instance, as a host, I am used to being loud. But, as an actor, I had to say my dialogues subtly or sometimes, not even say anything but just convey things through my eyes or facial expressions," he says, adding that he lost 14 kilos and even built a six- pack for his first movie.

Paul essays the role of Mickey, a hacker from Malviya Nagar, Delhi, who ends up getting trapped in a problematic situation. When asked whose account he would like to hack into in real life, he quickly replies, "Katrina Kaif! I really like her and want to know everything about her. But, on a serious note, I'd never want to hack into anybody's personal account."

Manish is currently enjoying all the attention coming his way. "Like any newcomer, I am nervous. However, I am being showered with compliments, so that is nice. In fact, recently at a promotional event, some girls literally tore my T-shirt wanting to feel my six-pack!" he says.

Mickey Virus, produced DAR Motion Pictures, Awesome Films Pvt Ltd and Trilogic Digital Media Ltd., releases today.

indiatimes.com

'Krrish 3' is 100 percent Indian: Vivek Oberoi

Vivek Oberoi is the face of evil in Krrish 3, the prince of darkness pitted against the superhero Hrithik Roshan. After a successful 'Grand Masti' and with this film releasing next week, the actor is in a very happy place. To know more, go to follo.co.in/popularcelebs on your mobile.

What are your expectations from Krrish 3?
The most important thing is that it's made in India and if you see the VFX and compare it to an international film, you can't tell the difference. It's all about who is driving it. It's Hrithik's aesthetic sense, Guddu Uncle's ( Rakesh Roshan) conviction and passion, and his master craft of being able to weave such a beautiful emotional story through a superhero space.

Tell us about the action you've done. The action is on a whole new level. I will tell you about one sequence. We shot the climax in Hyderabad, where Guddu uncle recreated all of Bandra Kurla Complex, a whole chunk of Mumbai, on a massive scale. It was a 26 day shoot in 46 degree heat. It was incredibly challenging as I was wearing a metal costume weighing 28 kg.

You've done romance, action, sci-fi, a period film and a slice-of-life film. Which genre are you most comfortable with? Doing anything slapstick or over-the-top comedy is out of my comfort zone. I am most at home with real stories where the characters are real.

What do awards mean to you? Awards are little milestones. When they are in your office cabinet looking nice and shiny they are gentle reminders of a body of work that you should be proud of.

How do you unwind? I am family-oriented. I love spending time with them as it's therapeutic. The minute I walk home I shrug off my work cloak and be in this amazing supportive, loving environment I thrive on. I love taking on the role of the son, brother, husband and father.

Your favourite holiday destination? Istanbul. It's such an incredible mix of cultures and has amazing old ties with India. Also I love Rumi... I love his poetry, the Sufi music you experience in Turkey.

Your favourite Suresh Oberoi film? My dad has done some amazing films. My favourite is Aitbaar. He was brilliant. I loved where he played a baddie in Shraddhanjali. Another powerful and dynamic performance was in Kaal Chakra. He got a National Award for was Mirch Masala. I loved his cameo in Tezaab.
What is the most romantic thing you have done for wife Priyanka? I'm a romantic at heart. I like to woo my wife. Now she is so used to it, she is kinda spoilt. She is always demanding the wooing now.

Has life changed since your son Vivaan's birth? It's just gotten more beautiful. When you have a child, he starts to redefine the meaning of life. The moment I held Vivaan in my hands, I had this overwhelming feeling that he is the centre of my universe. The first time he looked at me with his beady little eyes, I couldn't stop crying.

Any message for your Follo'ers? A big thank you, the warmest hug and much love. The most important thing about people who love you is they are the most forgiving. People have been so patient with me. I love them for that. I hope you love Krrish 3.

.indiatimes.com

I am jobless: Ranbir Kapoor

 Calling himself jobless, Ranbir Kapoor has rubbished reports of having raised his acting fee to Rs 20 crore.

There were reports that Ranbir apparently charged a huge sum for Abhinav Kashyap's 'Besharam', which failed at the box office.

"I am jobless now... have no new films... hence this look. I don't know if you have seen my last film ('Besharam' - hinting at the failure of the film). It is embarrassing to talk about the economics of business (fee hike). Actors share profit and loss of a film. It is not true (Rs 20 crore hike)," Ranbir told reporters at an event.

It was the huge commercial success of Ayan Mukerji's 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' that prompted Ranbir to hike his fee. Also, now actors demand share in profit for a film. Recently there were reports of Deepika Padukone following suit.

On this, Ranbir says, "I think there should be no difference between female and male actors. A female actor's contribution to a film is immense. I can't speak for anybody. I am a producer now and I understand the economics of a film. An actor shares profit as well as loss," Ranbir said.

On Sachin Tendulkar calling it a day after the 200th Test match, Ranbir said, "I am excited as well as sad because its going to be his last match. We all are fans of him. He is the god of cricket... he is the jewel of our country," Ranbir said, adding, he might go and watch the master blaster play.

indiatimes.com

Tom Hardy Will Play Elton John in 'Rocketman,' But Can He Pull it Off?

Tom Hardy has built a career out of playing no-nonsense tough guys in film, but his next project represents a bit of a departure for the actor. Hardy will face the exciting world of piano ballads and Jaunty 70's pop for his newest role as Elton John in the upcoming biopic, Rocketman. However, we wonder if he has the trademark pipes and nimble fingers to successfully portray the piano playing pop-legend.

While Hardy has been spending his career as of late slapping on muscle and playing hulking strong men, he will have to seriously lay of the weights to play a true-to-period Rocketman. It's a good thing Hardy is a versatile actor that can shrink and grow into roles quite effortlessly. All Hardy needs is an unreasonable amount of sunglasses and he should be golden.

Focus features will give the film a major U.S release, and Elton John himself will be re-recording many of his most iconic hits for use in the film. Rocketman will begin shooting next fall.

hollywood.com

'The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes' Is Back On!

Constantin Film learned two valuable lessons after releasing The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. One is that young adult readers are fickle, and two is that continually yelling that your movie is a huge deal doesn't make it a huge deal. After the domestic box-office take failed to come remotely close to it's $60 million budget, production was smartly halted on its sequel, City of Ashes. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that production of the sequel will start back up again next year, against all tenants of general common sense.

Even in the face of City of Bones' disappointing box-office numbers, Constantin Film's Martin Moszkowicz remains confident. "The fan response, from the blogosphere and the thousands of mails we have received, has encouraged us to keep going," Moszkowicz told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's been overwhelmingly positive, in contrast to some other YA titles."

Even if you are able to entertain fans that were already familiar with the book series, that does not translate into a successful film. The studio needs to focus its efforts on attracting fresh eyes to the project, or the second film will likely do just as bad or worse than the first one. Moszkowicz goes on to say, "We are analyzing what we did wrong with the first film -- particularly with the positioning and marketing -- and what changes we have to make. We are working with a great group of people to reposition the franchise [for City of Ashes]."

The issue facing The Mortal Instruments  series might be that there is simply an oversaturation of young adult novels on the cinematic horizon. With The Hunger Games  series still postioned as the reigning king of teenage angst, and the upcoming Divergence nipping at its heels, is there any room for the generic-looking The Mortal Instruments series? Only time and ticket receipts will tell.

http://www.hollywood.com

Legendary playback singer Manna Dey passes away

BANGALORE: Legendary playback singer Manna Dey died at a city hospital early on Thursday morning, after prolonged illness.

Dey, 94, who was admitted to Narayana Hrudayalaya five months ago for respiratory problems, died of cardiac arrest at 3.50am, a senior doctor at the hospital said.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner singer had given several hits songs during his several decades long career which include 'Puchho na kaise maine rain bitayee', 'Ay mere pyare watan, ay mere bichhade chaman' and 'Laga chunari main daag', to name a few.

His daughter Shumita Deb and his son-in-law Jnanranjan Deb were by his bedside when the end came, his family said.

Dey is survived by two daughters, one of whom is based in the US.

"We are saddened by his loss, but he died peacefully. His last rites will be performed later in the day," his son-in-law said.

indiatimes.com

Hrithik's son fine now, back home

Hrithik Roshan

Actor Hrithik Roshan's elder son Hrehaan, who had an asthma attack last week, is fine now.

The seven-year-old was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital here. He is back home now.

"Yes, he is absolutely fine now and back home from the hospital," a source close to Hrithik told IANS.

Hrithik and his wife Suzanne have two sons - Hrehaan and five-year-old Hridhaan.

indiatimes.com

Never did anything crazy for love: Kareena Kapoor

Actress Kareena Kapoor says she is a "boring" person in real life and never did anything "crazy" for her husband Saif Ali Khan.

"I don't think I have done anything crazy for love. I am boring... Saif has an image of being crazy but he is not. He likes me, he has no choice," Kareena said during the promotion of her upcoming film 'Gori Tere Pyaar Mein'.

Kareena is sharing the screen space with Imran Khan again after "Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu".

Though Kareena might have not gone over the top for love in her real life, Imran certainly has.

Imran narrated how in his real life he had gone to Chennai to meet the family of a girl he was dating by impersonating another guy, as the girl's family did not like him, and stayed with them for a week.

In 'Gori Tere Pyaar Mein', Imran will pursue his love interest Kareena, who is playing an urban NGO worker, to a village.

Imran, who is playing the role of a South Indian youth, said he did not have to work on the accent.

"By birth he (the character) is a South Indian. He is misfit in the family because he doesn't talk Tamil and doesn't follow any tradition. He has studied abroad and there was no need to get the accent," the 30-year-old said.

Kareena said she could carry herself both as a typical village damsel and a modern urbanite.

"I think I can look like a gaon ki gori and also a girl London. I can manage to do both. There is no formal research to play a village girl. I am an an NGO worker from city who goes to village," she said.

Kareena said she had worked with Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, the producer of the movie, on five occasions and this is her first time to work with Malhotra.

"There is a lot of positivity and I am happy to be part of this project," she added.

The romantic comedy is set to release on November 22.

Kareena is also looking forward to working with Hrithik Roshan in 'Shuddhi' and buzz is that she is building six-pack abs for the character.

When asked about this, the actress did not divulge any details, saying "Just wait and see."

She also denied reports of doing a film with Salman Khan, which is to be directed by Sooraj Barjatya.

indiatimes.com

Akshay Kumar to promote 'BOSS' in Dubai

One of the biggest films of the year BOSS is all set to release on 16th October. Bollywood Superstar Akshay Kumar has left no stone unturned to play the perfectionist BOSS and buzz is that BOSS will have a special song 'Har Kisi ko Nahi Milta' (1986) which is a reprised version of the original. And this song will feature the very gorgeous Sonakshi Sinha along with Akshay Kumar.

'Har Kisiko Nahi Milta' has a very fresh and contemporary feel to it and the sizzling chemistry of the duo is something to watch out for" says a source close to the team. Akshay Kumar who is on a promotional spree has decided to launch this evergreen song in Dubai!!

BOSS is produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Cape Of Good Films and Ashwin Varde Productions and is directed by Anthony D'souza.

BOSS is all set to hit the theaters on 16th October!! 

indiatimes.com