"It does feel like a very different kind of pairing, doesn't it?" says Vidya Balan about her latest co-star. Vidya seems very happy with John. "No two actors could be more different in personality. John is very cosmopolitan and I'm very Indian in look and attitude. I think that friction in our personalities is essential to our on-screen compatibility. That's how our director Nikhil Advani saw us…We're two completely antithetical souls from the outside. I'm the simple homely girl, while he's the cool dude. But scratch the surface and we're a perfectly compatible couple. Isn't that how it is in real life too?" After sizzlers like Bipasha Basu and Priyanka Chopra, John goes for a complete about-turn in Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq.

He was the original Devdas, with brooding eyes and a perpetual grouse with the world, but today's generation of actors have hardly seen him at work. And now, wife Saira Banu hopes to bring back husband Dilip Kumar to acting under her production banner. "Yes I hope to bring back Dilip sahib once I prove my capability as a producer. There were one or two scripts that we had revived including Satya Master. If he agrees, I would like to produce that film," Saira Banu told reporters in a rare press conference.  "Why not, it would be a good thing," Dilip Kumar said when informed of his wife's plans. The thespian's last film was Qila in 1998.

Canara Bank has issued a legal notice to Amisha Patel and her family seeking recovery of dues amounting to Rs 11.75 crore, loaned to them for financing their business. The notice has been sent to Amisha, her mother Asha, father Amit, actor-brother Ashmit and the office of their Nashik-based firm Messrs Jai Electronics, said Nishit Dhruv, the lawyer representing Canara Bank. Asha Patel claimed she was not aware of this. "There are attempts to malign our family and some vested interests are behind this," she said. Amisha, Asha, Amit and Ashmit are directors of the family-run firm Jai Electronics, which had obtained overdraft and other credit facilities from Canara Bank's Queens Road branch in Mumbai in 2001. Later, the credit facilities were transferred to Canara Bank's Girgaum branch. All members of Patel family, including Amisha, had guaranteed repayments to the extent of Rs 10 crore alongwith further costs and charges, the notice pointed out.

Shahrukh Khan, once a chain smoker is now trying to quit smoking !! Atleast that whats the King Khan had to say when launching a cancer drug from Biocon. SRK ’s new movie Don face censor issues over a smoking scene. "I am desperately trying to kick the habit", he said.  Shah Rukh declared that it's a "shameful thing" that while he supported the fight against cancer - he lost his father to cancer in 1981 and mother to "somehow related to the same disease" 10 years later, as he puts it - he continues to smoke.

Ram Gopal Varma, a popular Bollywood director, says he wants his heroines to be sensual.  "I don't like simple girls anymore,'' The Hindustan Times over the weekend quoted Varma as saying. Varma, who has made some 30 Hindi-language movies, is one of the rare Indian directors whose films don't feature song-and-dance routines that often fill Bollywood films. "My perception about a woman has changed over the years _ she has to be sensual and have the oomph factor,'' he said. His forthcoming film "Nishabd,'' or "Wordless,'' features Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, 63, and debutante 19-year-old Jiah Khan.

Pritish Nandy Communications threw a party to celebrate the success of its latest film Pyaar Ke Side Effects on Wednesday, Mallika Sherawat featured in the guest list. It is was the time to party for Mallika. Not many films have clicked for the actress in last two years. Mahesh Bhatt's Murder (2004) has been her biggest hit so far, and her last film, Shaadi Se Pehle, didn't make an impact at the box office either.

Tired of denying rumours of an affair and marriage with co-star Ravi Kishen, Bhojpuri film actress Nagma says they might stop working together for a while.  "Instead of denying such rumours, we may even stop working together for a while. Both of us are working on several projects and are close family friends. But, some people fail to unnderstand that. Such baseless rumours affect a good friendship", she told reporters during the promotional event of her new film 'Ab Ta Banja Sajanwa Hamaar', produced by Saira Banu. About her start from scratch journey in Bhojpuri cinema after a good reign down south, Nagma says she enjoys constant challenges. She said she was keen on television too, but was waiting for an exciting and good offer. "Why should Television be looked down on. If Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) can do television, who are people like us to say no to good offers", she asked.  Nagma said she wanted to work with Aamir Khan. "I still repent the fact that I declined 'Jo Jeeta Woh Sikander' opposite Aamir Khan to play the role, which went to Ayesha Jhulka," she says.

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