Playing 40 was the toughest: Priyanka Chopra

From a 21-year-old to a 65-year-old, Priyanka Chopra portrays almost every crucial stage in a woman's life in her new thriller '7 Saat Khoon Maaf'. But she says stepping into the shoes of a 40-plus character was the toughest as she couldn't connect to the age group.

'The 20s was my age, so it was fine and not so difficult; 30s was something I could expect and somehow imagined. The 50s and 60s were still easier to do because you become a lot more older so your body language is like that.

'But the 40s was the middle period, so it was very difficult. You are not very old but you are not very young either. So to get that correctly was a task,' Priyanka, 28, told IANS in an interview.

The film, which will be showcased at Berlinale, is the big screen adaptation of Ruskin Bond's short story 'Susannah's Seven Husbands'.

When Vishal Bharadwaj, who had earlier adapted 'Blue Umbrella' by the grand old 'sahib' from Landour in Mussourie, decided to make a movie on it, the author expanded the few-page short tale into an 80-page novella and then into a 200-page full-length Hindi movie script.

'It's a very entertaining and wicked movie. It's amusing and not serious. It's a satire which makes it very interesting,' said the mainstream actress who proved her versatility as a highly ambitious model in issue-based movie 'Fashion' and won the National Award for her performance. She was a delight to watch in 'Kaminey'.

'7 Saat Khoon Maaf' is slated for a Feb 18 release. This is Priyanka's second film with Bharadwaj after the 2009 release 'Kaminey' and the actress has no qualms in saying that the director knows how to exploit her potential.

'Vishal has always brought out the best in me and this time too he has given me one of the most challenging parts an actor can get. I'm really grateful that he thought I was capable enough to do it and pull it off,' she said.

'There is a lot of responsibility on you when you work with a director like him. He is the kind of person who gives you the scene and says 'okay, do it now'. No instructions. After I give my first take, he tweeks it a little bit. So the responsibility as an actor is completely on you, which is very scary,' she added.

The film's promos hit the screens some time back and have created enough curiosity thanks to Priyanka's sinister look and menacing tone.

The actress says the role demanded a lot from her.

'It was emotionally and physically very draining and I used to take out all my tantrums on Vishal. We used to fight like anything. He used to yell at me and I used to yell back. But then we used to make up,' she said.

The former Miss World jumped on to the Bollywood bandwagon in 2003 with 'The Hero: Love Story Of A Spy'. In eight years, she has done commercial as well as author-backed sensitive roles too.

She is happy that people offer her powerful roles.

'The films that come to me are like that. Nobody offers me films where I don't have a good role. All my films have very power-packed parts for me. I'm grateful that people say that I'm the only one who can do those roles. It's never been a conscious effort, but obviously if I'm doing a film, I would want a good role in it,' specified Priyanka.

The actress will be seen in a different avatar in Anurag Basu's 'Barfee', which also stars Ranbir Kapoor.

Priyanka mimics SRK, he turns red hot

Usually, Shahrukh Khan mimics others and pokes fun on actors and filmmakers at award functions but this time the table has turned upside down and Priyanka Chopra done a mimicry of various actors and films  nominated for the best movies. She has enacted Salman Khan from ‘Dabangg’ and owned applause but she had to face the rage of King Khan when she copied him. The actress  enacted SRK from the film, ‘My Name Is Khan’. The act did not go well with Shahrukh and he shouted from the audience at Priyanka saying, ‘Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai’, Hamari Film Ka Mazak Uraya Ja Raha Hai’. The audience turned pin dropped silence with the entire drama.

The entire episode  of mimicry turned into a great laugher show when King Khan told Piggy Chops, “Tum pehli baar itni khoobsurat lag rahi ho” after she played him in MNIK. The actress earned compliment from SRK.

Priyanka mimicked characters from Dabangg, My Name is Khan, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, Peepli Live, Rajneeti and Golmaal 3.

Pooja Batra seeks divorce from her husband

Pooja Batra’s eight years old marriage  life hit the rock. She has filed a divorce  from her LA based husband, Dr. Sonu Ahluwalia, an orthopedic surgeon.

Says a highly placed source, "Pooja and her husband are separated and will be filing for divorce in Los Angeles. She moved out of Sonu's house a few months ago."

Pooja’s frequent visit to India gave rise to the speculation that there was trouble brewing in her marriage. Child issue is the main cause of trouble between the two. It is said that Sonu is desperate to become a father but Pooja is in denial mode as she does not want to ruin her body. She is trying to make a career in Hollywood but nothing is happening.

States another close insider, "Sonu is famous doctor in Los Angeles and a fantastic guy. He brought her a lovely home and a swanky car and was paying for her acting and make up classes. They may be splitting up. Pooja wants a career in Hollywood and has been going for auditions, though matters haven't been exactly going her way. When they came down to Mumbai in 2010, they looked very happy together."

Pooja starred in films like, 'Haseena Maan Jayegi' and 'Virasat'.

Kat at Ranbir’s house during I-T raids

According to the latest grapevine, when I-T officials raid Katrina Kaif’s house in Mumbai, she was not in the house. It was later known that she was in Ranbir Kapoor’s house spending quality time with the actor . Kat and Ranbir are couple as well as neighbour. Whenever, Kat’s get time from her shooting, she moves to Ranbir’s house to spend time with him. During the unfortunate day also, Kat was in the company of Ranbir

Kat’s neighbor confirms the news that the very morning, she spotted Kat with Ranbir. From Kat’s house an unaccounted wealth of around Rs. 6 crore in the form of jewellery, property and business ventures was discovered.

I-T raids at the two actresses  house has not only disclosed their illegal wealth but also their personal secrets which they were keeping secret for long time. Similarly, when I-T officials dropped at Priyanka Chopra’s house uninformed, they were welcomed by Shahid Kapoor in short. 

Shahrukh Khan’s next Yash Raj movie starts from April

The King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan’s next with his loyal Yash Raj Films is likely to go on floors this April. Directed by the King of romance Yash Chopra and still there are strong rumours of Katrina Kaif pairing opposite King Khan.

There’s no official confirmation on the date of the movie going on floors but a close hand reveals that its likely to be in April.

Shahrukh was last seen under Yash Raj banner in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ with Anushka Sharma.

Reliable sources swear that the Bollywood Badshah Shahrukh Khan is in a special contract with the Indian premiere production house Yash Raj Films where he is suppose to do one film in a gap of two years at least.

We all are eagerly waiting to see what the magic of SRK is and Yashji has in store for us after ‘Veer Zara’.

Kareena and Saif should not get married, says Ajay

Ajay Devgn can be quite an entertainer when he chooses to be. The actor, who is known to be politically correct and rarely indulges in any kind of tongue and cheek antics, raised many eye-brows on Karan Johar’s talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’. In a moment of spontaneity, Ajay stunned all when he stated that Kareena and Saif should not get married .


The story goes that Karan in his ‘Rapid Fire Round` asked Devgn to render some piece of marital advice to Saif and Kareena. To which Devgn blurted that the two should not tie the knot.

As per sources, Ajay said, `Don`t get married`. But sadly, there was no explanation following Ajay’s advice. Being the rapid fire round, Karan did not ask Ajay to explain himself.

As to whether the statement will remain in the episode, a source told a daily, "Why not? That`s quite a statement, isn`t it?"

Well considering that Devgn is happily married, his piece of advice to Bebo and Saif sure shocked us all. However, a friend of the actor said, "Woh usne masti mein bola hoga,"

Shruti Haasan chooses Tamil film over B-Town flick

It's all quiet on Shruti Haasan front for the Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji promotions
Shruti Haasan has been conspicuous by her absence from the promotions of Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji. The singer-actress features in the movie opposite Emraan Hashmi.
While the rest of the cast Ajay Devgn, Omi Vaidya, Shazahn Padamsee, Shraddha Das and Hashmi have done their bit, Kamal Haasan's daughter has been silent about her project.
Says a source, "Considering her debut Hindi film Luck with Imran Khan did not fare well, she should have been looking forward to her second coming.
But strangely, she has chosen to be quiet about Madhur Bhandarkar's comic caper."
The actress appears in the film halfway through just before the interval. She essays the role of Niki, an industrialist's daughter, who is keen on bettering society through social work.
Buzz was that Shruti stayed away from the promotions as she felt that her role did not turn out be that great.
In the movie, Tisca Chopra, who essays the role of her stepmother, is there throughout the film. Almost till the interval, the audience wonders if Shruti is part of the cast or not!
Her spokesperson maintains, "Shruti's Tamil film opposite Suriya demanded all of her dates from December-end to February first week. She has been shooting in Chennai and overseas.
As a result, she couldn't promote DTBHJ as much as he would've wanted to. She was looking forward to promoting the film but was really upset that the promotional dates clashed with her Tamil movie schedule."
The spokesperson adds, "For her, working in a Madhur Bhandarkar's film was an honour, so she was really upset that she couldn't align herself to their publicity schedule."
"But," the source states, "it is indeed strange that Shruti did not fly down even for its music launch or any other function related to the flick even earlier."
Maybe for Shruti, it was a case of Dil Na Kehta Hai Ji!

Birthday time

Shruti Haasan celebrates her birthday today. The actress turns 25 and is having a working birthday as she is shooting for her Tamil film.