Abhishek is more blessed than parents: Rakeysh Mehra

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who directed Abhishek Bachchan for the first time in "Delhi-6", says he is a "pedigree" actor and is far more "blessed" than his parents Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.

"In terms of balance, Abhishek is far more blessed than both his parents. He is a thoroughbred and a pedigree. He has styles from both his mother and father but possesses the sensitivity and softness of his mother," Mehra told IANS.

Mehra, who worked with Amitabh in "Aks", was also all praise for Abhishek's acting style.

"Abhishek is in his nascent stage as an actor but he has got a whole lot of experience as an actor. He delves into the character and lately he's started doing that more often. I remember while shooting for 'Delhi-6', I couldn't believe that it's Abhishek when he completely got into the character of Roshan (the protagonist).”

Amitabh Bachchan turns stylist

“Aladin” (above) is one of the films that fans of Amitabh Bachchan should look out for this year.

Produced by Eros International and Boundscript, and directed by Sujoy Ghosh, “Aladin” is a contemporary look at the classic fairy tale. Packed with fun, music, masti, action and adventure “Aladin” boasts of a visual scale never seen before on Indian screen and arrives in theatres on July 24, 2009.

Apparently Big B was very excited about the groovy track to be picturised on him and Riteish Deshmukh and while planning the shoot for the peppy number, he expressed his desire to contribute to the song in his very own way - by choosing his own outfit for it!

Of course, the director willingly agreed and Bachchan went on to chose a deep red velvet jacket which added that extra touch of grandeur to his already larger-than-life persona in the film.

“Aladin” stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh and introduces Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez.

Who is wearing what at IIFA this year

The talk of the town has been Kangana Ranaut's gown which will be designed by Rick Roy. It was reported that she has asked to maintain the weight of the heavy gown and keep it between 25-30kg. The danger of it being heavier than her is quite probable. Roy has been so inspired by his muse that he has used a shipload of crystals on 250 meters of pink fabric for this gown. Now we have to wait and she how she manages to walk with such a heavy dress. Wardrobe malfunction is not only a Fashion statement, its a way of life for Kangana.

The brand Ambassador of IIFA Amitabh Bachchan will be seen in formal suits most probably by Giorgio Armani, which suits his tall personality or if he wants to make an ornate statement, he will opt for a Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla creation.

Some celebs will be seen walking on the ramp for their favorite designers in their designed outfits though it’s not yet decided that what kind of outfits they will wear.

Hrithik Roshan will be walking the ramp for the first time with his wife for designer Farah Ali Khan. And the dazzling Sonam Kapoor will walk for Anamika Khanna. The Fashion Extravaganza is scheduled for Day two of the IIFA weekend and will be hosted by the stylish duo Zayed Khan who will wear a Manav Gangwani creation during the IIFA ceremony along with raunchy Sophie Chaudhry in her best finery.

Amrita Rao is expected to wear a Wendell Rodricks outfit complemented by jewellery from the Gitanjali Group for the Fashion Extravaganza. Her look for IIFA is all about being colour and comfortable. Amrita says, “My fashion statement will express loads of ‘green carpet’ glamour for the night, and simple yet sexy dresses for the day.”

Her green carpet and cocktail parties look will be created by designer Swapnil Shinde. Shinde has been instructed to balance sexy and elegant, so expect Amrita to depict a mix of prêt and couture at the IIFA parties. Amrita will also wear accessories from design houses Christian Dior, FCUK, Aldo, Luxottica Group.

Who is attending IIFA

The event is going to be talked about for who flies down for the celebrations. Those who stay away might be scorned for penny-pinching, no matter how busy their lifestyles might be. Stars can always make a concession, though most don't seem to be in a party mood.

Which celebs are going to be present at IFFA?
In spite of biggies like SRK, Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan giving a miss to the IIFA , still is a huge star studded list of attendees like Hrithik and Suzanne Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Arjun and Meher Rampal, Boman Irani, Riteish Deshmukh, Anoushka Sharma, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, David Dhawan, Rakesh Roshan, Ashutosh Govarikar, Randhir Kapoor, Govinda, Neelam, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Mugdha Ghodse, Ritesh Sidhwani, Malaika Arora Khan, and Amrita Rao.

That is some list!
Hold your horses, here's more dope on the glitterati.
Also attending will be Rajesh Khanna, Zayed Khan, Sophie Choudhury and fashion designers - Rocky S, Manav Gangwani, Anamika Khanna and Farah Ali Khan.

Will the real winners please stand up.
Oscar winners A R Rehman and Rasool Pookutty will also be attending the Videocon IIFA Weekend and this is a good chance for IIFA to make sure the world tunes in to see where musician Rahman is partying.

Last minute drop-outs.
This list is incomplete without Jaya Bachchan who has chosen to stay back home. But guess what is keeping her home? She will be taking care of close friend Amar Singh, who is hospitalised. Wasn't his family enough to take care for two days?

Hmnn, strange are the ways of celeb committments.

What to expect at the IIFA this year

The International Indian Film Academy is a first-of-its-kind effort to promote Indian cinema globally, thus reaching out to millions of its fans. An annual event, it honours its talents with an awards night show fun-filled with performances from various artists to represent not only their work, but also to promote Bollywood on alien shores.

IIFA AwardsPREVIOUSLY, starting with the Millennium Dome, London, IIFA has traveled through Sun City, Malaysia, Johannesburg, Singapore, Amsterdam, Dubai, and Yorkshire. This year the gala event is being held in Macau.

What is the schedule of the event?

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) will unfurl in the exotic locale of The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel in Macau, China. The 10th edition of IIFA will be held at the picturesque resort during June 11 – 13, 2009.

Which Celebs are NOT attending IIFA?

Here’s the lowdown first, superstars Shahrukh Khan, and Akshay Kumar, have both used the family vacation bahana to not show up at the awards function event. A source close to the Kumar family reveals, Akki had worked out his summer vacation schedule to make time for his son Aarav, and despite the organizers promising both heaven and earth, Akshay will not budge.”

We smell a rat there. Seems, like the previous IIFA events in the past, which have become a Bachchan parivaar extravaganza, none of the major stars want to be over-shadowed by the luminaries.

Take the case of Shahrukh Khan, who has been quoted in the media, being non-committal to his presence at the show.

Who is attending? You must have guessed by now!

Which Celebs have backed out of their IIFA performance?

Bebolicious Kareena Kapoor was supposed to perform Marjani from Billu at the IIFA 2009 ceremony, but she has reportedly dumped the idea. Why you ask?

She obviously wanted to be the event opener and the one to close it with her dhamakedaar performances but since Big B is the brand ambassador and the key performance spots are booked for the khaandaan, she had to re-think her decision.

She decided to jump out of the fray and join beau Saif Ali Khan to watch the T20 event in England. IIFA show organizers have surely been fed a healthy dose of Bebo-ism.

After Bebo, ex beau Shahid Kapur, followed suit. Since his break-up with Priyanka, they too have decided not to perform at the event, where they were supposed to be the hottest item on the menu.

They were due to do a medley number on their Kaminay numbers, which would have been a treat.

"I was looking forward to performing at IIFA and showcasing Kaminay. However, my commitment to my producer has to be honored. I regret being unable to attend this year, " Shahid quoted in a statement.

Producers of the show have been sorely missing on masala this year.

What to look forward to tomorrow?

We will tell you who is performing apart from the Bachchans. Which film will unveil its first look at IIFA?

Find out, as StarBoxOffice brings you that and all the gossip tomorrow.

Pehchan kaun!

Is this Amitabh Bachchan's look in Paa? This photograph showed up yesterday on a number of Bollywood websites.

It claims to have been shot at the New Delhi schedule. Director Balki and his unit have been extremely careful about keeping Big B's look under wraps, but someone seems to have captured the pic on a mobile camera.

It is believed that in the film, the Big B plays Abhishek's son. Sort of Benjamin Button-y in the reverse.

Happy Wedding Anniversary!

June 3 was Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan's wedding anniversary. On his blog (bigb.bigadda.com) the actor's last post yesterday ended with, "So good night ... and Happy Anniversary!! 36 years!!"

Mrs B should write about the journey with the superstar. Maybe she should post one on Bachchan's blog as a guest writer.

Bollywood to bring on the heat at Macau

IIFA 2009 is just around the corner! With the schedule for the much-awaited event out now, it looks like Bollywood is going to make its mark in Macau, the picturesque place which is host to the 10th year of the IIFA awards.

Amitabh, Abhishek, AishwaryaComedy kings Boman Irani and Riteish Deshmukh would be hosting the event, in co-ordination with the beautiful Lara Dutta. Each of them we know as top class communicators. Lara we know as a great orator, and is witty. And when it comes to witty and humourours, Boman and Riteish have established their ground in this space.

The event organizers are all set to have a lot of drama on the stage. On one hand, they have Aishwarya Rai-Bachchhan - who created waves dancing to the tunes of Kajra Re at IIFA 2005 at Amsterdam. And where Ash is, Abhi would surely follow! Maybe Pa and Ma should join in and create the Kajra Re magic again. And on the other hand, the surprise element comes with someone who is going to make her stage debut at the event… none other than the Delhi 6 gal Sonam Kapoor! We hope all the Cannes catfights will be forgiven and forgotten. The drama that we can forsee cant get better than this - Kareena Kapoor is scheduled to perform a belly dance to a Turkish-Arabian song. And guess who will also be on stage - the very spoken about love birds Priyanka Chopra-Shahid Kapoor are to perform to a song from their upcoming film Kaminey.

The other highlight of the event is a special award that has been added by IIFA to commemorate the completion of a decade – The Videocon IIFA Golden Decade Honours. Five different categories have been made for the same, including Star of the Decade (Male and Female), Movie of the Decade, Music of the Decade and Director of the Decade, so as to honour the best of Bollywood over the past 10 years.

Speaking about the occasion, IIFA Brand Ambassador Amitabh Bachchhan says, “I am delighted to see IIFA celebrate its 10th year. The Indian and international reception to IIFA has grown over the years, cementing its position as a significant larger than life phenomenon. This year at IDEA IIFA Awards, we pay tribute to the greats of Indian cinema through the Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Videocon Golden Decade Honours. We are committed to presenting the talent India has to offer, while giving audiences a chance to experience their film favourites.”

We look forward to a spectacular show of Bollywood at Macau soon, as always!

Amitabh’s says Australian honour rejection an emotional decision

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says his decision to turn down an honorary doctorate from an Australian university following racial attacks on Indian students there was driven completely by emotions.

"I reacted emotionally. It was a personal decision. I didn't find it appropriate to accept an honour from a country where my countrymen were being dishonoured," Amitabh told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday (June 2).

The 66-year-old star created a buzz on Saturday when he publicly announced that he had refused to accept the doctorate being given to him for his contribution to the world of entertainment from the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, in wake of the racial attacks.

The actor was also supposed to attend the Brisbane Film Festival there in July, but he is confused about attending it.

"A retrospective of my films is to be showcased at the event and they had even asked me to suggest 10-12 of my best films, but I don't know if I will be going or not. I don't know if I would want to reconsider my decision," he said.

Amitabh was in New Delhi for a press conference for the announcement of the 10th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards to be held in Macau, China starting June 11-13. He is the IIFA brand ambassador and is extremely excited about going to the 'Las Vegas of the East' for the event.

Bachchans secretly shooting in Delhi

It’s the beta who’s older, actually, in the movie that was being shot in Delhi yesterday.

Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan continued shooting for Pa in Delhi, amid tight security – and secrecy. Amitabh is playing a bald man in the scenes that were being shot in Delhi, and every measure was taken to ensure that he was not visible to onlookers.

He was to come to Dwarka Sector 9 Metro station to shoot, but was dropped mid-way at Tagore Garden Metro Station. The shots were taken on the train, in the stations, and AB returned without being seen. Even elsewhere, Amitabh would only appear with his head covered. A source from the unit says that his make-up started at 2 am and went on till the early hours of the morning.

AB & AB Baby in Delhi

Abhishek and his pa, Amitabh Bachchan, were shooting in Delhi for the movie Pa yesterday.

They started shooting at Rajpath early in the morning, and moved from there to the Metro station at Dwarka Sector 9. According to sources in the unit, a Metro train had been hired for the shoot. It would stop at a few stations, take the shots from there and come back. They had permission till 1 pm to shoot.

Vidya Balan, who’s also part of the cast, was shooting with them. Abhishek was in a blue shirt and a waistcoat, and Amitabh was in character as a bald man, which is what his role in the film demands.

Teen Patti - First Look

First look at Big B and Ben Kingsley starrer Teen Patti

Here's a dekho of Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley in Leena Yadav's Teen Patti and the Big B with the rest of the cast which includes Madhavan, Shraddha Kapoor, Dhruv Ganesh among others.

Produced by Ambika Hinduja, the film is about a reclusive math genius Venkat Subramanina (Bachchan) while Kingsley plays the character of Percis Trachtenberg, the world's greatest living mathematician.

Will there be only veg food at IIFA awards

Animal welfare organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has urged members of the India International Film Academy (IIFA) and its brand ambassador, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, to avoid non-vegetarian meals at the forthcoming event to be held in Macau, China next month.

On behalf of PETA, its chief functionary Anuradha Sawhney sent a letter in this regard to Sabbas Joseph, one of the directors of Wizcraft that organises IIFA, and its vegetarian celebrity face Amitabh after learning that the event will have a 'Go-Green' theme, said a press release.

"We were thrilled to hear that this year's IIFA Awards are going to have a 'Go Green' theme, and we commend you for helping to once again draw attention to the global climate crisis. On behalf of PETA India and all our members and supporters, we respectfully ask you to serve only green (vegetarian) food at the event.

"By doing so, you will send a strong message that people can save the planet simply by changing their dietary habits," Sawhney stated in the letter sent on Tuesday (May 26) morning.

IIFA, in its 10th edition this year, will be held from June 11-13 at The Venetian Macau-Resort. It will also present a special 'Green IIFA' award to a film personality who has been working in the area of creating environment awareness.

IFFA has been addressing the issue of global warming since 2007 and this year too they will take their concern forward. It has been hosting an eco-friendly award function by rolling out a green carpet instead of the conventional red.

"Kicking the meat habit is the best thing that anyone can do for animals, their health and the earth," Sawhney said.

Ramu's battle over 'Rann' continues

Censor board refused to clear his new movie

The Supreme Court on Monday (May 25) asked noted film director Ram Gopal Varma to approach a tribunal set up under cinematogrophy laws to challenge the censor board's direction against showing the movie "Rann".

The censor board refused to clear "Rann" unless it removed a song that's a take-off on the national anthem. Varma has refused to remove the song.

A vacation bench of Justice V.S. Sirpurkar asked the tribunal to decide within a month Varma's application challenging the censor board's decision.

The bench also asked Varma to come to it after a month if he is not satisfied with the decision.

The Censor Board of Film Certification refused permission to air the controversial song. It said the national anthem was distorted in the movie.

Big B gets waxed again

Madame Tussauds hosted a Bollywood bash at Times Square in New York on Friday to unveil the wax figure of Amitabh Bachchan and a new Bollywood Zone.

Big B is dressed in a black sherwani with a gold and black scarf draped around his neck. But the wax work does not look like our favourite Big B or even his distant cousin. Whoever did it?

What's happening in Bollywood Town!

Find Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, all together. Also, find out what Freida and Deepika have in common.

Amitabh not as rich as SRK: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he couldn't bid for an Indian Premier League (IPL) team because
he doesn't have "as much money as (Kolkata Knight Riders owner) Shah Rukh Khan". "I don't have as much money as Shah Rukh. He has money and so he owns
a team," Amitabh said on Zee News' celebrity chat show Kahiye Janab to be aired on Saturday.
Amitabh sent a congratulatory SMS to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his Padma Shri and didn't get a response. But he says he holds no grudge against the cricket star. "He must have been busy, there's no need to make an issue out of this." The sexagenarian otherwise makes for an avid viewer of the IPL and says he watches "almost all the matches".

Female Boxers Wanted: A thrilling action sequence is being canned in Bangkok by action director Vijayan and his team for Boney Kapoor’s Wanted. The sequence involves hundreds of spectators watching a brutal fight between female Thai boxers. This scene also has southern star Prakash Raj and is being shot at an indoor stadium. The Salman starrer film will release in early July.

Blender’s Pride: Shah Rukh Khan graces the cover of Blender Magazine’s latest issue. The styling is very Karan Johar.

Shruti Haasan cooks up a storm: This spunky lady loves to don a chef’s hat! Apparently whenever Shruti feels like unwinding, she heads straight to the kitchen and whips up a meal for her friends! On asking her about her expertise in this arena, she says, “I just call my friends over at home and we enjoy digging into the food” And how well does she fare in the kitchen – she says cheekily, “Even if occasionally the food isn’t that great, my friends are too sweet to say anything!”

Same-Same: Freida Pinto sports the same Gauri-Nainika creation for a photoshoot that Deepika Padukone wore to the Filmfare Awards in 2008. We prefer the white version to Deepika’s hideous midnight blue one.

Drummer Boy: Sanjay Dutt turns drummer for his new movie, All The Best, which he is shooting in Goa. He looks like a rockstar!

I'm not as rich as SRK: Amitabh

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he couldn't bid for an Indian Premier League (IPL) team because he doesn't have "as much money as (Kolkata Knight Riders owner) Shah Rukh Khan".

"I don't have as much money as Shah Rukh. He has money and so he owns a team," Amitabh said on Zee News' celebrity chat show "Kahiye Janab" to be aired on Saturday.

Amitabh sent a congratulatory SMS to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his Padma Shri and didn't get a response. But he says he holds no grudge against the cricket star.

"He must have been busy, there's no need to make an issue out of this."

The sexagenarian otherwise makes for an avid viewer of the IPL and says he watches "almost all the matches".

Big B is back!

The star was finding it difficult making juggling busy schedules daily. He had trouble making it on time to the recording studios in the morning and then for his shoot post that. However, the actor has finally got his act together.

Amitabh Bachchan never misses the recordings. He is at the studio at sharp seven every morning and dubs for Aladin for and hour and a half before he can take off for his shooting.

Big B has promised the director, Sujoy Ghosh, to finish the dubbing before he takes off for IIFA.

In Pics: Director Prakash Mehra's Funeral