And now, it begins...

After the producers and multiplex owners came to a common ground over the weekend, filmmakers have been racking their brains to find a clear way to release their flicks without coming in each other's way.

In a meeting held late on Saturday night, all the biggie producers have decided the flow of films. Here's a look at some of the releases...

June 12 Kal Kissne Dekha
June 19 Paying Guests
June 26 New York
July 3 Kambakkth Ishq
July 10 Shortkut
July 17 Jashn, Fast Forward
July 31 Luck, Love Aaj Kal
August 7 Wanted, Phhir
August 14 Aladin, Kaminey and Life Partner

Priyanka gets nervous about steamy scene

Priyanka Chopra on one hand is excited about her upcoming release “Kaminey”, as it is her first film with beau Shahid Kapur, but on the other hand she is upset about a hot scene she has done with a theatre actor who plays her first love interest in the film.

While shooting the scene, she had no reservations as director Vishal Bharadwaj had explained the importance of the scene in the film to her. But now as “Kaminey” is up for release, Priyanka reportedly has developed cold feet and does not want that scene to be a part of the movie.

She feels that she is a more established actress now and her days of “Andaaz” have passed by. “Andaaz”, in which she did a hot number with Akshay Kumar, incidentally was the film which propelled Priyanka into the big league.

She feels that the hot scene in “Kaminey” will do harm to her image, rather than being helpful. So she is trying her level best to convince Vishal not to include it in the film. Let’s see if she is successful!

May 29 onwards, flims to releases at single screens

The United Producer and Distributor Forum (UPDF) have finally decided that they won't wait for the multiplexes to meet them mid-way on the revenue-sharing issue. The UPDF has now released a series of notifications through a trade magazine in the past week telling the producers that the new movies will be all set to release as early as this month-end.

A trade source reveals, "The UPDF and multiplexes have been at loggerheads for a while now. Last week, it had seemed that the deadlock between the two parties would be called off. But after both parties couldn't get to an agreement on the profit-sharing issue, the meeting was called off abruptly. After the meet, the producers had an informal get-together and decided that they would be releasing films May 29 onwards."

The source further adds, "All the films will be released in single screens and the promotions of the film which had come to a standstill will start once again soon. Another major thing the producers have decided is that there will be only solo releases and every film will have a two-week breathing time and no new film can release two weeks after a film has released. This will allow all the films to grow on the audiences and will showcase the unity of the producers."

The first film, which will release after the suspension is Vashu Bhagnani's Kal Kissne Dekha and from then on, films like New York, Hadippa, Shortkut, Luck, Jashn, Love Aaj Kal, Kambakkht Ishq, Kaminey, Agyaat and Main Aur Mrs Khanna and finally, Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani will make their way to the single screens till the UPDF doesn't reach an agreement with multiplexes.

Priyanka excited about Kaminey role

Priyanka Chopra says actresses "don't get to work in a fantastic movie like Kaminey and play someone like Sweety (the name of her character) every day." She is talking about Vishal Bharadwaj's movie, which also has Shahid Kapur.

PC said she was "confident that my character of Sweety will definitely make an impact amongst the audiences. You can't expect anything less from Vishal. This character is so well written that it is bound to create an impact."
The film was expected to release on June 5, but the producers' strike might delay it.

Getting to know Kaminey...

Preview of Shahid and Priyanka's new film

Schedule to release on June 5, 2009, director Vishal Bhardwaj’s latest venture “Kaminey” stars Shahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra along with Amole Gupte.

“Kaminey” features Shahid Kapur in a double role for the first time in his career. He would be seen sporting a completely new bronzed and rugged look in the film.

Guddu and Charlie, Shahid's two characters in the film, are completely opposite from each other. While Charlie has a lisp, Guddu would be seen stammering.

An interesting aspect of “Kaminey” is the fresh pairing of Shahid and Priyanka Chopra. The two actors share screen space for the first time and there is immense curiosity about their on screen chemistry amid rumours of a real-life romance.

Priyanka, who is currently on a high after her award winning act in “Fashion” and “Dostana”, would be seen in a completely different get-up this time round.

She plays Sweety, a simple Maharashtrian girl, and hence would be seen dressed in simple Indian dresses. The actress has even spoken quite a lot of Marathi in the film.

Amole Gupte, who wrote the story and screenplay of “Taare Zameen Par” makes his acting debut with this film. Amole would be seen as a comical don called Bhope Bhau who has quite a menacing laugh.

Let's not talk about Gerard: Priyanka

Priyanka Chopra has many reasons to smile – her movies’ve been doing well, and she’s been winning awards for her work too. She’s also been declared the number one actress in Bollywood, but this damsel would rather concentrate on her work than count numbers.

“With every hit film, you become a number one or a number two, and with each flop film, you become a number six or number seven. And hits and flops come and go like nobody’s business in this fraternity. If you start keeping track of the number and the position, you’ll really lose your mind. Nothing succeeds like success, and that’s why I pay no attention to this whole number game. We’re all striving to be successful, but the measure of success does not come from being called number one for three months and then being forgotten about,” she explains.

Next year, it’ll be 10 years since Priyanka won her Miss India and Miss World crowd. “Oh yes, that’s right! It will be about 10 years next year. It makes me feel so old! Wow, now it’s scary – I feel like I was standing on that stage like a lost little girl. And where did the time go? My God, I haven’t had time to think about that,” she says.
Priyanka maintains that she is the same simple girl that she was when she entered the industry.

“I’m not very shrewd. If I look back at my life, it makes me feel that I’ve stayed away from the conventional stuff, deliberately. For instance, the films I do, the way I lead my life – I’m a lot more private. I don’t like focussing only and only on film, I pick different things to do. I’m writing now. I like getting involved in a lot of public forums, and because of all this, I feel is unconventional,” she says, adding, “And the unconventionality continues in my movies. I like to take up all kind of genres to test myself as an actor. Even a commercial film like Dostana was unconventional. I like to take up movies that I know I’d like to watch as a member of the audience. I’m an entertainer, but I’m also the audience. And I do go to movie halls, buy my own ticket and watch a lot of movies.”

Talking about movies, Priyanka will be seen in two this year – Kaminey and What’s Your Rashee? “I had to study Marathi for my role in Kaminey, it was like I was giving my exams. I had a tutor with me all the time and a dialect coach on the sets. But it was exciting. I’m a sucker for knowledge. And I learnt the language in a month and a half!”

Talking about Kaminey, Priyanka was recently linked with none her co-star in the movie, Shahid Kapur. However, she was also recently linked with the Hollywood actor Gerard Butler. So is either of them a ‘close friend’? “I’ve always been very private about my personal life. I don’t like giving importance to non-issues.” And what about Gerard Butler, ain’t she friends with him? “I don’t know if I want to talk about that,” she demurs.