Huma Qureshi, 26, ensures she gets what she sets her heart on. She is more emotional than practical and would rather take her decisions based on gut, if not for her younger brother Saqib, who is more mature and is her best friend and advisor. Ahead of her upcoming film Ek Thi Daayan, she talks to TOI about her conservative family background, her mentor NK Sharma and why she would never give up her friendship with Anurag Kashyap. Excerpts:

Let's talk about your childhood?
I was born and brought up in Delhi. While my dad is from Delhi, my mom is Kashmiri. My dad Saleem Qureshi owns a chain of restaurants called 'Saleems' for the past 30 years and it has eight outlets. While we lived in GK 1 in South Delhi, we were always sent to our grandparents' house at either Nizammuddin Basti near the dargah or Rakabganj at Old Delhi on the weekends. My grandparents were extremely conservative and my brother Saqib and I had to be well-behaved and I had to be dressed in a salwar kameez. My father had seven siblings and we had a huge family. We also had a huge house with a tree in the centre of the courtyard. We used to love going there as we were all a riot. As I grew up, I was suddenly not allowed to play being a girl and I resented that. I am more girlie now, but at that time, I was a bit tomboyish and a brat. Though I now kick myself, I did not want to learn Urdu at that time as I found it uncool. We would also go to Kashmir for our summer vacations. So from an early age, both Saqib and I learnt how to blend in.

When did you realise you wanted to be in films?
I've always wanted to participate in everything and was an all-rounder. My parents thought I was good at studies and felt I would do something academic. I joined History Honours at Gargi College and joined theatre. Delhi University has the best theatre in the country and that's when the bug really bit me. I started working with Act 1 theatre group and was also a part of one of Aamir Raza Hussain's plays. Every day at Act 1, we would hang out there between 2 and 9 pm and discuss everything from Mandi House gossip to politics to have our rehearsals over lots of chai. That feeling of being a part of a group and belonging to a place, where everything from your health to your character was being discussed and everyone aspired to move to Mumbai, was so special. Lots of people from the industry used to drop by while we were rehearsing.

It taught you to be democratic, have an opinion and be able to voice it no matter how insignificant it may sound. NK Sharma, Panditji as we call him at Act 1, changed my life. I adore that man and love him. I still call him once every 15 days and take advice from him. His best compliment to me after seeing Gangs Of Wasseypur was 'Yaar tum to badi filmi ho?' While I liked theatre, I didn't have the courage to admit even to myself that I wanted to act in films. Then I got a call from a friend of mine and he said one of the directors wanted to test me for a film with Abhay Deol and he called me to Mumbai. I told my parents I was going for a holiday and would watch a few plays at Prithvi theatre and return. Though I was selected for the film, it got canned. But it made me think seriously about moving to Mumbai. Now, I had to go back home and tell my parents. They thought I had lost the plot and it took me six months to convince them. But I am stubborn and if I set my heart on something, I want it. I also had a serious relationship at that time which broke up after I came to Mumbai.

How did you get your first film?
While my dad could afford to get me an independent house and a car, I did not want to ask him for too much money when I shifted to Mumbai. I stayed as a PG in Juhu with four other girls in a tiny place where each of us had a bed and a cabinet and we would have fights everyday on who would use the washroom first. I would eat from dabbas, travel in a rickshaw, sometimes even walk to save the money. I had decided to give myself one year before I returned. I started doing a lot of ads and did ads with Aamir Khan, SRK and Abhishek Bachchan. It was on one such shoot of Samsung with Aamir at Panchgani that I met Anurag Kashyap. He told me on the second day of shoot 'I will cast you in my film.' I did not believe him but he kept his word and gave me a role in Gangs Of Wasseypur. I was advised against doing the film with 300 dark actors, none of them being heroes, and told that I should wait and do a romantic film with a star. Had I listened to them I would have gone back home by now.

You are friends with Anurag Kashyap. What is he like?
As a director, he appears to be scattered and disorganised on the surface, but that is because he is spontaneous and organic and takes a lot from the places he is shooting and will do it with a certain amount of unpreparedness. Even though he is writer, he is not word heavy and always tells his actors about not being bothered about the lines. As a friend, what helped is that he knew the whole Act 1 gang and my ex-boyfriend. He is unreliable as in if you call him, you would not know if he will take your call or not. But what I like the most about him is that he is also the most reliable and if I need to reach out to him, he will help me. I don't need to hang out with him all the time, but he is there for me. He was my first director and due to our common friends he is protective about me and will always make that effort to find out how I am doing. If I seek advice from him, he will only give me facts not his opinion as that may colour my judgement about people and that is rare.

Are you also friends with Kalki?
I had first met Anurag and Kalki together as a couple in Panchgani. We had got a day off and Kalki and I went strawberry shopping. Since then, we have been friends. She is intelligent and is a fun and cool girl and is a good actress. Inspite of being unconventional, which has its drawbacks in terms of the roles you can do, she has created a space for herself. She is glamourous and is one of her kind. When we were shooting for Ek Thi Daayan, we would share two ends of the same van and keep our middle door open so that we could jump in and out of each other's area in the van.

There have been stories of you dating Anurag. Are you dating him?
No, I am not dating him and I am not going to let these stories affect my relationship with him or Kalki. My parents are fond of him and I won't stop hanging out with him or stop going to his office because of these stories. Is a married couple not allowed to be friends with a single girl? It's strange that these stories are coming in the last two months. It's a convenient way of bringing me down given that I am doing a number of roles. And yes, I'd like to date someone, but unfortunately I am not dating anyone at the moment. The only person in all of this who gets hurt is me as the implication is that my achievement so far is not because of my hard work or my talent but because I am having an affair with my director. Vishal Bhardwaj, Ekta Kapoor, Kannan Iyer, Abhishek Chaubey and Sameer Sharma have not cast me in their films because I am having an affair. By asking this, you are questioning not just my credibility, but also theirs.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

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MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings might have lost the final match against Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2012, but the Indian captain has a reason to cheer up. While SRK went on to win the elusive trophy and Badshah’s victory inspired Poonam Pandey to go nude, Dhoni’s popularity motivated little known model Rozlyn Khan to go topless.

Rozlyn recently did a tacky photoshoot and exhibited her unflinching support for Dhoni’s men in yellow. She also showed her butt while supporting her favourite team. Before the final game, Rozlyn had announced that she would do a special bikini shoot with captain Dhoni if his team won. Unfortunately, Dhoni’s team did not go on to win the match, but that did not stop Rozlyn from doing a dare-to-bare act. “I would like to dedicate my affection towards the team. I am sure they will bounce back in next series but before that they will create a history in the Champions League. What I am doing is a small token of appreciation for their efforts,” said the sensational babe, before unveiling her topless shoot for the CSK.

Honestly, we are quite tired of these damsels threatening to strip each time there is an important cricket series. Still, we wonder what the desperate-for-attention gal Rozlyn would have done had the Captain cool pulled of a stunning victory. Would she have beaten Poonam Pandey at her own game? It’s time to put your imagination to use Bollywoodlifers!

Source: bollywoodlife

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Over the past few hours rumours have been popping up on the Internet that Rozlyn Khan, who is known for dropping her clothes at random will be playing the cartoon sexpot Savita Bhabhi in Ram Gopal Varma’s new film. These rumours were sparked apparently after news came in telling us about a leaked video with Rozlyn dressed as Savita Bhabhi uploaded on the Internet. On closer inspection, however, we could easily tell that the clip was an old one, one that Rozlyn made during the Anna Hazare demonstration last year, with her pouting…err…seductively as she poses in revealing desi clothes.

And so we, in our usual jasoosi way, decided to dig into this meaty one; it was too much fun to resist. So we got in touch with the alleged director of the Savita Bhabhi film, Ram Gopal Varma. According to him, he is aware of the rumours and, in his trademark deadpan style, he told us that the news was false. “No, I am not casting anyone, and I am not making any film called Savita Bhabi,” he stated.

But whose story do we believe? Is Rosalyn Khan talking about her new ‘movie’ because her popularity is waning? After all, her contemporaries in sleaze – Poonam Pandey and Sherlyn Chopra – have both landed a film project each, while Rozlyn has none, right? And can anyone take RGV’s word on faith – remember how he told everyone that he was not making a film on the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai? And then he released 26/11 a few months later – wasn’t that you, Mr Varma?

So, what do you say, BollywoodLifers? Who do you think is telling the truth? And more interestingly, do you want to see Rozlyn as Savita Bhabi in a RGV film? Let us know!

Source: bollywoodlife

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Professionalism and punctuality are two words that are mostly alien to the Bollywood race, with celebrities making it their business to serve up tardiness on a platter and generous helpings of attitude for dessert. And then as a ray of sunshine comes Sunny Leone.

This once upon a time adult film star, carving a career for herself in one of the most unforgiving movie industries that is notorious for objectifying women with its sexually explicit ‘item’ numbers, decides to shun the rulebook and set her own terms, which would probably mystify her Bollywood brethren.

“What makes your time better than mine” were the words Sunny said she lives by, when quizzed about this anomaly for showing up on schedule for an event. Showing up on the arm of her husband and manager Daniel Weber, Sunny was the picture of elegance in a demure Rohit Verma sari, a far cry from her on-screen visuals that has made her a household name across the world.

Gushing about her first visit to Dubai, Sunny said: “My first day here was spent on a desert safari. I have never been more scared; at one point I thought our car would flip over.”Today will be spent exploring Burj Khalifa, while, both Sunny and husband Daniel, appear eager to invest in a home hear. “My husband is so taken by everything here. All Daniel wants to do is drive a Lamborghini and buy a home here,” Sunny revealed. “It is something we would possibly have to consider.”

The actress also relived her earthquake moments, which hit the UAE on Tuesday afternoon, saying: “I was sitting in my hotel room watching TV when I felt something strange happening. I first thought it was my husband doing something, then realised the entire hotel was swaying. I wasn’t scared though.”

Caged act
Sunny, who is performing at Chi @ The Lodge on Friday evening in an event organised by Premier Production House, revealed details of her special caged act for the night. “Bollywood is known for its dramatic entries, so we decided that my entry on Friday’s event would live up to this,” she laughed. “There are a few surprises that will be revealed on the night.”

The actress will be returning to Dubai next week for a special concert with the cast of ‘Shootout at Wadala’, that will see her shaking a leg with John Abraham, Anil Kapoor and the likes. Quizzed whether she has taken any advice from her co-stars, and the actress says: “All they have ever told me is ‘don’t change’.”

Source: emirates247

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Ileana D'cruz has bagged the female lead role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next project, Gabbar, starring Akshay Kumar. Bollywood reports say that the Goan beauty will be seen romancing Akshay Kumar in the Bollywood remake of the Tamil film to be directed by Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi (Krish) of Gamyam (2008) and Vedam (2010) fame.

Ileana, who is already shooting with Shahid Kapoor for Phata Poster Nikla Hero, has reportedly bagged the role after impressing everyone in her Bollywood debut and award winning Barfi. Gabbar is remake of 2002 Tamil film Ramana, and is slated to hit theatres by the end of the year.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

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Poonam Pandey gets yet another excuse to stay in the limelight. Remember how the Pandey gal chose the right opportunity during the 2011 World Cup when she offered to strip if team India wins the coveted title. Even last year Poonam promised that she would dare to bare if Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders wins the India Premier League 5. And now the 22-year-old is all set to milk the IPL cow once again.

Poonam has claimed that the IPL 2013 cricket matches are keeping her away from shooting her next film, Nasha. So intoxicated is Poonam with the action on the field that she is in no mood to act before the camera, and director Amit Saxena had to stop the shoot. “I love cricket and I just wasn’t able to focus on the shooting during the IPL matches. Especially when the Mumbai Indians were playing and Sachin was out there in the middle! The director had to finally give in and allow me a break to catch the match,” said Poonam. Once the match was over, we hear, Poonam was back to what she does best – filming herself…err shooting for the film, we mean!

Source: bollywoodlife

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Previously, whenever we considered scary films, then your very first title will be Memory Gopal Varma. However right now whenever we think about all of them, after that among the titles which will appear without a doubt is actually associated with Bipasha Basu. Everything began whenever your woman returned towards the film business “Raaz”. Next your woman authorized with regard to Aatma along with Nawazuddin Siddiqui which is aimed through Suparn Verma is actually liberating quickly.

Your woman lately authorized upon Vikram Bhatt’s brand new scary movie entitled “Creature”. After that you will find programs associated with Aatma follow up. Quizzed regarding the woman’s unexpected fondness with this style your woman stated “I have grown to be the face area associated with concern. We don’t thoughts as being a pattern setter. Scary is really a style associated with amusement and when it’s the actual suppliers and also the target audience, after that why don’t you. ”

Your woman additionally stated which within all of the woman’s scary movies, the woman’s part had been various. Your woman additionally seems which scary because style includes a great deal to become investigated and it is nevertheless in a nascent phase. “Each as well as everybody of these has already established different functions, Whilst We had been hearing the actual narration, We believed the actual movie will be fantastic. The actual piece of software as well as script drawn me personally, ” your woman stated.

Source: xnclub

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Following the death of Priyanka Chopra’s assistant Jiban Patra in a US hotel room after a suspected heart attack, Chopra and her team are putting in all efforts to bring his body back to India. Jiban Patra, who was part of Priyanka Chopra’s entourage in LA where she is busy recording her first international music album, was supposed to join the actress for TOIFA awards in Vancouver but could not get a visa to Canada and had to stay back.

Jiban Patra, 41, was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel on April 7. The Los Angeles Police Department, which is investigating the case, has pegged the immediate cause of death as heart attack, according to media reports. A statement from Priyanka Chopra’s official spokesperson has clarified that paperwork led to the delay in bringing Patra’s remains to India.

“Owing to the situation that this occurred in a foreign country, where no family member was present, there was multiple levels of paperwork and processes that had to be followed to ensure that the matter was handled effectively and in a timely manner. Owing to some delays in paperwork from the family’s end, the repatriation of the body was delayed,” the statement said. “Ms Chopra also delayed her return to India to ensure that the everything was in place for Mr Patra’s remains to be repatriated to India. We have been in constant touch with the family to keep them updated on the matter,” it read. The statement adds that “All details and financial requirements related to the repatriation was and is being handled directly by Ms Chopra and her team in LA.”The 30-year-old actress will be taking care of the financial needs of Patra’s family. Jiban Patra is survived by his wife and two children.

Source: niticentral

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From the time south Indian actress Kussum Arora posted her wish on her social networking profile about being imprisoned instead of Sanjay Dutt, many small-time strip-for-a-cause models came forward and called it a publicity stunt.

Nisha Yadav and Sshakshi Chovan are the two names amongst the list. When contacted Kussum, she laughed over it and replied, "I didn't know my wish will provoke so many wannabe at the same time. I never made a press release out of this, but just posted my love towards the actor in my way on my private Facebook profile.

Some media friends made news out of it and that was the end of the story. I don't need to do a publicity stunt out of this as my debut Telugu film was a blockbuster, I have recently rejected a big project Gulaab Gang opposite Madhuri Dixit and I have a decent resume with me for a back up. And the small time models you are talking about, trust me, I have not even heard their names before in my life. I think these models should concentrate on searching some other issue to strip instead of making me their target."If the Google is searched with Sshakshi Chovan and Nisha Yadav's names, it becomes easier to understand the two small-time models needs some desperate publicity. But southie Kussum Arora would like to stick to her claims as she adds, "I am still sticking on my wish. If the Government of India permits, I am ready to face the sentence instead of Sanjay Dutt. But I do not wish to comment further on any such claims coming from any small-timer."

Source: bolegaindia

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Bollywood actress Sherlyn Chopra along with members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) dressed as giant condoms walks the streets with the slogan ‘Sterilise Dogs – They Can’t Use Condoms!’ during an awareness campaign in Mumbai.

Source: bellypills

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