Neil Nitin Mukesh’s love interest is no longer kept out of view. That the girl in question Priyanka Bhatia is very much part of the Mukesh parivar became evident on the night of November 2 when at the Fame Adlabs at a private screening of Jail, Priyanka was prominently present alongside Neil’s parents and brother Naman.

Neil mother and girlfriend sobbed uncontrollably throughout.

“Priyanka and my mom were hysterical with grief. They weren’t looking at just a character being put through a traumatic time. To them it was someone who they both love in pain in front of their eyes,” said Neil.

Neil admits Priyanka is an integral part of his family. “My parents and her parents don’t only know and like one another we also visit one another’s homes constantly. More than lovers we’re friends first. There’s a comfort level in our interaction that makes us very relaxed with one another. We don’t have to hide anything. We meet openly and are very proud of one another. There’s no pressure for marriage on either side. When it happens, it happens. The marital status on the passport would hardly alter anything between us.”

Priyanka has done a course in fashion designing. Neil is open to the idea of Priyanka designing his clothes for his films. “I’d love that. But it should happen on its own. Neither Priyanka nor I want to pressurize anyone to use her skills. But if it happens I’d be very happy to be dressed up by her.”

Another happy happening is the fact that Neil’s colleague Ranbir Kapoor’s film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani releases on the same day as Neil’s Jail.

Says Neil, “Ranbir and I are of course competitors. But there’s no negative rivalry between us. Our respective fathers would kill us if we behaved like two brats fighting for the same roles. I’m proud that Ranbir’s and my grandfather were very close friends. My father and Ranbir’s father adore each other. Ranbir is like my younger brother.”

So is Neil saying Ranbir is no competition?

“Of course he is!” rejoins Neil. “I’d want Ranbir’s film to do as well as mine. Fortunately Jail and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani look like the North and South pole.”

On Tuesday night all of Neil’s forthcoming directors saw Jail at Yashraj Studios, “David Dhawan, Abbas-Mustan, Kunal Kohli and Ken Ghosh saw the film. I think they liked what they saw. So I’m safe in their films.”

He’s synonymous with realistic cinema and has won three National Awards by creating his own distinct style. He is none other than the maverick film director Madhur Bhandarkar, who started his career with Trishakti, which went unnoticed, but that didn’t bother him. After 2 years, he made the film ‘Chandni Bar’ featuring Tabu and Atul Kulkarni which turned Madhur Bhandarkar overnight into a top league director. Thereafter, he directed films which had hard hitting subjects to name a few are Traffic Signal, Page 3, and Fashion attaining the tag of a realistic filmmaker.

His latest is ‘Jail’ which also reveals the darker side of the four walls of prison. A lot of hype was created before the release of the film; however, post release the initial box office reports are not in favor of the film, still Madhur is very much confident about the fate of ‘Jail’. Let’s see what he has to say post the release of ‘Jail’ in this exclusive interview with us.

What are the responses you got post the release of Jail?

I’m getting good responses from all quarters of India. Everyone is calling and congratulating me and also are appreciating the film.

What are the expectations that you had with the movie?

I didn’t have any expectation as I knew I’m making a film with immense sincerity. But, I’m sure people have lot of expectation from my film which I hope gets fulfilled.

What is the best compliment that you got after the release of the movie?

One amazing compliment that I got was, “Crime rate will go down after watching this film.” Besides that, many people said it’s very much a realistic film.

Any plan to send Jail in the festival circuit?

Definitely, we will send ‘Jail’ in all the festivals.

After Jail, which hard hitting subject you are looking to explore?

Right now, I’m planning to take break.

Milind Soman has two Tamil movies, one Marathi and two Hindi films lined up. The supermodel-turned-actor, who is currently busy giving tips to young aspiring models on a reality show, says he loves to work with "different cultures and languages".

"I like acting and to me, the kind of film, where it is made, which language, is of secondary importance. I like working with different cultures, different languages, from all over India and all over the world," Milindsaid in an e-mail interview.

He says he has worked on "two Hindi movies, two Tamil movies and one Marathi film" this year. His regional projects include Vithagan and Paiyya in Tamil and Marathi film Gandh (smell).

In the past too, the actor has worked in Tamil films and also featured in Swedish film Arn - The Kingdom at Road's End and Pan Nalin's cross-over film Valley of Flowers.

Now Milind is back to the small screen, which catapulted him to fame as popular sci-fi hero Captain Vyom in the late 1990s.

But this time, he isn't acting. He is anchoring as well as judging a show The Hunt For The Kingfisher Calendar Girl 2010 on NDTV Good Times. The reality series, on air for a week, is a hunt for a sexy model, who will be a fresh face in the annual calendar launched by business tycoon Vijay Mallya. The show airs every Friday at 10 pm IST.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who caught up with actors Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif on the sets of reality show “Bigg Boss 3″ recently, is all praises for the latter and says she is a “modern day marvel”.

“Katrina is a modern day marvel. From a non-Hindi speaking young shy and uncertain lady of Boom”, she has grown and grown to become one of the most desired actresses in our fraternity,” Amitabh posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com.

While Amitabh hosts the reality show, Ranbir and Katrina had appeared to promote their film “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani”, which released Friday.

“They (Ranbir and Katrina) were charming and involved and sweet. Ranbir as you all know is related to me. His cousin – Rishi Kapoor’s elder sister’s son is married to Shweta, my daughter.

“I wished them happiness and success,” he said.

In the meanwhile, Amitabh is himself busy charting the marketing plans of his forthcoming movie “Paa”, being touted as his best work so far. He plays a 13-year-old suffering from progeria, a rare disease which causes premature ageing.

The actress is now only hoping that her younger sister Shamita Shetty, who is a participant on reality show "Bigg Boss 3", comes out to be with her in the "last few days at home". Shilpa will have a quiet wedding ceremony with close friends and family Nov 22 and has plans for a lavish reception two days later. 

Jacqueline said that she grew up watching Aishwarya making it big in life. She admires the way she has handled her career and thinks that she is not only the face of Indian cinema but also a prominent name at international level.

Aladin failed at the box-office but Jacqueline is not out of the scene. She will be seen in Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai with Riteish Deshmukh. It is releasing in February 2010.a

She isn’t as vocal and forthright about her life and as bade bhaiyya, Saif, but catch her in one of her rare talkathons and she’s expressive,alright.

While talking exclusively to ZOOM on Tum Mile, a touching love story about two ex-lovers who rediscover each other during the fateful night of the 26/7 deluge in Mumbai, Soha Ali Khan confesses, “An incident like this has happened to me in the past.”

Before divulging any more than she would regret (the kinda details that we’d love to know... like the name of the ex-man at least), she continued, “If I was confronted with someone I have loved and lost in the past, I would burst into tears. I know years after a break-up, when everything settles down, some people can talk to each other normally again. I am too sensitive, I can’t control that emotion.” We turned to her co-star Emraan Hashmi and asked him the same, pat came the effortless response, “I would tell the woman...Nice to see you again.” Men are from Mars, we get it!

Ahead of the release of his new film “3 Idiots”, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan Thursday drew a distinction between the term “idiots” and “stupid”, saying that “idiots are very normal persons” who at some point prove themselves in an “unconventional way”.

At an event in a city hotel to promote the first song of Rajkumar Hirani’s “3 idiots”, Aamir said: “Idiots are thought to be very normal persons but at some point of time they prove themselves to be someone with extra calibre. They are not stupid, rather they come to limelight in an unconventional way.”

Actor R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi were also present at the screening of the song “Jab life ho out of control, all is well”.

There are five songs in the film.

“3 idiots” is a story of three engineering students – Sharman Joshi, Aamir Khan and R. Madhavan – and their experiences on the campus.

Kareena Kapoor and Boman Irani play important roles and Kajol makes a special appearance in the film. The campus shown in the film is of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

The film is scheduled to release Dec 25.

MADHUR BHANDARKAR tells Jyothi Venkatesh that he thinks that he is God’s blessed child, on the release of his latest film Jail…

Excerpts from the conversation held at his office.

How did the concept of Jail evolve?

Jail is a subject which I had always wanted to make. In fact, it has always been my endeavour to make films which are contrasting like Page 3, Traffic Signal Corporate, Fashion, which was diabolically different with glamour quotient. In fact, I wanted to make a film on a different segment and strata and depict the ringside of a jail from the point of view of a common man.

How would you rate your actors like Mugdha Godse and Neil Nitin Mukesh?

In spite of being with Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra, I think Mugdha Godse did a commendable job in Fashion and stood her own. I have cast her in Jail in a completely deglamorised avatar clad in churidar, as an air hostess, in contrast to what she did in Fashion, while Neil plays the role of Parag Dixit in Jail. He plays a character which works in a finance company in the corporate sector. I would say that Neil is one of the brilliant and talented actors of our time. He is not only much focused but also intelligent and understands the character very well.

You have received encomiums from the critics as well as rewards at the box office!

I think I am God’s blessed child. I have had adulation from film critics without having a God father or a sugar daddy. I have enjoyed success because I came into the film industry as a guy who had absolutely no film backdrop. Today I have come to a position after having churned out a flop like Trishakti in the beginning stage of my career after I branched out as an independent director after my stint with Ram Gopal Varma as his assistant.

How did you feel when Ashutosh demeaned Priyanka Chopra when she bagged the best Actress award for Fashion?

I confess I reacted the way any filmmaker would have reacted when Ashutosh Gowarikar declared that Priyanka Chopra did not deserve the award for the best actress for her performance in my film Fashion, as much as Aishwarya Rai did for her performance in his film Jodha Akbar. It was in a very bad taste, because it was a public podium where you just cannot demean any one, especially Priyanka Chopra who, besides the fact that she had acted in my film Fashion, is also a dear friend of mine. I was indeed taken aback and shaken because I had always found Ashutosh to be a sensible person who talks with conviction.

Can you elucidate?

Every person has his or her own view on any particular topic but we cannot come on a public platform and state whatever one feels and set out to question the Jury, especially once the Jury has decided who the award winners are, because you should respect the Jury. I have attended almost every award function in town as well as abroad from Chandni Bar to Fashion. When Tabu did not get any award for her brilliant performance in Chandni Bar, I did not go and protest on the stage, because I have always believed that we are one big family and have to live in close proximity. Till today, I have never said that I deserved an award more than any other director when I did not get a popular award.

Are you ashamed of your film Trishakti which had bombed at the box office?

The reason I was convinced to make Trishakti half heartedly way back in 1997 was that I was fully aware of the fact that beggars cannot be choosers, especially because almost 80 percent of the film industry used to make that kind of cinema though I felt I could make emotional content-oriented films even then. I now shudder to think that if Trishakti had clicked, I would have made only the kind of pot boiler films which belonged to the same genre like Trishakti and hence would not have been able to reinvent myself by pushing the envelope. I confess that the failure of my debut film Trishakti was actually a stepping stone for me to become the brand Madhur Bhandarkar, whether I like it or not.

Why do you abhor the idea of working with stars in your films?

A lot of people ask me why I do not want to work with stars. If I have a script which justifies me casting stars in it, I’d definitely work with stars. It is wrong to say that I opt for newcomers because I am scared of stars interfering with me on the sets. Didn’t I cast Priyanka Chopra in Fashion when the script demanded that I cast her? Didn’t Bipasha Basu do justice to her role in Corporate? Bipasha says that Corporate is to her what Pakeeza was to the late Meena Kumari. No one thought that the actress who had made her debut with Ajnabi would end up giving a performance like the one she did in Corporate. I would be honest to state that no star has interfered with me right from Chandni Bar to Jail, because I have my kind of style and believe in making my kind of cinema as a film maker.

“Not enough filmmakers are interested in making children’s films. The main reason is that the economics affect the distribution of the film. Logistically, children’s films here are not very viable commercially,” Das said at a press conference in the capital Wednesday.

Das said that while she wanted an Indian films section in the upcoming 16th International Children’s Film Festival in Hyderabad, she could find only a handful of eligible films.

“We found only six good children’s films made in India which made us re-think on making a special section for the Indian film category. In the festival there will be 70 films – both international and Asian – which will be showcased,” she said.

Das, howeve,r added that well known director Vishal Bharadwaj and noted lyricist and director Gulzar have expressed their keen interest in making films in this genre.

“Both Vishal Bharadwaj and Gulzar will be coming for the film festival and participate in the open forums. Gulzar will be in the panel discussion on the subject ‘How do we define children’s films?’ ” she said.

“It’s a great feeling that at this stage of my career I am being seen in movies as diverse as ‘London Dreams’ and ‘All The Best’. At one point of time, I was doing only intense roles,” Ajay, 40, who won a National Award for “Zakhm” (1998), told IANS.

“But, believe me, if I had continued doing that till date with every film, I would have been really bored and fed up by now.”

Ajay has been seen in quite a few films that required him to showcase his intense side, among them “Halla Bol”, “Omkara”, “Apaharan”, “Gangaajal”, “Deewangee”, “Company” and “Takshak”.

His “London Dreams” co-star Asin has said it is Ajay’s “intensity quotient” that strikes one most as an actor. She also said when it comes to dramatic scenes, he just “eats up the screen”.

But Ajay says humbly, “I don’t really know if I eat up the screen or do anything like that in my dramatic scenes. Yes, intensity has been my forte and I take her views as a compliment. But, as I said, I am loving this phase of my career where I am able to work on diverse films.”

In the pipeline are films like “Rajneeti”, “Once Upon a Time in Mumbai”, Priyadarshan’s next film, “Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge”, “Toonpur Ka Superhero” and a sequel to “Golmaal” or “All The Best”. Clearly, the man is enjoying his status as an actor who can work in diverse genres.

One can also not deny the contribution of Rohit Shetty to Ajay’s career. A friend and pretty much a resident director, Rohit has now delivered three successful comedy films with the actor – “All The Best”, “Golmaal Returns” and “Golmaal”.

“Yes, as far as comedy is concerned, Rohit has definitely given a new dimension to my career,” agrees Ajay.

“I am very comfortable with him and he is someone I really trust. I am looking forward to what he comes up with next in the ‘All The Best’ and ‘Golmaal’ sequels. We have managed to get a good team working here.”

Regarding his own directorial stint though, he hasn’t quite finalised a film yet.

“I am still working on my next film,” says Ajay. “People do ask me a question: since I started with an action film (’Phool Aur Kaante’), would I be directing an action film next? Well, I am yet to look into it and will be making an announcement at a later stage.”