Sunday, May 15, 2016

Bollywood's Lavish Diwali Parties This Year

The festival of lights is at our doorsteps and Bollywood is ready to let its hair down and light it up in style. Actresses Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty have started early celebrations for Diwali by inviting close friends and colleagues from the industry.

But it looks to get bigger and better as B-Town biggies, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Ekta Kapoor are all set to host grand parties. hitlist takes a look at what these parties have to offer and who's invited.


Raveena Tandon hosted a quiet, private Diwali celebration at home on Saturday. The actress decked up her house with flowers and earthen lamps.




Anil Kapoor and wife, Sunita, too, had a few people over at their house, including industry friends, Anu and Shashi Ranjan, and Archana Puran Singh with hubby Parmeet Sethi.




On the very next day, festivities at Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty saw the attendance of quite a few film stars and directors. Many of Shilpa's friends Anil Kapoor, Sonali Bendre, Anu Dewan, Harman Baweja, Jeetendra and David Dhawan among others were part of this get-together.

A source says, "The party started at around 10 pm and went on till 6am. Shilpa played a gracious host and arranged quick spa sessions for them. There was a counter for foot and back massages. On the platter was a lavish spread of Mughlai dishes and everyone played poker. Some of the guests had brought gifts for Shilpa and Raj and she will be getting the return gifts, some personalised stuff, delivered to their respective houses on the day of Diwali."

Of all the Bollywood parties that create a lot of buzz include the ones hosted by Amitabh Bachchan at his Juhu bungalow, Jalsa. The guest list includes the who's who of the industry.

This year too many of the Bachchan's friends including Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Ambani, Anupam and Kirron Kher, Rishi Kapoor, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi, Anurag Kashyap and a few other A-listers are likely to be part of his Diwali bash on October 24, on the day of Lakshmi puja.

Senior members of the party mostly like to play traditional card games while the younger lot sticks to video games. The Bachchans are known to stick to Indian cuisine. Hrithik Roshan has also planned a party at his place on the same day.

Aamir Khan likes to keep his Diwali get-together limited to his small circle of friends. "He is hosting a party on and his guest list includes Salman Khan, Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Ritesh Sidhwani and some of his co-stars like Anushka Sharma, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Jackie Shroff.

His children, Aira and Junaid will be present at his place. So will nephew, Imran Khan and his wife, Avantika," says a source. The actor likes to order in food from a particular restaurant chain which is known to serve Mughlai food and biryani.

Another bash which Ekta Kapoor is planning would be held tonight, coinciding with Dhanteras. It is expected to see a mixed bag of celebrities from Bollywood and television world. "It will be one of her regular star parties - guests coming over in designer clothes, buffet in the driveway and so on. While most TV actors are expected, the younger lot from Bollywood like Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor are also likely to join in the revelry that will start at 9.30pm and go on till the wee hours, an industry source says.

Sonakshi Sinha Slams Kamaal R Khan For Offensive Tweets, Calls Him 'Waste of Space'

Making Sonakshi Sinha the 'butt' of his jokes has backfired on Kamaal R Khan. The Dabangg actress lashed out at the actor-producer who carried out a survey of sorts asking people on Twitter to choose which Bollywood actress had the biggest derriere.

KRK, as Mr Khan is popularly known, put out a series of tweets lamenting the lack of a Kim Kardashian sized posterior in Bollywood and asking his followers to choose from between certain actresses - including Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Parineeti Chopra - size wise.

An incensed Sonakshi tweeted this response:
 
Please RT this if u think @kamaalrkhan is a woman disrespecting waste of space and deserves to be hung upside down and given 4 tight slaps.


Sonakshi has been particularly vocal and critical about body image perceptions and the intense scrutiny that actresses are put through. Some weeks ago, she Instagrammed a picture of a skeleton with the accompanying caption:
 

This image was posted on Instagram by aslisona



This image was posted on Instagram by aslisona


KRK apologised for his remark and apparently deleted a similar tweet related to Sonakshi.

He wrote:
 
Dear @sonakshisinha Ji I am really sorry if you took it in disrespecting way. It's just a survey to choose sexiest actress of Bollywood.


However, a subsequent tweet was unrepentant:
 
As you @sonakshisinha think tat this survey is a disrespect of woman so you are disqualified n out of competition. Sorry to hurt ur feelings


Infact, KRK has promised to carry out a similar survey about actress Ileana D'Cruz and singer Sunidhi Chauhan today and on Saturday respectively.
 

 


Unsurprisingly, KRK was trending on Twitter yesterday. He signed off with a final retort directed at Sonakshi:

So @sonakshisinha has got record 5000+ RTs on her tweet about me n this is because of Jalwa n stardom of Me Me Me KRK not You you you Sona.

Priyanka Chopra Wants to Inspire Actresses to Take Risks

Fresh from the success of Mary Kom, actress Priyanka Chopra says it is her goal to do more meaningful films and inspire future actresses to take up challenging roles in Bollywood.

Priyanka feels actresses are afraid to take risks because of the fear of failure but according to the star success can be achieved by striking a balance between commercial cinema and substantial content.

"Actresses are scared to take risks. They think they will fail and might not get good work after that. It is possible that they may fail but they should start taking up prominent roles," Priyanka told PTI.

"I have always done strong and prominent characters, be it in Fashion, Aitraaz or Mary Kom. The bigger question for me is that people should be able to see that female actors can do roles of responsibility. The world should start seeing female and male actors as equals. This is my goal," she added.

She was elated that Mary Kom got a good opening and feels this might pave way for filmmakers to trust actresses. "It is a victory that we got good weekend numbers. With such films getting good opening numbers, it will be a big step for future female actresses. They will start taking up films where at least they are shown at par with the boys. This will hopefully encourage producers to cast actresses in prominent roles," she says.

Upbeat about her maiden production Madamji, her second collaboration with director Madhur Bhandarkar after Fashion, Priyanka says it is an extremely powerful and entertaining movie.

"I am really excited for the film because it a story about an item girl thrown into the world of politics. It has all kinds of shades and I am really kicked about the story," the actress says.

Priyanka wants to promote new talent though her company Purple Pebble Pictures.

"I want to give chance to new talent through my production house, be it new directors and actors. All films in my production house will not necessarily feature me. We will make movies with other actors too," Priyanka said.

When asked if she would like to cast her younger cousin Mannara in any film of her production house, Priyanka said, "I would love to cast her in one of my films and I hope she likes some script. But I will not make films according to actors but on the basis of scripts."

Sonakshi Sinha Doesn't Feel Insecure in Muti-Starrer Films

Actress Sonakshi Sinha will be seen with actresses Yami Gautam and Manasvi Mamgai the upcoming film Action Jackson and the actress says she doesn't feel insecure due to the presence of other actors in the movie.

"In my four years' career, this is my first multi-starrer. I've always played solo heroine. But the fact is even in this film, I was very pampered," Sonakshi told IANS.

"I do films with all my sense. When I signed the film, I knew there are two more girls in it. But I am not the kind of person who gets insecure," she added.

Sonakshi, who has worked with established actors like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar as well as young stars like Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, says she has gotten along with all her co-stars.

"Every actor is different and their personality is different. So, you can't compare. I have gotten along well with all my co-stars. From senior actors, you get to learn a lot. But with the young lot, you learn things together," said the 27-year-old actress.

Directed by Prabhu Deva, Action Jackson featured actor Ajay Devgn in lead role and will hit theatres on December 5.

Why Mohit Suri Finds it Difficult to Cast Cousin Alia Bhatt in His Films

Mohit Suri, known for directing hit films like Kalyug, Aashiqui 2 and Ek Villain, says he is a huge fan of his little cousin sister Alia Bhatt. However the director finds it difficult to cast the actress in his films.

Mohit was present at the Renault Star Guild Awards 2015 on Sunday.

On being asked about his plans for working with Alia, Mohit said: "Well, I am a huge fan of my little sister Alia Bhatt. I think whenever I meet, I'm actually like forget that she is my cousin and I start getting onto a whole struggling director mode with her.

"She is someone who I think is not only a big star, but one of the most emotional actresses I've ever seen of our time. And that's what makes it so difficult. I find a role very difficult to give her, because I've to live up to her," added Mohit.

On the work front, Mohit is currently busy with Hamari Adhuri Kahani, which stars Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi in the lead roles.

Fashion Risk-Takers at Filmfare Party: Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt

The red carpet at the pre-party to the Filmfare Awards was an indication of an interesting fashion year. Among the actresses who sashayed down the red carpet in Mumbai on January 23 were Priyanka Chopra and Alia Bhatt, both in get-ups that had everyone doing a double take. 

Mary Kom star Priyanka Chopra wore an ensemble few could get away with - an Elena Perseil hoodie-dress. In fact, the jury is still out on whether Priyanka manages to escape unscathed from its billowing folds. For sheer fashion bravado, however, Priyanka has everyone beat.


Sartorially speaking, 2015 is a brand new year for Highway actress Alia Bhatt. The Student of the Year now graduates with honours style-wise, ditching her former red carpet cutesy in favour of grown-up sultry. Alia's white Temperley London vest-suit turned more than a few heads and she said about her new look, "You have to sometimes spice it up a bit. But I'm not leaving behind the cuteness." (Also Read: Wonderful to Have Powerful People Visit: Karan Johar on Barack Obama)


Other actresses making a detour from their comfort zones were Tabu, who picked a sexy black gown over her regulation traditional fatigues, and Amrita Rao who also turned up the heat in bodycon Herve Leger. Both looked great, as did actress-producer Dia Mirza who dazzled in an embellished black dress.


The night also belonged to Judith Leiber's statement clutches. While actress Richa Chadda, who wore an Akanksha Gajria sari, brought a cupcake with her, Fugly actress Kiara Advani, looking spunky in a formal silk suit by The Circus, was accompanied by her Chihuahua.(In Pics -Filmfare Has a Party: Priyanka, Alia, Tabu, Dia)

We also liked the traditional look on actress Shriya Saran, who showed off her sexy back in a Manish Malhotra suit.


Adding colour to the red carpet was CityLights actress Patralekhaa, who looked sultry in a Roberto Cavalli gown. Gauahar Khan teamed a faux-leather studded tan skirt with a black cropped jacket-top. Rhea Chakraborty looked sassy in a printed maxi by Deme.

Vaani Kapoor, who seems to have rediscovered the route to the red carpet, was seen in a Hugo Boss dress teamed with a Judith Leiber clutch (yes, again).


However, not everyone could strike the perfect note of effortless glam. Tannisha Mukherjee's ill-fitting column dress looked rather lumpy, Juhi Chawla's skinny pants and top outfit seemed dull next to the high-octane dresses and singer Sona Mohapatra's black outfit was impossible to decode.

The party was a prelude to the main gala event, which will be held on January 31 and will be hosted by Karan Johar and Kapil Sharma.

Soha Ali Khan's Mehendi: A Royal Affair With Kareena Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Konkana Sen

The wedding festivities of actress Soha Ali Khan, who is marrying actor Kunal Khemu on January 25, began with her mehendi ceremony on Friday.

Keeping up with the nawabi style, Soha looked spectacular in a three-piece pink Ritu Kumar outfit and heavy gold jhumkis at her mehendi.


The groom, Kunal Khemu, arrived at the venue in casuals.


Soha's mehendi ceremony began in the afternoon and continued till night. Soha posed for pictures with brother, actor Saif Ali Khan, and sister-in-law Kareena.
 

This image was posted on Twitter by Saif Ali Khan Online


A radiant Soha also struck a pose with Salman Khan's sister Arpita Khan Sharma.
 

This image was posted on Instagram by Arpita Khan Sharma


Soha's friends, actresses Konkana Sen and Neha Dhupia joined in later in the day.

While Wake Up Sid actress Konkana was seen in pale pink, Neha looked stylish in a one-shouldered Nupur Kanoi outfit.


After celebrating with her family, Soha happily posed for the media with sister Saba and displayed the mehendi designs on her hands and feet.