Sanjay Dutt in GOLMAAL 3

After his last film with Rohit Shetty ALL THE BEST, managed to rake in big moolah at the box office, the buzz is that Sanjay Dutt will now be part of Rohit's upcoming film GOLMAAL 3 also.

Rohit Shetty is getting increasingly noticeable with his own flavor of comedy that he showcased in GOLMAAL and GOLMAAL RETURNS. Even his last film, which was produced by Ajay Devgan, had the flavor of GOLMAAL series if you notice it closely.

CHECK OUT: Sanjay Dutt turns baddie third time!

Now, the director has started work on the third installment of his GOLMAAL series. The film will have an ensemble cast and Sanjay Dutt will be the new entrant in this comic marathon.

With Rohit managing to stretch his GOLMAAL flavor to its third level, let's hope this genre of comedy is venerated for its unique flavor for a long time to come.

Director Rohit Shetty in a sequel trap

Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) Comic director Rohit Shetty is a confused man right now - he has to decide whether he wants to do the next 'Golmaal' film first or the sequel to 'All The Best'.

'Yes, we're in two minds about which to go into first. The script, gags, jokes and the overall comedy have to be funnier in the next film. We can't have repetitive gags in 'All the Best' and 'Golmaal' sequel. Then the audience will lose faith in the franchise,' Ajay Devgn, who produced 'All The Best', told IANS.

Added Shetty: ''Golmaal 3' and 'All The Best 2' have only one thing in common - Ajay Devgn. By now the two of us are an inseparable team. I can't dream of making anything without him.

'I've two ideas for the third part of 'Golmaal and one for the sequel to 'All The Best'. Whichever shapes up better, I'll go ahead with first. 'Golmaal' 3 will again have all the characters caught in a situation in a house.'

The decision to make 'All The Best 2' was made even before the first film in the series was released. And while the male cast -- Ajay Devgn and Fardeen Khan -- will remain unchanged the ladies will keep changing in every film.

'We saw the film earlier during the week before release. Everyone was completely taken up by the idea of a sequel. So I said, why not? I don't mind doing 'Golmaal' and 'All The Best' films all my career if I want to. Making people laugh is not easy,' said Shetty.

'Golmaal 3' will feature the same male cast including Arshad Warsi who had annoyed Shetty by expressing his displeasure over the length of his role in 'Golmaal Returns'.

'I was angry with Arshad. Now it's all sorted out. And I'll be narrating 'Golmaal 3' to Arshad,' said Shetty.

Sanjay Dutt, who has become a hot favourite with the director as well as Ajay, may have a role in 'Golmaal 3'.

Which babe will sizzle this Diwali?

Like all Diwali releases, this year looks like a crackling one as well for we have not one but three movies -- Blue, All The Best and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna -- hitting the marquee on October 16.

All three movies promise action, comedy and romance. The star cast is an eclectic mix too. We have Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutta, Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan in Blue; Ajay Devgn, Bipasha Basu, Sanjay Dutt again, Mugdha Godse and Fardeen Khan in All The Best; and Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sohail Khan in Main Aurr Mrs Khanna.

While the star cast looks rock solid, it's the women who grab our attention. All of them look sexy, and it would be interesting to see who will shine the brightest.

So we've decided to ask you to vote for the woman, who has an edge over the others. Click through this slide show, and cast your cast at the end of it!

We start with Lara Dutta, whose bikini-clad body in Blue is currently the talk of the town. Promos show her swimming and snorkeling like a pro, which is amazing given the fact that she didn't know swimming at all before working on the movie!

Lara took swimming lessons and toned up her body to get the scenes right. Just for that, we give the actress a 10.

I couldn't stop staring at Bipasha'

Mugdha Godse made a smash debut in Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, and landed quite a few movies in her kitty. One of them is this week's release All The Best, co-starring Ajay Devgn, Fardeen Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu.

After showing off her glamorous side in her first film, Mugdha is all set to show off her comic side in this film. She tells Nithya Ramani what to expect.

What is All The Best about?

It is a madcap comedy, a complete entertainer with a lot of naach, gaana, action and comedy. I play a funny and very superstitious character called Vidya. She goes around giving out lucky charms and always places her phone in the north-west direction so that she can get good news. She spoils the fun for her friends, so they always want her out.

While I say action and comedy, I mean Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt do all the fight sequences and we ladies -- Bipasha and me -- do all the screaming. You'll find it funny when you watch the film.

Since it is directed by Rohit Shetty, you can expect a lot of comedy. Of course, the film is incomplete without a mistaken identity crisis. Something happens and that results in great chaos and finally, everything gets sorted out.

Are you superstitious like your character?

I'm not as mad as Vidya. I do wear a couple of stones which I believe will bring me luck, like my astrologer says. I have been wearing them for six-seven years now and things have been going well for me, making me want to believe that they help.

This is a comedy film. Do you have a funny bone?

No. But I've watched all the seasons of Friends and have tried to copy their style. My friends find me funny -- I think that is because I am straightforward. But as an actor, you have to have all the qualities to be able to pull off any kind of role.

Image: Mugdha Godse

My latest comedy's climax took 19 days: Rohit Shetty

New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) You can laugh your way through his comedies, but director Rohit Shetty says it took a 19-day, mindboggling session for him and his team to crack the climax of his new film 'All The Best - Fun Begins' that releases Friday.

'There is a common perception that scripting a comedy is the easiest thing to do, but it is the most difficult thing,' Shetty, who was here to promote the film, told IANS in an interview.

'We had to write close to 15 drafts for the 'All The Best' climax and it took us around 19 days to write it and figure out what the end should be because it is very dialogue-oriented.'

Produced by Ajay Devgn, the cast includes him along with Bipasha Basu, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan and Mugdha Godse.

'The climax is very unpredictable...but in the sense that it is not something new or something different or never seen. At the same time, it doesn't even end the way audiences would be thinking...it takes a turn and that is the best part of the film.'

'The whole strategy behind comedies is very easy. If I am laughing in the scripting room with my team that means the audiences are also going to laugh. It's a very simple theory, but it's very difficult to implement,' he explained.

Comedies also seem to have taken the 35-year-old by storm, as he has decided to stick to the genre. He has already made successful lighthearted entertainers like 'Golmaal', 'Sunday' and 'Golmaal Returns'.

'I am not shifting my genre (comedy) at least for the coming five years because people want me to do films like that and they are paying me for it; so why should I change? I don't want to disappoint my audiences by doing something else,' he said.

'All The Best' is releasing with two other big budget movies, 'Blue' and 'Main Aurr Mrs Khanna', but Shetty is unperturbed by the competition.

Release This Week: Ajay Devgn's 'All The Best'

'A light purse is a heavy curse'...The same is applied to Veer (Fardeen Khan) who is a singer by profession. Veer in greed of extracting extra pocket money from his step-brother Dharam (Sanjay Dutt), a business-honcho from London, tries to lie about his single status and puts it forth as 'happily married. His friend Prem (Ajay Devgn), a concept car expert, lends a helping hand in this falsely embossed projection.

Here's how Bollywood celebrates Diwali

It's that dazzling time of the year again. The sparkling festival of Diwali is just around the corner.

Sure, it marks the release of biggies like Blue, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and All The Best. But there's more to the Bollywood-Diwali connection than you think. Both are synonymous with lights, action and festivity.

rediff.com celebrates Diwali and its splendour-filled elements through the eyes of Bollywood.

It's called the festival of lights. And with good reason. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan gets into the spirit of Diwali with a radiant diya in her hand.


Image: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Ajay Devgn's All The Best finds itself in a copyright controversy

Next week's big Diwali release, All The Best, finds itself in the middle of an uncalled for controversy. Apparently, producer Karan Ramsay (of Om Films Company) has filed a copyright infringement suit against actor and producer Ajay Devgn over the script of the film.-

Ramsay claims that the script of All The Best is almost the same as his under-production film called Uncle Samjha Karo. He has even gone on to mention that he had purchased the copyright of his film's script from writer Paritosh Painter in November 2006. Ramsay further adds that in 2007, Paritosh Painter had tried to get back the copyright of the script from him but in the arbitration process that followed, the IMPPA ruled the case in his favour thereby declaring Ramsay as the owner of the copyright.

Devgn films meanwhile claim that their film is based on the American play 'Right Bed Wrong Husband' and that they had in fact acquired the script from an American firm for $40000. Devgn is even livid at the fact that despite knowing all this long before, Ramsay files a petition only at the last minute close to his film's release.

When we tried to contact Devgn Films, their spokesperson said, "Right now we are in Delhi for the promotions of our film. The matter is currently in court and we would not like to comment on anything at this point of time. We should get a clearer picture by Monday."

One will have to wait and watch if the makers of All The Best are able to come out of this soup in a clean way.

This Diwali releases have broken all records of film promotion budget

As the three big Diwali releases, All The Best, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and Blue, are gearing up for release, it comes to light that both the films have broken all records of promotions budgets for a film.

While Devgn Productions claim they've spent Rs 5 crore on publicity sources say they have actually spent double of that. While Blue has apparently spent 12 crores to create curiosity about their film. Main Aurr Mrs Khanna also releases on Diwali. Producer Sohail Khan, says, "I don't think publicity budgets need to be fixed. It depends from producer to producer."

In the South, there is a fixed sum that the producers can spend on the publicity of a film. They can't go beyond that. This is done to protect smaller producers, who don't have deep pockets. This way of functioning helps the whole industry.

Ajay Devgn's All The Best has been apparently made at a cost of more than 35 crore. Director Rohit Shetty, says, "Publicity budgets have increased between 25-30 per cent in the last one year. There are many avenues like more channels, websites and paid advertising avenues opening up which has drastically increased the publicity budgets of films. This cuts into the profit of the films as then the film needs to recover that extra Rs 4 crore spent on publicity. I think there should be some regulatory body fixing the costs."

Shree Ashtavinayak, producers of Blue have apparently spent almost 12 crore on the publicity. According to Dhilin Mehta, "The publicity amount to be spent on each movie differs from project to project. The publicity budget of Blue is much higher then that of Kidnap because the film is big, the underwater concept is being used for the first time in India. The estimate of the publicity budget of the film is roughly decided when we prepare the budget of the film before the start of the shoot, and varies between 8 to 10% of the film's cost. "

Yash Raj to distribute Ajay Devgan's 'All The Best' globally

Mumbai, Sep 15 Yash Raj Films has bagged the international distribution rights for Ajay Devgan Films' movie 'All The Best - Fun Begins'.

Releasing Oct 16, director Rohit Shetty's comedy promises audiences a perfect blend of action, and comedy with a strong dose of fun, said a press release from Yash Raj Films.

The movie will have Ajay as a wannabe chartered accountant and Bipasha Basu as his wife. Fardeen Khan will be seen as an upcoming singer who depends for pocket money on his millionaire brother, played by Sanjay Dutt, while Mugdha Godse will essay the role of Fardeen's girlfriend.

It Promises to a Dhamakedar Diwali

Diwali is still some time away but the lineup at the box office for the festival week has already been set. In fact, according to reports, there are four films which are set to create a dhamaka at the box office. Leading the race will be films like the Sanjay Dutt Akshay Kumar starrer 'Blue', followed by 'Aladin', 'Main Aur Mrs Khanna' and 'All The Best'.
The promos of 'Blue' have already hit the screens and it promises to be quite a thrilling experience. Eros too has started their promotions for Sujoy Ghosh's 'Aladin', which stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Ritesh Deshmukh. Following these films is Rohit Shetty's 'All the Best' and Prem Soni's Salman Khan Kareena Kapoor starrer 'Main Aur Mrs Khanna'. But there have also been rumors doing the rounds that the last two of these films will back out from a Diwali release. But nobody, as in no producer, seems to be in a mood to even concede the thought that they may back out from releasing their film on October 16. Prem Soni, the director of 'Main Aur Mrs Khanna' has already stated the stars of his film have blocked dates for the film's promotion 20 days prior to the film's release. As for 'All The best', its producers, Kumar Mangat and Ajay Devgan are all geared up to create a Diwali dhamaka at the box office. If all four films release as planned on October 16, it promises to be a Diwali full of dhamaka.

I just couldn’t say no to any one!

After receiving rave reviews for her acting skills in ‘Fashion’, Mugdha Godse is definitely set to explore her talent!

After venturing into drama, dark serious cinema and comedy with Fashion, Jail and Rohit Shetty’s ‘All the Best’ respectively, Mugdha seems to be exploring new avenues with every film!

The latest entrant in the list happens to be the genre of horror! The lady is all set to scare the audiences in a horror flick produced by Sanjay Ahluwalia and Rajeev Virani of Rupali Om Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

The film is to be directed by Rajeev Virani, a first time director and Mugdha is cast opposite the suave and dashing Bobby Deol. On asking Mugdha, the pretty actress exclaims, “I just couldn’t say no when I heard the script. It’s a fantastic script and I’m so excited that I can’t wait to start rolling! The whole art of scaring my audiences is so new for me and I’m looking forward for the same!”

In-fact the actress has always been into horror flicks. Adds Mugdha, “When I would be with friends and order for DVD’s they would all be horror flicks. There is something unique about supernatural films and now I am a part of it.”