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.

Film with Sanjay Dutt not on Khalistan or 26/11: Lakhia

Filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia, known for making the hit crime thriller 'Shootout At Lokhandwala', has trashed rumours that his film with Sanjay Dutt is based on policemen who battled Sikh extremism.

"I don't know where all this has come from. There is no film that I am doing on the Khalistan movement. Yes, I am doing a film with Sanjay Dutt, but it is more on the lines of 'Shootout At Lokhandwala' - something based on a recent event in Mumbai and something about cops," Lakhia told us over phone from Mumbai.

So is it about the brutal 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that took place last year?

"No way! Not at all. It has nothing to do with 26/11. It is based on a two- paragraph story I read in the newspaper about an event in the city involving some cops," he said.

The movie will be directed by Lakhia in association with Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Private Limited.

Lakhia is at present busy with post- production of his first home production 'Hide & Seek', a romantic thriller that has an ensemble cast, including actors like Purab Kohli, Arjan Bajwa, Sameer Kochar and Ajaaz Khan.

The film is being directed by his assistant Shawn Arranha.

" 'Hide & Seek' is an exciting story about how six young friends play a game of hide and seek and one incident makes them drift apart for 15 years. Now to unravel the mystery of the incident, they have to play the game all over again. It has hints of childhood crushes and romance - basically it's going to be a romantic thriller," said Lakhia.

There are no problems with Sanjay Dutt: Akshay Kumar

Mumbai, Oct 16 (IANS) Akshay Kumar is tired of replying to queries about his so-called rivalry with 'Blue' co-star Sanjay Dutt. Setting the record straight, he says this is a figment of someone's imagination and they don't have any problems whatsoever with each other.

'Please, in this forum, let me state this for perhaps the last time ever - 'There are no problems between Sanjay Dutt and me,' Akshay told IANS.

Since the shooting of 'Blue' commenced around a year ago, there was talk of tension between the two stars.

'Yeh sab bekaar ki baatein hain (all this is ridiculous talk). People can imagine something and start writing about anything that comes to their mind. We live in times when such unnecessary gossip makes headlines.

'In fact, I went for 'Mata Ki Chowki' (prayer function) at his place. Would I have done that had there been any problems between us?' asked the actor who is currently shooting for 'Houseful'.

Akshay and Sanjay haven't worked in a film together for a long time. Their last release was director Raj N. Sippy's 'Amaanat', which had incidentally released Oct 14 in 1994. Now, after exactly 15 years, the two actors are seen again in 'Blue'.

What took them so much time to patch up?

'What patch up?' asked Akshay in an exasperated tone. 'Rani Mukerji has been around for 13 years. Her first film was 'Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat' (1996). Still, both of us have never worked together. Does it mean that we were having a rivalry of sorts and hence would require some kind of patch-up to prove to the world that everything is fine between us?'

He is also happy to declare that Sanjay is the hero of the film and he is the villain.

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.

Bollywood actors walk ramp for charity in Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 14 (ANI): Bollywood actors lent their support to a social cause as they walked the ramp to raise funds for a charity.

The 'Being Human' show at the HDIL India Couture Week in Mumbai, saw Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, and many others make an appearance at the ramp, to raise funds for the charity 'Being Human' run by actor Salman Khan.

Eight designers, including Gavin Miguel, Shane and Falguni Peacock, Rocky S, Rohit Gandhi and Kunal Rawal designed the collection for this special show.

The show also had children who were present at the ramp during the entire show.

"Being paid is also good. And doing this kind of stuff is even better," said Salman.

The actors said they felt good to be associated with a noble cause.

'Aladin is like old wine in a new bottle'

With Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt coming together in his new film Aladin, director Sujoy Ghosh does not expect to go wrong. Adding to the cast is the hilarious Ritesh Deshmukh and Miss Sri Lanka Jacqueline Fernandez.

Sujoy tells Nithya Ramani why he's confident that Aladin will be a hit like his first film Jhankaar Beats.

What is Aladin about?

It is my take on the old story. I would call it a smart take because I want to tell people that we have talent in India and we need to use it to the maximum to be on par with Hollywood films.

Aladin has been made on an epic scale, set within a world that the audience haven't seen. A lot of homework and pre-production has gone into this. In my films like Jhankaar Beats and Home Delivery, I could afford to be creative on the sets but not with a film like Aladin. Everything was well planned and we knew what exactly we wanted and how.

The protagonist of the film happens to go by the name of Aladin. He's so frustrated with his name that he starts hating lamps because his peers constantly tease him. But one fine day, he decides to get a lamp and out comes a genie. It's hard for him to believe that this can happen.


Image: A scene from Aladin

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.

Sanjay Loves Needles

Whilst people are busy making a mark for themselves in the book or records, Sanjay Dutt is probably vouching for a record of a different kind. The actor with a care free attitude has gone ahead and got himself inked for the ninth time! Whoa! That's quite a fascination for the needles and colors we think. By now Sanjay has got addicted to the needles and visits his tattoo parlour whenever he wants to get a high, and so used to the needles Sanjay is that he bears the pain with a smile throughout. This time it was a Samurai which had caught Sanjay's fancy and now the same design adorns his upper arm. And so excited is Sanju with his new tattoo that he is busy flashing the Samurai and flaunting it to friends, wherever he goes just like a kid would do with his new toy. Its good to see the child in Sanju baba emerge due to such exciting things in his life.

Imran is too young to create problems for me: Sanjay Dutt

Sanjay Dutt feels very charitable towards those who have apparently not been kind to him.
Shrugging off stories of Imran Khan undercutting his role in 'Luck', Sanjay says, "Imran is like a little child. He was very respectful through the two films we've done together. He's a good actor. I wish him luck and I want him to grow into an actor as big as his uncle (Aamir). Imran is too young to create problems for me."

Sanjay says he did 'Luck' for a lark. "I did it just to help Soham Shah. I really didn't have the time or date. I told him to just cast me in a small role which would finish quickly. In fact the role shaped up bigger than planned. As long as it makes some money and no one loses any, I'm happy."

Hours before his birthday Sanjay was chilled out. But he has regrets about not being able to be near Amar Singh on his birthday. "I couldn't even visit Amar Singhji because by the time the visa materialized the surgery was over. My wife Maanyata was there. But I speak to him every day. He's out of the hospital now. He sounds better. I've seen his health deteriorate during the election campaigns. God gave me an opportunity to look after my elder brother during the elections. I'm glad I was around."

But cheering up Sanjay says, "I heard Bunty Walia is coming. Everything he does is announced on Facebook. So he has announced he's coming for my birthday."

Can you gift me my freedom for my birthday: Sanjay Dutt

Mumbai, July 29 On his 50th birthday Wednesday, Bollywood's troubled star Sanjay Dutt says his only wish is to leave his chequered past behind and move ahead as a free man.

'In the last 18 years, I've been fighting for my freedom and I feel the burden of the struggle now. I want to be free,' Sanjay told IANS from Cape Town, South Africa.

'I want to walk into any consulate and get my visa. I want my passport to be with me. I want to visit any country I want. Most important of all I want the court cases to end,' added the actor who battled with drug addiction and was also convicted in the 1993 Mumbai blasts under the arms act.

He says now he wishes for his 'freedom'.

'I saw death very closely in Luck'

One of the leading stars in Bhojpuri cinema, Ravi Kissen crossed over to Hindi movies after his stint in Bigg Boss. He will be seen in Soham Shah's Luck, also starring Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, Shruti Haasan, Mithun Chakraborty, Danny Denzongpa and Chitrashi Rawat.

He talks to Patcy N about how luck held during his journey from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, to Mumbai.

This is your second innings in Bollywood.

I came to Mumbai in 1990 to try my luck in films. But I did not get any success. My work was appreciated in Tere Naam but nothing happened. So I moved to Bhojpuri cinema. Now, I have got a chance to work in Bollywood again.

I did not think I would get to work in Luck and Mani Ratnam's Raavan. After Shyam Benegal's Welcome to Sajjanpur, I got another film with him, Abba Ka Kuan. I am not only getting to work with big filmmakers but am also getting better roles.

What do you think went wrong the first time?

When I came from my village, I was not very smart. I thought it was more important to survive. But if you sign one wrong film, you go back five years in life. Besides, I did not have a godfather or any help from anyone. So it's natural to make mistakes and fumble. But I have learnt because of this failure. My dreams are coming true now.

I have done 140 films in total -- 100 Bhojpuri and 40 Hindi films. Before I would work in 13-14 films a year but now I plan to do four to six films a year.