Upala KBR (DNA; January 29, 2016)


Zareen reveals she has been looking for a house to fit her requirement and her budget for the last four years, “Affordability is important. Also, in Bandra, people stay so close to each other, you can look into each other’s homes. I wanted some open space and no constructions around. I am very happy with my new flat as it’s spacious and open on all sides. I plan to do the interiors myself with help from some interior designer friends. My room’s balcony has a small corner where I might put a hammock or swing, which will be my favorite spot in the house. Next month, I will be travelling to Australia for work and will be picking up some home accessories from there. I want to keep it simple and not like some art exhibition.”

The actress is upset about recent reports of her gatecrashing an award function. They organisers claimed she wasn’t invited and walked out in a huff when she didn’t get a seat. She clarifies, “My name has been spoiled unnecessarily in all this. I am not this kind of person who gatecrashes events. I only go to places where I am invited. I am not publicity-hungry. Nor do I come from a background like that. I come from a very simple family. If had to gatecrash the award event why would I do just this year?”

So what happened? “As I have shifted to my new home, I asked my manager to coordinate with a staffer from the magazine. They didn’t have my new address. This guy was coordinating with my manager and she has everything saved to show as proof. They told her to ask me to come to the venue at 7 pm and after I reached there I even did some pre-award interviews and activities for them. If I had gatecrashed, would they have asked me to do it? I didn’t have passes but maybe in the miscommunication they must have gone to my old house address. Now that this person has goofed and his bosses do not know about the blunder, they are putting the blame on me.”

Did she demand to be seated next to Salman Khan? She says, “I will tell you exactly what happened, After I went inside, I saw the first and second rows were full. A couple of fellow actors were standing like me for 10 minutes when I glimpsed Salman sitting across on the first row. As I am very close to him, I went to greet him. I am in Bollywood today because of him and I would never disrespect him by ignoring him. Salman asked where I was seated and when he heard I didn’t have a seat, he insisted I sit on his, as he had to go backstage to prepare for his performance. He is such a gentleman! The staffer came and asked me to get up from there as other celebs were coming and he couldn’t make them stand. I told him politely that they hadn’t given that seat to me, but Salman had been kind enough to give it, so ‘it’s not right if you make me get up from there.’ He kept insisting, I didn’t want to make a tamasha and spoil their function, so I quietly got up and went away.”

Zareen says it was very embarrassing for her. “There were big celebrities there. I am so intimidated by Salman, how could I argue and demand a seat next to him? It’s very upsetting what happened! If I want to talk to Salman I can do it anytime. Why would I need to create a ruckus just to sit next to him?”

But now Zareen has put the unpleasant incident behind her. “People have appreciated me for my performance in Hate Story 3. I will be doing three films this year which includes a chick-flick directed by Deepak Tijori. 2016 looks good to me.”

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 21, 2016)

Kriti Sanon's sister, Nupur, who has come up with cover versions of Dilwale songs, is getting a lot of attention on the social media. All set to follow her to Bollywood? "That's for her to figure," the actress retorts, pointing out that Nupur is a trained classical singer and has been working with some friends on composing. "The reactions to her songs have been great, maybe we will work together one day."

Heropanti was a surprise hit, Dilwale a disappointment, as even its actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan has acknowledged, but Kriti isn't complaining.

"There was a lot of pressure on me when I signed Dilwale and though it did not do as well in India, overseas the business was crazy despite competition from another film (Bajirao Mastani). It opened in places where Hindi films are never screened. My first film was a hit but not many saw it. But getting noticed all over the world is a big deal for me!" she asserts.

Kriti recently performed a tribute to the late actress Sadhana at the Filmfare Awards, after only two days of rehearsals. "I'm learning to work under pressure. Yesteryear songs are slow and demanding on the expressions. As a child I sported the 'Sadhana cut' too."

Her next film is Dinesh Vijan's directorial debut with Sushant Singh Rajput, who had studied engineering like Kriti. "He was a padakhu and got high grades in college. Working with him should be fun," she asserts. Point out that she missed out on the chance to work with Akshay Kumar when she opted out of Singh is Bliing to do Dilwale and she says that there's no bad blood between them even though they haven't been in touch. "At a party, he told me I'd made the right decision. He is very understanding," she says.

At 5 feet 8 inches, she towers over most of her heroes but doesn't think that'll come in her way. "Sonam Kapoor and Anushka Sharma are tall too. In fact, during Dilwale, Shah Rukh sir joked that he's working with a short heroine (Kajol) after a long time," she chuckles.

Manisha Mandal (DNA; January 20, 2016)


Not only that she insisted on being seated next to Salman Khan, that too in the front row! However, the front row was full and the organisers couldn’t find a seat for her. When she continued to stand next to Salman, he offered his seat for her. But she wanted to sit next to the Bajrangi Bhaijaan star, so declined the offer by saying she had no clue how long he would have to stand for a seat. And then she left the venue in a huff! When contacted Zareen said, “First of all, I’m sure that no one can gatecrash Filmfare Awards, and I can back up with proof that I haven’t gatecrashed. I don’t need to.”

Anirban Das (MID-DAY; January 18, 2016)

There was a lot of hype surrounding Salman Khan’s performance at 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards 2015, and a grand entry had been designed — the superstar was supposed arrive in a flying chariot, gliding above the audience’s heads from the far end of the auditorium to the stage. But, sources suggest it didn’t go as per plan. The chariot apparently could not take his weight and unexpectedly sagged and swerved, leaving the guests far from excited.

“Inside the chariot, which was suspended by thick ropes, Salman was grooving to the tunes of Main hoon hero tera from his recent production, Hero. His entry vehicle was supposed to fly much above the seated guests, but it started descending rapidly. He panicked as it was swinging dangerously, just four feet above the audience’s heads and they appeared scared. He did reach the stage but not in a heroic way as planned,” says an eyewitness.

Post performance, Salman seemed to be in a foul mood and yelled at his choreographer, Mudassar Khan backstage. “After his stage act, he called the choreographer and showered him with expletives. He was upset with the arrangements, so much so that he even raised his voice at his staff. For half an hour, he seemed restless, banging tables and chairs, kicking around and muttering curses under his breath,” adds the source.

Salman must have lost his cool since had there been a mishap, many in the audience would have been injured. Mudassar, however, denies the buzz and says, “The act was meant to be like that. He flew from above the audience’s heads and landed on stage properly; he was not upset with me.”

Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, who were also close by, saw an angry Salman and left the place. “Alia had greeted the star earlier and on spotting him post his performance, she wanted to talk to him. But, when she realised that he was in a bad mood, she quietly left. Varun was also there and decided not to meet him,” the source reveals.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 18, 2016)

BOMBAY TIMES (January 17, 2016)

Sanyukta Iyer & Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 16, 2016)

The venue for the 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards was the Dome, NSCI, Worli. As always, the black lady ruled among the stars.

Shah Rukh Khan and his diligent student, Alia Bhatt, were rehearsing their act since 2 pm. She promised that her performance with the Badshah was "something she has never done before".

Kamini Kaushal was one of the first on the red carpet. Rana Daggubati looked lost till Bhushan Kumar came to his rescue. The Masaan team of Vicky Kaushal, Neeraj Ghaywan and Shweta Tripathi couldn't find their seats and Ali Zafar wore a cape over his suit. May be he imagined he was the Count Dracula!

Arjun Kapoor joked that without make-up he looked like Amitabh Bachchan in Pa and broke into a Bhangra, dragging Ayushmann Khurrana along. Bhumi Pednekar and Parineeti Chopra arrived together, Pari insisting she was there for SRK's performance and some dhamaal.

The show began with anchor Karan Johar complimenting a "hot" Pari and pointing out that the "extravaganza is not about coffees but trophies". He asserted the show couldn't possibly begin without the couple, "Ranveer Kapoor and Deepika Padukone". Was it a Freudian slip or part of the script?

The technical jury included Onir, Raj Kumar Gupta, Santosh Sivan and Sujoy Ghosh. The popular jury was Abhishek Varman, Boney Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Ramesh Sippy, Urmila Matondkar and Usha Uthup. The first award, for best costume, went to Anju Modi and Maxima Basu for Bajirao Mastani which also picked up the trophy for best production design (Sujeet Sawant, Sriram Iyengar and Saloni Dhatra). Meghna Gulzar presented the award for best sound design to Shajit Koyeri for Talvar which also bagged the lady for its editor A Sreekar Prasad.

Host King Khan entered with a fire and gold act before taking the mic and announcing, "Jab Salman Khan ki hogi entry baki sab shows ki hogi dysentery."

Yeh dosti hai kamaal ki!" The banter continued with SRK quipping Barack Obama would be the host next year and "B se sab kuch chalta hai, Bajrangi (Bhaijaan), Bajirao (Mastani) except Bombay Velvet." He gave a jhappi to Ranveer Singh who danced to a medley of Bajirao Mastani's "Pinga", "Dil Dhadakne Do" and "Rang Do Laal", introducing the nominees for best choreography. He was joined by Varun Dhawan for ABCD2's "Sun Sathiya" and did "Malhari" with SRK with SLB clapping. The Dilwale also serenaded Madhuri Dixit with "Tu Heer Meri".

Manu Anand was adjudged best cinematographer for Dum Laga Ke Haisha while Kathak maestro, Pandit Birju Maharaj, was the obvious choice for best choreography for the classical "Mohe Rang Do Laal". Bajirao Mastani added to its tally with Sham Kaushal knocking one off for best action while Anupam Roy, bagged the award for best background score for Piku and Juhi Chaturvedi for the screenplay. VFX gave Bombay Velvet a reason to cheer and Tanu Weds Manu 2 to dialogue writer Himanshu Sharma. Best story went to KV Vijayendra Prasad for Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Shreya Ghoshal scored with Bajirao Mastani's "Deewani Mastani" while Arijit Singh was best playback singer for Roy's "Sooraj Dooba". Best Music nod went to Ankit Tiwari, Amaal Mallik and Meet Bros for Roy. Lyricist Irshad Kamil joined the Tamasha with "Agar Tum Saath Do." Armaan Malik got the RD Burman nod.

When Deepika Padukone was posing for the flashbulbs, Big B with Jaya and Shweta, arrived and waited politely. She apologised and invited him over. Vineet Jain, Managing Director, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, sat beside the Bachchans. Kriti Sanon paid a tribute to yesteryear actresses with a mash-up of hits, from "Mera Saaya" to "Lag Ja Gale". SRK continued to shower prem on Sallu by shaking a leg to Prem Ratan Dhan Payo's title track. Bhai descended from the air and flanked by kids flashbacked to Hum Aapke Hain Koun! and Prem Ratan...

Priyanka Chopra was best supporting actress. Mastani accepted the black lady on her behalf. Anil Kapoor won his sixth Filmfare award for best supporting actor for Dil Dhadakne Do. At the time of going to press, Alia Bhatt was swinging to hit songs from Bhatt films. Moushumi Chatterjee won the Lifetime Achievement award and the show goes on...

Subhash K Jha (DNA; January 14, 2016)


A source in the know informs, “The anchoring of the awards functions has become tedious to do and watch. How many combinations can one watch Kapil Sharma and Manish Paul in? Salman is a masterstroke. He is popular and Bigg Boss has proved what a fabulous host he is.”

Sources say it wasn’t easy to get Salman to host the show. “He was pursued relentlessly and the pay cheque is close to Rs 2.5 crores,” mumbles the source. That’s more than Rs 1 crore per hour. Not bad!

BOMBAY TIMES (January 13, 2016)

Before the real action unfolds, magic moments from the star-studded Filmfare pre-awards night
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 11, 2016)

Peshwa Ranveer Singh was one of the first B-townies to arrive at the Britannia Filmfare Awards pre party on Saturday evening. Dressed in a brown velvet shirt, blue velvet pants and a green velvet jacket the actor announced that he loved the “new, soft, velvety look“. The actor was in the mood to talk, hug and kiss, and stole the thunder when he sang “Malhari“, even shouting “Har har Mahadev“ and reciting his signature dialogue “Bajirao ki talwar...“ from his recent release, to send the crowd hooting and whistling. “It was like the stadium was cheering for Sachin Tendulkar,“ a guest informed.

BOMBAY TIMES (January 7, 2016)

It's billed as the biggest Bollywood show of the year, rivaling the opulence of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. This year then, all roads will lead to the star-spangled 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards 2015, which will be held on January 15 at the Dome, NSCI Mumbai. And here's the big news. For the first time ever, the Filmfare Awards will be a ticketed event. Movie lovers can pay and watch their favourite stars talk, walk and perform live.

Filmfare is partnering with popular online ticket retailer BookMyShow to sell tickets for this exclusive event. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for fans to witness Bollywood in all its glory. Movie aficionados can rub shoulders with their favourite stars, filmmakers and celebrities.

With a 60-year legacy, the Filmfare Awards record and reward excellence in cinema. Over the past decades the variety of entertainment at the award show has evolved to keep pace with contemporary trends. From superstars like Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor hosting the event, to live wire acts by the biggest stars in Bollywood, Filmfare indeed is the most talkedabout event of the year.

Down the years, some of Bollywood's biggest stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and others have confessed their admiration for Filmfare. Talking about the award, SRK had said, “I like winning Filmfare's golden trophy. But really, I have no colour preferences. Whatever the colour - black, gold, green, purple - I want to win a Filmfare trophy every year.“

Kareena said, “Winning a Filmfare Award matters. Those who say it doesn't, are lying. I've seen my grandfather display his Filmfare trophies proudly in his office. I've seen my sister Karisma go up on stage so many times for her awards. I've seen the importance everyone attaches to the trophy.“

This year, the 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards 2015 promises to be a scorching event with six stellar performances. Mesmerising acts by Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh and others will wow the audience. And guess who the supernova host is? His global appeal is unparalleled. Watch this space to know more.

Log on to http:in.bookmyshow.com/concerts/filmfare-awards to become part of an historic evening. For corporate VIP packages write to filmfareawardscorporate@wwm.co.in