Upala KBR (DNA; July 9, 2016)


A source reveals, “At the press con, everyone came on the stage — except Hrithik. In fact, he did not even attend the event.” Roshan Jr was one of the few actors absent from the party in Salman’s suite the night after the award function. This, despite the actors bonding a few months ago. So, what went wrong?

Reveals the source “Hrithik had a segment in his act at the grand finale, which required a female dancer. This part was being done by a girl from Shiamak Davar’s team. When Salman heard about this, he suggested that in stead of a unknown dancer, the actor perform the act with Daisy Shah. Obviously, Daisy performing with a huge star like Hrithik would thrust her into the limelight. It was done by Salman with the intention of helping out his protégée. But Hrithik didn’t warm to the idea.”

Adds the insider, “When Salman recommended Daisy’s name to Hrithik, he could not refuse outright and simply said “Okay”. Later, he went to the award organisers Wizcraft and threatened to pull out if he was forced to dance with Daisy! They handled the situation the best they could, and Roshan Jr’s performance happened sans Daisy. When Salman got to know about Hrithik’s conversation with the organisers, he was very irritated. He felt that if the actor had any reservations, he should have been honest about it and he would have respected his decision. Hrithik realised that Bhai was annoyed with his stance and to avoid any unpleasantness, he didn’t attend the presscon or Salman’s party.”

So, what happens next when they come face-to-face? Watch this space.

DNA (June 27, 2016)

While we know of many stars getting angry with overzealous fans, Anil Kapoor is not known ever to do any such thing. Forget being rude, Anil is one of the coolest and most even-tempered stars around so when we heard this report from a Dubai portal, we were not just taken aback but also took it with a fistful of salt. The report said that Anil had allegedly slapped an enthusiastic fan who had tried to take a selfie with him at the IIFA event that’s took place in Spain over the weekend. While we couldn’t reach Anil, we asked his manager Jalal Mortezai, whether this rumour had a grain of truth in it and he laughed it off.

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; June 25, 2016)

Two actresses can’t be friends, it is said, but Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra seemed to shatter that myth by bonding like BFFs. And their cool chemistry and camaraderie was evident in the Pinga track from Bajirao Mastani (2015). However, now it seems all isn’t well between the duo.

Sources involved with an upcoming Bollywood awards show in Spain reveal that the two hotties were supposed to match steps to the song on stage, but Deepika wasn’t game for it. A source says, “The organisers had approached Priyanka and Deepika for a joint performance, and the former was enthused by the proposal. However, Deepika refused to perform alongside her contemporary for reasons best known to her.”

Another source says the two girls weren’t really bonding during the shoot of Bajirao Mastani as it was made out to be. “They were formal with each other and stories of them bonding and not being competitive had been cooked up. A professional rivalry does exist between them. Both actresses are trying their luck in Hollywood with Priyanka being part of American TV show Quantico and Hollywood film Baywatch while Deepika has a release opposite Vin Diesel."

Priyanka and Deepika remained unavailable for comment.

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; June 24, 2016)

The stage is set for a Bollywood awards show in Spain and the stars are expected to rake in big bucks by showing off their moves. And if gossip mills are to be believed, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, both of whom recently wrapped up their respective Hollywood films, will be the highest paid actresses, apparently drawing nearly Rs 1.3 crore for four-minute performances each.

Deepika has supposedly demanded Rs 33 lakh per minute and Priyanka is said to command the same fee too. A source says, “The organisers were in talks with many celebrities to perform on stage. They even conducted a research to find out which Bollywood celebrities are popular in Madrid and results showed Deepika and Priyanka top the actresses’ list and therefore, were ready to shell out a hefty amount to have them in their performance line-up. Normally, Bollywood girls are paid Rs 70-80 lakh for a stage act depending on their popularity and market value.”

Deepika has already reached Madrid, the venue for the awards show, while PeeCee is expected to fly into the Spanish capital on the eve of the function.

Another source says, “The brand value of the two girls has shot up after they forayed into H’wood and if they are asking for that much money for a performance, it is absolutely justified. The organisers have agreed to their demand too.”

PeeCee, who features in American TV show Quantico in a leading role, recently wrapped up her first Hollywood, Baywatch and . Deepika, on the other hand, will be seen in XXX: The Return of Xander Cage in her maiden H’wood project opposite Vin Diesel.

The two actresses remained unavailable for comment.

Other celebrities slated to perform at the awards ceremony include Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Sonakshi Sinha and Shilpa Shetty. Sources said the B-Town men are paid much more than actresses.

“Salman’s fee is somewhere around Rs 5 crore while Hrithik charges Rs 3.5-4 crore for a performance,” adds an industry insider.

DP to romance Salman?

Whispers in the industry corridors suggest Deepika Padukone has signed her next Bollywood project — Kabir Khan’s period drama Tubelight starring Salman Khan. Says a source, “There was strong buzz about Katrina Kaif being paired opposite Salman, but it is Deepika who has now managed to bag the film.”

Apparently, the actress met the star recently to discuss the script. A source working on the project confirms the story and says, “Deepika has indeed been finalised for the role and the makers will head to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for the shoot schedule which will begin in a couple of months.”

Tubelight, which will be set in the ’60s, centres around a small village where electricity enters for the first time.
—Gaurav Dubey

Subhash K Jha (DNA; June 9, 2016)

Hrehaan and Hridhaan Roshan are spending the summer vacations with their father, Hrithik. And meticulous dad that he is, HR has chalked out the entire itinerary, down to the last detail. First, the boys will accompany their dad to the IIFA Awards in Madrid in the last week of June. Thereon, the Roshan boys plan to have “the most amazing adventure holiday at some of the most exotic places in the world”.

Hrithik shares, “After they catch my performance at IIFA, we’re going to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, Africa. After that, we explore Venice. Finally, we meet up with Sussanne in London.” The actor has been on several similar world explorations with his sons and plans to continue doing so in years to come.

He says proudly, “The boys and I — we consider ourselves adventurers and explorers. We want to leave no corner of the world unexplored.” And this family doesn’t just travel together, Hrithik also films their adventures abroad.

He laughs and says, “That’s right. I make a movie out of every trip of ours. Shot and edited with a background score and all. All done by me on the iPhone.”