'Don 2' Plans finally revealed

After speculations, it is finally revealed that Priyanka Chopra has been signed to play the lead again opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Farhan Akhtar's Don 2. Not just Priyanka, even Arjun Rampal and Boman Irani have been signed on to play key roles in the film.

We contacted producer Ritesh Sidhwani, who confirmed the news. He said, "Yes Priyanka has been signed opposite Shah Rukh in Don 2. It is a sequel obviously and when we locked the story and the screenplay, we knew that we needed Priyanka for the film. Similarly, we have also signed on Boman Irani and Arjun Rampal."

However Ritesh is not willing to divulge any further. He added, "The story is indeed ready and everyone is pretty excited about the film. We will start shooting mid next year and we are looking for April 2010 release, so what’s the point talking about the film right now? All I can say is that the film will take off from where Don ended.”

In the final twist in Don, it emerges that the real Don is still alive, and was pretending to be Vijay who he killed and replaced while in the hospital. It was actually Vijay who had died in the hospital. In the end both Don and his girlfriend Anita (Ishaa Koppikar) escape, leaving the police bewildered. Critics believed that this twist was done to setup a possible sequel.

Kunal.M.Shah, Mumbai Mirror

I am waiting for you Shahrukh, says Yash Chopra

Yash Chopra is keen to get behind the camera for his directorial comeback. Accord-ing to rumours, Chopra has a script and wants his two favourites, Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, to play the lead roles in the film.

A source reveals, “Yashji has been working on a script for quite some time now. The movie has the same tone as all his previous love stories; however, this one has a mature undertone. Beta Aditya has co-written the script. Yashji wanted to start his film before his son’s but Adi started shooting for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, earlier this month. This happened because the actors Chopra Sr wants for the project could give him the dates.”

SRK’s dates were with Karan Johar, but later those dates were given away to Adi .

The source continues, “Madhuri told Yashji to shoot the film in the US, as she wants to be close to her family. She doesn’t want to travel back to India. During the making of Aaja Nachle, Yash Raj Films built a crèche at the studio, so she could have her kids with her at all times. However this time, Madhuri feels that her kids will be happier in their environment rather than in India. That wasn’t possible, and Yashji had to put his plans on hold. He now wants to oversee his next mega film RNBDJ before starting his project.”

A spokesperson for Yash Raj Films says, “Yashji is definitely planning his next film. In all probability, the film will go on the floors next year. We haven’t decided who to cast as the movie is in scripting stages. As far as Madhuri being approached by us to do this film, it’s not true. He didn’t even meet her while she in town a few weeks back.”

Amul Sharma, Mid-Day

The Biggest Clash of the year 2008

Aamir Khan’s long-in-the-making Ghajini has now been further pushed back by two months. The film was initially supposed to hit cinemas by October 3 but will now release on December 12, the same date as Aditya Chopra’s much talked about Rab Ne Banaa Di Jodi, which stars Shah Rukh Khan.

An industry insider reveals, “Aamir Khan’s film has been in the making for over two years now. But it’s far from being complete. Aamir has only recently shaved his head off for the film but he couldn’t complete the schedule as he pulled his hamstring during shooting and was advised complete bed rest for five weeks, which added to the delay. Initially, the film was to be make it to theatres by October and clash with Salman Khan’s Wanted Dead Or Alive. But now because of the delay, the film has finally been pushed to December 12 where Aamir will clash with another Khan: Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Banaa Di Jodi.”

The source further adds, “Aamir was very keen on releasing Ghajini in December. Last year, Taare Zameen Par was released around the same time. The actor is superstitious about the timing.”

Industry insiders feel that Aamir is just adding more fuel to his supposed feud with Shah Rukh Khan, “Didn’t he just make a dig at Shah Rukh recently on his blog? And now, he’s getting his release date pushed to clash with Shah Rukh. Whatever happens it is going to generate a lot of curiosity for both the projects.”

Ghajini director, A R Murugadoss remained unavailable for a comment.

Amul Sharma, Mid-Day