Shahid and Vidya clash

Expect some fireworks at the very beginning of the year as festivities and celebrations continue from New Year celebrations to the entire month of January.

There are number of movies lined up for release with massive battle in.

The happening ever since Karan Johar announced 12th January.

As the D-day for the arrival of Shah Rukh Khan starrer MY NAME IS KHAN.

There is an around frenzy amongst movies to arrive in January since no big film is risking competing with one of the first huge films of 2009. Two such films are CHANCE PE DANCE and ISHQIYA that have pencilled in 15th January for their arrival on the big screen. Incidentally, the central protagonists of these films are Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan respectively, both of whom were seen together as a pair in KISMAT KONNECTION.

Both films were originally meant to arrive in 2008. However, Shahid Kapoor had two back-to-back releases in the form of KAMINEY and DIL BOLE HADIPPA and it made sense for him to space out his film. On the other hand ISHQIYA had to keep it’s release on hold since there was a flurry of releases in the last quarter of 2009.

What surprises most about the release of ISHQIYA is the fact that it was originally contemplating a 22nd January arrival. While 12th February too was being thought of (due to the relevance of bringing the love story over the Valentine weekend), confirmation of MY NAME IS KHAN resulted in change of plans. While 22nd January had appeared to be a confirmed day of arrival, a sudden pre-poning by a week looks more than just a coincidence, considering the fact it clashes with Shahid’s CHANCE PE DANCE.

However, to be fair to the decision of the makers, 22nd January is anyways crowded with RANN and VEER arriving on the same day. In comparison, 15th January looks much lighter with only CHANCE PE DANCE looking probable so far. Confirms Vidya, “Yes, I was told over the weekend that 15th January is final for ISHQIYA. Beyond that, I don’t have any knowledge about the reason behind the fixing of the release date.”

Starring Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah in the lead roles, ISHQIYA is directed by first timer Abhishek Chaubhey and is a co-production of Vishal Bhardwaj and Shemaroo’s Raman Maroo. On the other hand IT’S MY LIFE is a UTV production, features Genelia D’Souza as the leading lady and has film maker Ken Ghosh at the helm of affairs.

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Did Bipasha lie about her role?

BIPASHA BASU MAY scream from the rooftops that it was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s insecurity that got her ousted from Ravana but industry insiders are refusing to believe her

In fact, a source tells us that Bipasha was never considered to be a part of Ravana, in the first place.

Director Mani Ratnam likes having item numbers in his movies - like he did in Dil Se (Chaiya Chaiya) and in Guru (Maiya Maiya) and was toying with.

The idea of having something similar in Ravana as well. Sources from the set of the film say Mani was planning to introduce the character of Mandodari, Ravana’s beautiful wife into the film.

This character was to do a seductive item number and a few scenes and then exit, an exact seven minute role.

When news spread that Mani was scouting for an actress to do an item number and a guest appearance in his film, Bipasha was one of the first actresses to push herself for this role.

“The character of Mandodari called for someone sexy and seductive, and many actresses were being considered. Bipasha wasn’t even on the top of Mani’s list. But Bipasha went ahead and told the press that she was offered a supporting role in Ravana,” says the source.

Unfortunately for her Mani had second thoughts about this item number. When Bipasha heard this she got nervous. She was worried that she would become a joke in the industry. A source close to her reveals, “Bipasha had announced to all and sundry that she was playing the parallel lead in a Mani Ratnam film.

This would definitely add to her market rate. But when she heard that the role was non-existent Bipasha realised she would become the laughing stock of the industry. “Bipasha flew to Kerala and pleaded with Mani Sir not to talk to the press that she was never the first choice for the film. Initially angry at her behaviour Mani, later, understood her plight and obliged her.”

However, Mani was later shocked when he heard from the grapevine that Bipasha was claiming that Aishwarya had used her friendship with his wife to oust Bipasha from the film. The source reveals, “Mani Sir doesn’t pay attention to gossip. He just laughed it off and remarked ‘if I let my wife and my heroines decide the cast of my film, I might as well let them direct the whole film’. Bipasha, apparently, has now become a joke on the set of the film.