Thursday Gossip!

Happy April Fool's Day!

I hope you've been enjoying my in-depth look at Dhoom 2, I'll be bringing you the second half hour (0:30 to 1:00) next week.

For today, I have two important announcements that are not jokes:

Asha Bhosle is coming to Washington DC! The concert is on the 16th of April and the only link for ticket information I could find is here.

And The Blue Mug, the new play which stars Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranvir Shorey, is also touring. Ticket information can be found here. Washington DC is the 25th April.

Okay, three important announcements that are not jokes.

The TEDxMUMBAI conference will be streamed live for those of us unlucky enough not to be in Mumbai. Check the link for details! Let's give our esteemed colleague Stephen Baker some support!

Moving on to GOSSIP!

* The count down is on to one of my most anticipated films of the year... Pankh. I'm sure it will NOT be screening in the US, so I'll have to live vicariously through news stories until I get a chance to order the DVD.

Poor Maradona Rebello, who plays the lead role, keeps having to clarify his his sexuality.

"In my personal life, I am a heterosexual. In the film too I play a heterosexual. The character I play in Pankh is of my past that is nagging me. It's not keeping me happy because my mother in the film played by Lilette Dubey cross dressed me when I was young. As a kid, your mind is so impressionable. Pankh is a one day story of this guy who is confused about his sexuality. I did have to push myself in wearing a girl's wig, putting on lipstick, etc. It was definitely odd. "

And I'm a little concerned when Bipasha Basu says this:

But the minute I heard the subject I was bowled over. It deals with a very serious problem within the film industry.

Cross-dressing? Or by this statement can we assume there will be some predatory casting couch behavior from a male producer? Ah! I want to see this movie already!

THE KISS STAYS IN! Madhur Bhandarkar may think he is Mr. Push-the-boundaries but it will be Pankh that has the first gay male kiss in Hindi cinema.

* A guy from the Christian Science Monitor who went to India one time now thinks that he is a Bollywood expert and not only that, he can report on Varudu. There is seemingly no point to his article and yet there it is. I bet he got paid, too.

Also, bro, 5,000 rupees is not $10 - it's $100.

* Preity Zinta talks IPL and her business career.

While she was the only movie star on the course, she wasn't the only high achiever. "I was in very esteemed company," she said. "There were big CEOs, people who ran multinationals and bankers. I picked up ideas from them."

"The course taught me how to structure things, which is extremely helpful now. But India operates very differently from the west: When in Rome do as the Romans," she added.

* I feel like this should be in one of those US Weekly "Stars: They're just like us!" spreads - Akshay Kumar collects Bollywood posters. JUST LIKE ME!

We'll get to see them in Action Replayy. The man is shooting so many films these days... do you think we can safely call him today's Shashi Kapoor?

* Asin will be taking over for Katrina in Khamoshi.

* Somebody was acting like a diva during a Badmaash Company photo shoot. (And by "somebody," I mean "Shahid Kapoor.")

Shahid even stated that the three newcomers took time to get into the groove, at which all his three co-stars reacted very strongly. Anushka jumped into the argument between Shahid and Chang when Shahid snapped at her. Finally it went to the extent that Anushka had to ask shahid to shut up. Due to this nasty scene Shahid lost his cool and walked out of the show leaving his co-stars completely embarrassed and stunned.

Maybe he's mad because his parents are making him get married.

* Oh, star kids... some of them seem to have their heads on straight (Ranbir Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan) and others... well, let's see what Luv Sinha has to say:

“I’m grateful to dad for everything that I have. I have experienced the best because of him. But from now on, I have to work very hard to make my mark in the industry. There are no shortcuts."

Sure, it sounds reasonable but I can tell it won't be long before he ditches the humble act and pulls an entitled brat tantrum. Especially if his film doesn't do well.

* This HAS to be an April Fool's Joke: Saif and Bebo hit a rough patch.

Not because I think they won't break up but because they probably will put the pani puri thing seems a bit too... imaginative.

And another potential joke - the death knells of John and Bipasha? (Ha! Of course it is...!)

* An op-ed over at the Guardian tackles skin whitening creams.

It's obvious to see the high-profile impact of the skin-whitening phenomena, as the bride-to-be Chhuon Sovann found out to her cost. No doubt there are countless other examples of burnt or badly disfigured faces that go unreported.

More worryingly, it condemns a new generation of Asians to grow up deeply insecure about the colour of their skin. Darker-skinned people of the same ethnicity grow up emotionally scarred and completely unrepresented by the media images they are subjected to daily.

* Piggy Chops urges films to be shot in Kashmir.

* Rockumentary!!! Indian Ocean get one!

The band which has been on the music circuit for over two decades is famed for its contemporary fusion music and soulfoul renditions that integrate shlokas, sufism, environmentalism and mythology.

The 115-minute film, directed by Jaideep Verma will be released on April 2 in Big Cinemas and has been shot in Indian Ocean's rehearsal space and concerts.

* In Ravaan, Sita may choose... Ravaan.

(Well, it's his name in the title!)

* Aw! Rahul Bose doesn't think he has sex appeal! Rahul, do you even know how many women swooned for you in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer? DO YOU?

* Finally, Neha Dhupia loves comics - and she doesn't want to get married? I think we must actually be the same person!

Signing out for today!

xoxo Filmi Girl