Tuesday Gossip

Today in gossip - assorted nonsense. The media is picking on Aish's weight (OMG! IS SHE HOMEBOUND NOW OR SOMETHING?!) and there is some casting news.

And Shweta Bhardwaj's adorable new item song! She's so cute!

* Note to the media: STOP PICKING ON AISHWARYA'S WEIGHT.

But the fact that Ash has gone more than plain chubby was for everyone to see. Just last month, the lady took away the cake at Cannes – or was it just clever dressing?

Ladies in their 30s naturally gain a few pounds and Aishwarya is still as gorgeous as ever. What on Earth would you have her do? Starve herself to thinness to please some faceless gossip reporters? In what possible way could a fuller figure impact her acting ability? The lady gained 10 pounds, she's not homebound!

* This one is about us, folks! The globalization of Bollywood!

This type of social-justice theme wrapped up in "emotion and melodrama is a very powerful narrative form ... in countries like Nigeria, where these films are extremely popular. They are more easy to relate to than Hollywood films," agrees Tejaswini Ganti, an assistant professor of anthropology at New York University and author of the upcoming book "Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry."

Professor Ganti points out that Bolly wood has "always been a global cinema.... It is just now that the mainstream American media is catching up."

* IIFA FEVER! Catch up with all the controversies and guest confirmations!

A-listers expected on stage include IIFA ambassadors Anil Kapoor and Preity Zinta, along with and leading man Saif Ali Khan, who will also host the IIFA Rocks fashion show at Ricoh Coliseum on June 24.

Other confirmed IIFA attendees include the Kapoors, comprising Ranbir, Rishi, Neetu and Rajiv, along with Hema Malini and daughter Esha Deol, Arbaaz and Malaika Arora Khan, Fardeen and Zayed Khan, Dia Mirza, Neha Dhupia, Madhavan, Ranveer Singh, Zeenat Aman, Sharmila Tagore and Shatrrughan Sinha.

* Arshad Warsi speaks up for Islam...

“Islam is a very nice religion, but it’s been misinterpreted very badly” Arshad told IANS. He said, “90% of what people say about Islam is a myth. People say that in Islam you get a divorce by just saying the word talaaq three times. All that is rubbish."

* The media thinks Asin hasn't signed enough new projects, especially after the success of Ready, and Bebo has signed too many.

* Another Southern belle, Ileana D'Cruz is in the news for wanting more screen time in her Bollywood debut film Barfee.

* Maddy is playing a cop in an upcoming film.

* Everybody welcome back Karishma Kapoor, who has signed on to a Vikram Bhatt film. Will we see Madhuri again soon?

* Finally, John and Abhi have figured out what audiences really want from them: a more of their jodi.

Says a source, "AB Jr and JA have been in talks to come out with a series of films in different genres to take their Dostana a step further. While Tarun Mansukhani will bring out the film's sequel, the two actors are very excited about branding their pair. Some people even felt that the men shared more chemistry on screen together than they did with lead actress Priyanka Chopra.

By "some people" here, the author means "everybody."

* Ranbir Kapoor is polite about Deepika Padukone.

“I still respect Deepika a lot. I had a beautiful relationship with her. She has some angst against me...I think it would have been more graceful of her if she had picked up the phone and speak to me about it rather than speaking on a public platform. She didn’t do that. But still I respect her. Still wish her all the best in life.”



From Bin Bulaye Barati... a new item number! I'm loving the return of glam! This one took a little while to grow on me - the cinematography isn't kind of meh - but Shweta Bhardwaj is so lively!