Shahrukh Khan Blocks 2014 Diwali to Release ‘Happy New Year’

Ever since releasing “Chennai Express” on Eid, Shahrukh Khan doesn’t want to let go of his luck with holiday releases. SRK and Farah Khan have blocked Diwali 2014 for the release of their new movie “Happy New Year.”

Khan has blocked 2014 Diwali for the film’s debut. “Happy New Year” also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani and Vivaan Shah.

Salman Khan also wanted block 2014 Diwali for the release of his new movie, however, since SRK beat him to it, he has blocked next year's Republic day (January 26) for his movie“Mental.” Next year, Salman Khan’s movie “Kick” is also set to release on Eid (July 28).

“Happy New Year” is Farah Khan’s long time project and has prepared the script a while ago. Farah and Shahrukh Khan have delivered hits like “Om Shanti Om” and “Main Hoon Naa” and the duo has set to deliver another Bollywood hit.

‘Chennai Express’ smashes Indian box office records

Bollywood movie “Chennai Express,” starring Shah Rukh Khan, has smashed box office records in just 21 days since it opened to become the most profitable movie in India, data showed.

The film, which has a typical Bollywood mix of action, romance and comedy, has overtaken previous record-holder “3 Idiots” which appeared in 2009 to collect at least 2.11 billion rupees ($30 million) domestically, according to trade weekly Box Office India.

The co-producers of “Chennai Express,” Disney UTV, put the figure at a slightly higher 2.18 billion rupees.

In India, unlike Hollywood, there is no central data service for box office takings so there is often a discrepancy in the figures, but both estimates surpass the domestic collection of “3 Idiots,” which made a net total of 2.02 billion rupees.

“’Chennai Express’ has broken all records for domestic business and is still gong strong in its theatrical run. A good film, good timing and good luck have contributed to its success,” Vajir Singh, editor of Box Office India, told AFP.

He said sales were buoyed by a number of public holidays in the first three weeks of release and a strong promotion effort by superstar Khan.

Also starring popular actress Deepika Padukone, the film tells the story of a 40-year-old man who gets embroiled in the dealings of a south Indian don when he rescues his runaway daughter from thugs aboard the Chennai Express train to southern India.

Directed by Rohit Shetty, the film was released in more than 3,500 cinemas in India — more than double the number in which “3 Idiots” opened in 2009.

“We have pushed the film across language barriers into regions like Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala where Hindi is not the primary language. This film has been appreciated by families and has a repeat audience,” said Gaurav Verma, director of Indian distributions at Disney UTV.

The film may also break international Bollywood records. It is reportedly the mostly widely released Bollywood film of all time, and has already made $16.8 million abroad in gross box office collections, according to the producers.

“3 Idiots,” a coming-of-age comic-drama starring Aamir Khan, collected $23.90 million abroad, according to Box Office India, making it the Indian highest grosser abroad and overall.

In a recent interview with AFP, Shah Rukh Khan said he was not concerned with box office records.

“I cannot be going by that standard. I am the creative guy. I am an actor first and last, I don’t think like that,” he said.

What advice did Katrina offer Deepika?

Looks like it’s impossible for Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone to stay cordial even as colleagues. Not long ago, Deepika gave a wise advice to her ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor’s current girlfriend Katrina. Talking about the bikini episode, Dippy had said in an interview, “It has never happened with me. I believe if you are a celebrity or public figure… these things are bound to happen. And I don’t think you can accuse anybody of anything. If I am a public figure and if someone has captured me then I feel I should have been a little careful.” It seems Ms Kaif wasn’t too happy with her arch rival’s advice.

The Dhoom 3 babe is believed to have said that Deepika should keep her words of wisdom to herself. Apparently, Kat thought that a similar incident could happen with DP in future as she too is allegedly seeing an actor and we all know it’s her Ram Leela co-star Ranveer Singh. Wethinks, Katrina has made a very valid point here! After all, we remember how Ms Padukone and Ranveer were snapped in Dubai, don’t we?

Annoyed Kat Wants Deepika to Shut Up over Her Bikini Photos with Ranbir

Katrina Kaif was left fuming after her bikini photos with Ranbir Kapoor during a holiday leaked to the media. And just when the actress was coping up with the 'bikni' fiasco, arch-rival Deepika Padukone did the unthinkable by saying that Katrina should have been more careful.

The "Cocktail" actress added salt to the wounds by expressing her opinion on the leaked photos to PTI: "It has never happened with me. I believe if you are a celebrity or public figure... these things are bound to happen. And I don't think you can accuse anybody of anything. If I am a public figure and if someone has captured me then I feel I should have been a little careful."

For Katrina, who has already faced the ire of Ranbir's father Rishi Kapoor in this context, Deepika's untimely comment did the worse. The "Ek Ta Tiger" actress has reportedly not taken the advice in good taste.

"Katrina has sent out a loud and clear message to her confidantes that Deepika needs to shut up because she is sailing in the same boat. Katrina feels that paparazzi can click Deepika too if and when she lets her guard down.

Katrina's gentle warning for Deepika Padukone

Forget and forgive seems to be a popular mantra in Bollywood (Shah Rukh and Salman's patch-up is a much cited example) this season but tinseltown's leading ladies, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone remain at loggerheads and the spat seems to be getting uglier. An obvious reason for their distaste for each other is a certain Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika's ex and Katrina's current flame.

Though Katrina and Ranbir have recently been spotted together in Ibiza and Sri Lanka, we wonder if Katrina has been able to forget Deepika's 'lingering kiss' with her boyfriend at the success party of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.

And with Deepika's rising star, professional rivalry too has become an important factor in their already fraught relationship.

With the blockbuster Chennai Express in her kitty, Deepika has become the only actress to cross the Rs. 500 crore mark in a single year ( Race 2, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express) surpassing competitors, Katrina and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Katrina is a distant second with Rs. 319.63 crore in 2012 (Ek Tha Tiger and Jab Tak Hai Jaan) and Kareena Kapoor at third, whose movies amassed Rs. 263.15 crores in 2011 (Bodyguard and Ra.One).

Add to this the fact that Katrina does not have any films lined up this year while Deepika has two biggies on the anvil- Kochadiyan and Ram Leela.

According to a source close to Katrina, it was Deepika's recent 'holier than thou' comment on the bikini episode, which has incensed the actress.

After pictures of Katrina's beach holiday with Ranbir Kapoor were splashed across newspapers, Deepika decided to give her rival some very public advice during a press conference.

"It has never happened to me. I believe if you are a celebrity or public figure... these things are bound to happen. And I don't think you can accuse anybody of anything. If I am a public figure and if someone has captured me then I feel I should have been a little careful," said Deepika.

And now Katrina has been telling her friends and family that Deepika should learn to keep her 'words of wisdom' to herself.

A friend of Deepika spoke to TOI on the condition of anonymity about the bad blood between the two beauties, "Katrina has sent out a loud and clear message to her confidantes that Deepika needs to shut up because she is sailing in the same boat. Katrina feels that paparazzi can click Deepika too if and when she lets her guard down."

"Katrina's latest grouse against Deepika stems from the fact that Deepika should understand her plight because she too was clicked by the paparazzi in Dubai with Ranveer kissing her in front of guests at a night club. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."

It’s official, she’s now Kareena Kapoor Khan

Kareena Kapoor, who tied the knot with actor Saif Ali Khan amidst much fanfare last year, is finally making it fully official.

In the credits of her upcoming film' Satyagraha', the actress' name will appear as Kareena Kapoor Khan for the first time since her marriage.

In the film, Kareena plays a fearless and independent television reporter, who goes all out to expose the truth.Says a source from the unit, "Kareena has essayed the role with panache and style. And, yes, the credits will have her name as Kareena Kapoor Khan."

Satyagraha, produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Prakash Jha Productions, releases Friday.

Britney Spears busy with 'secret' work

Singer Britney Spears has left her fans curious as she has revealed that she is busy working on something "secret".

The 31-year-old, who has given hits like "Baby one more time", "Ooops! I did it again" and "You drive me crazy", hinted at something new on her plate, without revealing the actual plan, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"Taking a quick break to say hi to all my tweeps. Rehearsing for something top secret happening next week," Spears posted.

When a fan asked if it was for a video, Spears replied by posting a wink.

Chennai Express 2? Shah Rukh Khan confirms he will be doing another film with Rohit Shetty

With their Eid release Chennai Express making the fastest Rs100 crore, both Shah Rukh Khan and Rohit Shetty are naturally rejoicing. And as everyone knows about the B-Town’s love for sequels, seems this one may have one soon in the pipeline.

While there is no confirmation from Rohit, who starts shooting for Singham 2 in December, SRK shares that two are likely to come together for a film again next year. However, that may not be a sequel. “Some other film maybe, inshah Allah!Recently we (Rohit, Deepika Padukone and I) were driving back and we realized that we will not see each other as regularly after all this? And I told them I am feeling bad, as did Rohit and Deepika. So, Rohit asked if he should already start writing something, so that will give us something to look forward to. Even if it’s a year later, Rohit has said he will work on something.”

Chennai Express reaches Rs 157-crore station in one week

Chennai Express has broken yet another record. The Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone romantic-action-comedy has surpassed Ek Tha Tiger's first week domestic collections with Rs 156.7 crore (gross collection). This is nearly Rs 18 crore more than Salmna Khan's spy-romance collected in one week of its release last year. The movie has raked in healthy box office collections overseas as well at Rs 72 crores in nine days.

 

Chennai Express' success however has not been carried on at the box office by Balaji Motion Pictures Ltd's (BMPL) Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara (OUATIMD). The Akshay Kumar-Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha starrer opened on 15 August in 1700 screens with collections if Rs 14.2 crores, according to a statement provided by the production house. While the national holiday benefited the gangster movie sequel, Friday occupancy saw a massive dip at just 40 percent as compared to nearly 90 per cent occupancy on opening day. This despite the fact that OUATIMD was present across nearly 2700 screens from Friday.

Katrina Kaif is Not on Aditya Chopra’s Good Books Anymore!

Filmmaker Aditya Chopra is not so happy with his one time favourite actress Katrina Kaif if reports are to be believed.

The leggy actress was seen playing female lead in five YRF movies which included blockbusters like "Ek Tha Tiger" and "Jab Tak Hai Jaan". She was also seen in "New York" and "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan". Her upcoming release of the year "Dhoom 3" is also produced by Yash Raj Films.

However, it is rumoured Aditya wanted to rope her in for his next project, "Gunday" starring Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor in male lead but Katrina reportedly turned down the project citing dates issues. This was followed by rumours that Katrina even asked Aditya to rope in a big superstar for the movie if she should take up the movie.