ENTERTAINMENTBASH

Tamannaah Bhatia, who is currently waiting for her debut movie release “Himmatwala”, has reportedly bags second Bollywood movie opposite Akshay Kumar.

The untitled project will be Sajid-Farhad’s direcotorial debut and it’s produced by Ramesh Taurani.After watching Himmatwala promos, Taurani and Akshay have finally decided to cast her in their next project.

Akshay Kumar, who just became 1st ever Indian actor to cross 2000 crores with his movies, now wants to take philanthropy to the next level.

Akshay who is a brilliant martial artist is fed up with cricket’s monopoly in India and wants to encourage kids from poor families who have diverse talents. Talking about cricket, he said “Cricket… I am just damn tired of it! I want something else coming out of this country. I just want it to happen. Support these families, their children are made of something which can get us gold medals at Olympics “.

“If all the corporates support four to five families and give them all the money they need, I think we can come up with gold medals,” he adds.

Akshay made a significant revelation saying “I support three families whose children are eight to nine years old. I support them completely — their father, mother, everything, so that they can come up in the sports field. The children are very interested in sports, so they can come up and become great sports persons”.

As Akshay said, if some of the top most corporates support some underprivileged families to nurture their kids, then who knows, they might emerge as potential Olympic Gold medal winners in the future.

Check it out we have the first official still of Balaji’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbaii…Again, directed by Milan Luthria. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and Sonali Bendre, and releases worldwide on August 8 [Eid]. Once Upon A Time In Mumbaii…Again is among the year’s most keenly awaited sequels and has been shot in Mumbai with a portion in the Sultanate of Oman.

The film is set in the 1980′s and star Imran Khan told us, “I am having a lot of fun with Once Upon a Time because the film is set in the 80’s so from the look, to the characters, to the style of performance, everything changes because you are playing something that is a little bit larger than life. The volume is turned up to 11. (Laughs) So, when you are doing a dramatic scene you get to play it up a little bit. You get to play to the gallery. Similarly when you are doing humor, when you are doing romance, whatever you are doing you are playing with gallery. The cool moments are a little cooler than cool.”

The latest rumour doing the rounds in Bollywood is that actor Akshay Kumar has become the highest paid actor by charging a fees of Rs. 50 crore for the Hindi remake of the South film Thupakki.

“The makers were keen to have Akshay on board, so they paid him whatever he asked for; approximately Rs. 50 crore, which is probably the highest in Bollywood,” a source was quoted as saying by a Mumbai tabloid.

Akshay Kumar's toned-down avatar as a fake CBI officer carrying out mock-raids across the country in Neeraj Pandey's Special 26 has gone down extremely well with the audience. The film is a certified hit. And now the producers Viacom 18 are keen to carry the heist-tale forward into not only a sequel but an ongoing franchise, a la Hollywood heist-brand Oceans 11/12...and so on.

The one who is most relieved and happy is director Neeraj Pandey who had his fingers crossed about the success of his second feature film.

Says Neeraj, "There was less at stake in A Wednesday as it didn't feature any major stars. But Special 26 featured Akshay Kumar and we were anxious to see how audiences reacted to his character and performance. Fortunately audiences have embraced Akshay's unusual performance. All the actors were my first choices and I was glad that they agreed to be a part of this project. Though it took time I consider myself lucky. The response to the film has been very good."

About being accused of glorifying crime by showing the con-persons actually getting away with their derring-do, Neeraj is nonchalant. "I didn't make the film to serve up a moral lesson. I saw a terrific story there, a family entertainer. And as a somewhat responsible filmmaker, one shouldn't care too much for accusations as long as I know what I am doing."

Both of Neeraj's films so far have adapted the thriller format. But he now intends to change tracks. "I actually wanted to start my career with a love story. But then A Wednesday happened, now Special 26. I may go back to love now. I haven't decided."

Speaking of love, critics have uniformly panned the love story between Akshay Kumar and Kajal Aggarwal in Special 26.

However Neeraj stands by it. "Critics might not have liked it. But I haven't come across a single viewer who has objected to it. There are certain changes that needed to be made in the original story. The ending, for example. We knew what the law enforcement agencies knew about the original character and his colleagues who pulled off these fake raids. The film takes liberties because the genre could afford. As a writer you want a story be engaging. It comes with the job."

And now the sequel is being given an added push. Apparently the booming production company Viacom 18 are keen to start the sequel at the earliest. Akshay too is willing to dole out the dates.

Says Neeraj, "I've left the ending open. We saw Akshay's character leave the country with his girl. It would now be interesting to see what happens to him and his colleagues. Let's see."

Akshay Kumar, who is enjoying the success of Special 26 both commercially and critically is now gearing up for his next project which will be directed by Karan Johar.

Karan Johar who finally broke the tradition of Shahrukh Khan being the protagonist of the films that he had directed so far by casting new people in his latest venture “Student of the year”, is now going for yet another new combo by casting Akshay Kumar in the lead role and interesting news is that, Emraan Hashmi is going to be the other protagonist alongside Akshay.

However, sources say that “serial kisser” has not yet signed the movie officially but he seems to have liked the script pretty much well and is most likely to get on board with the crew.Right now Emraan is working on two projects “Ek Thi Daayan” and “Ganchakkar” after two setbacks “Raaz 3D” and “Rush”.

This will also be the first time where Emraan will be working with Akshay. The whole new combination seems promising, we have to wait and see if the combo will deliver a classic like “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” or yet another formula movie which is made to make huge profits.

Pandey’s last cinematic outing, “A Wednesday“, was an imaginative film that twisted and turned as the plot unwound, giving movie watchers a fresh new experience. His latest, “Special 26″, is not of the same calibre but is passably enjoyable fare. Inspired from a real-life jewellery heist, the film tells the story of fraudsters who con powerful men into parting with their ill gotten wealth.

For the first time in a long while, Akshay Kumar actually acts in a movie. As leaders of the gang of theieves, Akshay and Anupam Kher put in a great performance, full of charm and guile. Manoj bajpayee, as the CBI officer chasing after them is super effective, his commanding presence filling up the screen. The story unspools in the 1980s and the chase between the cop and the thieves takes us on a trip down memory lane.

The cinematographer brings to life the landscape of Delhi, showing a Connaught Place filled with brand names that have faded from memory. Hatchback Marutis criss-cross the streets, and Anupam Kher shows the bafflement of a generation that doesn’t understand new technology. The slapstick which has become a hallmark of Akshay Kumar movies is thankfully missing and the humor is instead very subtle. The only weak link here is the romance between Akshay and Kajal Aggarwal, which does nothing for the story.

The final word on the movie: Special 26 is not a masterpiece but go watch it if you would like to pass the time and have fun doing it

Just last year Akshay Kumar was asked why he hadn’t worked with Karan Johar yet. He answered: “Karan Johar doesn’t take me in his films. He probably thinks I’m not good enough.”

And just a few months later we can gladly announce that Akshay Kumar and Karan Johar have joined hands to produce a film, which will be directed by Punit Malhotra.

Besides being one of the producers, Akshay will also play one of the leads in this two-hero movie. The other male lead will be revelead shortly.

Karan Johar doesn’t want to say much about the movie but he revealed, “The movie is mainstream and has a very strong underlying social message. It’s solid and hard-hitting.”

Punit Malhotra presented the script to Karan and he immediately approached Akshay, who was equally thrilled with the idea. “If Dharma Productions has to collaborate with Akshay, then it has to be the right kind of film.”

Akshay adds: “We’re two very passionate producers with one great aim — to entertain. Both Karan and I want to make our fathers proud. Cheers to our new venture.”

For Karan, this association is not only a professional one but also an emotional one. “This association is not just professional, but also emotional. I’ve known Tina (Twinkle Khanna) since the age of four. I’m so excited that she and my mother are co-producers.”

Shooting for this film is scheduled for early next year. Before that director Punit Malhotra will first start shooting his new film Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, starring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor.