★Heroine★

The official trailer has been launched today. The film is out on 21st September - Bebo's birthday. It looks fantastic. Will it be a blockbuster and help maintain Kareena's No.1 position? Take a look..

★Cocktail★ Review

Cocktail: Deepika, Saif, Diana

Three friends... Sex, fun, laughter, companionship, betrayal, heartbreak, intoxication, life and (almost) death: quite a cocktail.

I would like to start off by talking about the trailer. It was the work of genius. It was the perfect teaser - which was demonstrated by the bumper opening the film has received worldwide and the crossing of 1 million views on YouTube in record time for a Hindi film trailer. With that much hype, the expectations were high.

Personally I find Imtiaz Ali films to have great storylines but (excluding Jab We Met) they are executed with numerous flaws, to which unfortunately Cocktail is no exception. But the good thing is that these mishaps occur in the latter part of the film and one is so immersed in the story that forgiveness comes quite easily.

Each of the lead characters fit a particular stereotype. Saif Ali Khan's Gautam is the typical NRI which we've seen a hundred times in Karan Johar movies over the last 15 years. Deepika Padukone's Veronica is the typical beer-drinking, short "pant" wearing, falling-out-of-taxi wild child British brat. And Meera, portrayed by newcomer Diana Penty is a salwar kameez clad, bindi-wearing, namaste-greeting seedhi saadi ladki from Hindustaaan. So the scene is set. Boy goes for sexy chick, but falls for desi kudi in the end.

And so ensues the ride - which is very enjoyable, not least  thanks to the incredibly talented and star of the show Dimple Kapadia who plays Kavita Kapoor - mother of Gautam. I had to put aside my outrage at the fact that Dimple, who is as beautiful as ever, at only 13 years older than Saif, is playing his mother. His own former wife in real life Amrita Singh was after all only 8 months younger than Dimple. But anyway, there have been bigger sexist crimes in Bollywood. (Remember Dabangg? Guess who played the role of Salman's mother...?).

Moving on, without giving away too much of the story, Cocktail does it's job of serving up entertainment. Great performances by the cast, tuneful music, great locations etc However it is, predictably, the screen-play that is the biggest let-down, which seems to me to be the road-block in terms of greatness in Hindi cinema today: weak scene-to-scene storytelling.

The climax, although slightly unusual and sweet, comes at a point where the story has dragged on a little too long, so loses some of the potential magic it could have embodied.

The other major flaw for me is the accents! If Lara Dutta can do it (in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, 2007) than why not Deepika (the worst offender), and others? C'mon at least Said should have made an effort, didn't he once study in the U.K.? And of course the thing that is done so often, people often are accustomed to it: the talking in Hindi to non-Indians. Why the heck was Saif speaking in Hindi at work to his colleagues?

I do recommend the film as it is light hearted yet has emotional moments with fantastic music and lots of great scenes. The showstopper for me is Dimple, although Diana and Deepika were equally as impressive.

3.5 Stars

★Sridevi★ English Vinglish Poster

Sridevi | English Vinglish

The wait is over! We finally have the official first-look of the poster of the comeback film of Sridevi. La Devi has been away from the big screen since 1997and the fans have been waiting in suspense all these years. Well here we have it - she looks absolutely amazing. The film is due out in September.

Check out the amazing and very different first-look video, directed by Gauri Shende:

★Anushka Sharma★ Shoots Untitled Yash Chopra Film In London

Anushka Sharma has begun shooting for Yash Chopra's as yet untitled venture with Shah Rukh Khan in London. The diva follows the schedule from earlier this year with Katrina Kaif and SRK. Here is an exclusive just off the press look at a snapshot from the movie.The photo shows the pair riding on a motorbike along a London road. The flick is expected to release worldwide on November 16th 2012.

Anushka Sharma in London

★Farah Khan★ Shirin Farhad Poster

Farah Khan

Celebrated choreographer, director & chat show host Farah Khan will debut as an actress in Shirin Farhad Ki Nikal Padi. The diva has made cameo appearance in movies such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kal Ho Naa Ho in the past, but now we will see her portray a character for the first time. This came as a total shock to me, I had no idea! The first look of the film shows the lead pair paying homage to the biggest blockbuster of the 90s Hum Aapke Hain Koun starring Madhuri Dixit + Salman Khan.

Madhuri Dixit

Sonakshi Sinha - Sardarni

Sonakshi Sinha - Sardarni

Sonakshi Sinha hasn't been seen on screen since her debut in 2010, but she's back with many releases lined up over the next 12 months. First there's the Akshay Kumar starrer Rowdy Rathore which will be followed by Son Of Sardar also starring fellow UBD Juhi Chawla - I just hope they are not playing mother-daughter. Take a look at these pics from the sets.

Parineeti Chopra - Ishaqzaadi

Parineeti Chopra - Ishaqzaadi

The hottest new diva on the block Parineeti Chopra is readying herself for her second outing at the box office. Her first film proved a huge success earning her countless awards including wins at Filimfare, Screen, Zee Cine, Stardust, Apsara and many others. Ishaqzaade is the most anticipated film of the season - the script is said to be amazing, the music is doing very well and the performances look very exciting from the promos.. Check out these cool shots from the movie. Ishaqzaade is out worldwide on 11th May 2012.

Deepika Padukone - Cocktail

Deepika Padukone was once touted as the hottest newcomer on the block, but it seems these days everyone is talking more about Anushka, Asin + Parineeti. Her last few releases have garnered unfavourable reactions but the leggy diva is not about to go down without a fight. Having secured not one but two films with Southern superstar Rajnikanth - Kochadaiyaan [2012] + Rana [2013] both in Tamil, which were first offered to Katrina Kaif - she also has 2 Hindi releases this year. She will be seen starring opposite her ex-beau Ranbir Kapoor in Karan Johar's Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani in the last quarter of the year. Her next release Cocktail sees her working with Saif Ali Khan - now on their third movie together. Check out these candid shots on the sets in London. Cocktail will be released worldwide on 12th July 2012.

Katrina Kaif - Ek Thi Tigress

Katrina Kaif has wrapped up her first schedule shooting for Yash Chopra's as yet untitled film in London. But before that film hits the screens, she will be seen in another YRF production 'Ek Tha Tiger' which reunites her with her co-star of many of her earlier films Salman Khan. The film is being shot in Dublin, Ireland. Check out these snaps of her on the sets.

Dangerous Ishhq: No U.K. Release

Karisma Kapoor

I am sorry to bring you this sad news readers. I read the other day that Karisma Kapoor's comeback film 'Dangerous Ishhq' will not be released in U.K. cinemas.

Karisma is going all out promoting the film across India, check this radio interview:

It is well known that the thriller genre of Bollywood tends not to do as well as romance/drama in the U.K. and often we see that this type of film does not see a U.K. release. However this is the first time that a major film star such as Lolo will be seen in such a movie, and that too her first in over 6 years. So it is not a huge surprise that the distributors were worried about recovering their costs for the release, but it is majorly disappointing for the many thousands of fans who would have flocked to the theatre to see this 3D epic.

Karisma in Rajasthani outfit

There is another factor at play in all of this, and that is 'Ishaqzaade'. The Yash Raj Films project starring Parineeti Chopra has created an immense hype online and on radio/TV. Originally the films were slotted for release in separate weeks but last month it was decided (due to the buzz surrounding 'Ishaqzaade') that it would be brought forward by 1 week, hence the clash with 'Dangerous Ishhq'.

Divya Dutta with Karisma Kapoor

I hope something happens and all this is reversed, because I have been anticipating her comeback for many years and was excited to know she finally signed this movie. It is a shame as personally I think the film would have at least done decent business here. The music has received huge appreciation, and there is an online buzz around the project here in the U.K. I guess Lolo fans will have to wait for a dodgy DVD in Southall around the release date: May 11th, 2012.

Karisma Kapoor with Rajneesh Duggal

In the meantime here is a mellow track from the movie which fits with the mood of this article, sung by Anweesha.

Sunny Leone: Chaze Endorsement

Sunny Leone has not been in B'town for long but she's already secured her first product endorsement deal in India. The 31-year old Indo-Canadian actress and producer will debut in Pooja Bhatt's 'Jism 2' which will be released worldwide on 12 December 2012.

The diva has also snapped up another role in Ekta Kapoor's sequel to 'Ragini MMS' which will go on the floors at the end of the year.

Jism 2 - first look