Bollywood’s Kareena Kapoor plans to marry by the end of 2012

Leading Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor has revealed she plans to marry her partner of 5 years by the end of the year, ending speculation that she and fellow actor Saif Ali Khan were planning to tie the knot this month.

It had been widely reported that Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan would get married in March after the release of their movie, Agent Vinod, which stars both actors and is produced by Khan. However the 31-year-old Bollywood beauty has poured cold over this theory, revealing in a recent interview that she won’t be getting hitched any time soon due to work commitments.

Kareena Kapoor is currently filming Madhur’s Bhandarkar’s Heroine and so her time is taken up with shooting, meaning there’s no way she’ll be walking down the aisle in March. Speaking about her current film role in Heroine, the actress hinted that her character is particularly complex and is something of a challenge to portray, a challenge nonetheless that Kapoor is delighted to take on and prove her skills as an actress.

Speaking during a recent visit to Mumbai for the India Today Conclave, Kareena Kapoor revealed she and Saif Ali Khan will finally get married, “hopefully by the end of the year…” before adding that she and Khan, who’ve been dating since 2007, won’t be naming the date officially due to movie commitments.

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Saif Ali Khan hints at out of court settlement following hotel brawl

The Bollywood actor, Saif Ali Khan, hinted that he is hoping to settle his recent dispute with a South African businessman out of court after the two men both lodged complaints with the police accusing each other of physical assault.

The well known actor hit the headlines last week after he was involved in an altercation with businessman, Iqbal Sharma, at the Taj Palace Restaurant in Mumbai; immediately after the fight Khan insisted that he had acted in self defence.

This week however, the Bollywood star spoke out to publically apologise for the incident saying, “I would like to apologise for what happened and for what everyone saw.” Saif Ali Khan said he is “in talks” with Mr Sharma, who has since returned to South Africa to attend to his business affairs, adding that he hopes to “sort it out amongst ourselves more constructively.”

A source close to the star claims Khan is keen to draw a line under the whole incident and dispel any negative publicity ahead of the release of his eagerly anticipated movie, Agent Vinod, which is due out on March 23rd. The movie has been produced by Khan, and also stars the Bollywood actor in the title role opposite his real life girlfriend, Kareena Kapoor.

The 41-year-old actor has denied that the hotel brawl as a publicity stunt ahead of the release of Agent Vinod, stressing that his movie doesn’t need to resort to cheap tricks for self promotion.

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Amitabh Bachchan recovering at home following abdominal surgery

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan is back home and recovering following surgery to investigate an abdominal complaint. The actor and presenter, who’s appeared in over 180 movies, has endured a two week stay in a Mumbai hospital after undergoing an operation on February 11th.

The legendary actor appears to be on the road to recovery and was even feeling well enough to update both his blog and Twitter account, thanking fans for their blessings and prayers which the Bollywood star credits with aiding his recovery.

In his personal blog, the 69-year-old star revealed it was, “A joy to be back in familiar surroundings”, obviously happy and relieved to be back home again. However the actor was sharp as ever in the posting, pointing the finger at a group of journalists who had blocked his car, hampering his journey home from hospital this week.

While Amitabh Bachchan seemed in good spirits, he added that he was still in pain following his surgery writing that, “discomfort and soreness persists”. It’s been suggested that the actor may have undergone a second operation in the last two weeks, which would explain the star’s extended stay in hospital and his current discomfort.

Bachchan was admitted to hospital earlier this month after suffering abdominal pain. The TV Gameshow host has experienced long-running health problems linked to his stomach after rupturing his spleen during a movie shoot in the 80’s.

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Saif Ali Khan claims restaurant brawl was self defence

Bollywood movie star, Saif Ali Khan, was arrested on Wednesday after a South African businessman pressed charges of assault against him. However the well known actor is claiming he acted in self defence and has issued a counter claim against the other man involved in the fight.

It’s understood that Saif Ali Khan and his girlfriend, fellow Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor, were dining at the Taj Hotel on Tuesday evening. Sources claim the diner on the table next to theirs, businessman Iqbal Sharma, asked the actors to keep the noise down, and an argument erupted from this point.

On Wednesday evening, actor Saif was arrested by police after Mr Sharma pressed charges against the star for allegedly breaking his nose. The actor was bailed the same evening after paying a bail charge of £194.

Speaking today, Saif Ali Khan says Mr Sharma threw the first punch and that he had simply acted in self defence. While the Agent Vinod actor agreed that he could have handled the situation better, he insisted that he took action to defend himself and did not initiate the assault, adding that “justice will be done.”

This is the second time Saif Ali Khan has been accused of assault, the last incident was in 2008 when it was alleged he was involved in a fight with a journalist.

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Amitabh Bachchan making a speedy recovery after stomach surgery

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is reportedly on the road to recovery after undergoing five hours of surgery in a Mumbai hospital on Saturday.

The actor and presenter is certainly making a speedy recovery as he was back on Twitter yesterday evening thanking his fans for their support and prayers. The 69-year-old revealed he was on the operating table for five hours on Saturday, explaining that the surgery took so long as the surgeons needed to operate on both sides of his stomach.

A source is believed to have quoted a member of staff at the Seven Hills Hospital where the surgery took place who revealed that the Bollywood legend would be discharged from hospital today, just two days after going under the knife, which would signal that the star is making a very good recovery.

Amitabh’s son, Abhishek Bachchan, let fans know that the surgery was a success and thanked everyone for their continued support on Saturday through a statement released on Twitter.

The reason for the surgery has still not been revealed, although The Big B did confirm that it was linked to recent abdominal pains he’d been experiencing. It’s understood the surgery is likely to be related to an injury the actor sustained in 1984 when filming a fight scene for the movie Coolio.

The Bollywood star is due to make a splash in Hollywood this year as he will appear in the new adaption of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo Dicaprio.

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Amitabh Bachchan to undergo surgery this week

Bollywood mega star, Amitabh Bachchan confirmed today in his online blog that he will undergo surgery this week after suffering from abdominal pain.

The 69-year-old actor did not go into detail with regard to the nature of the surgery, only revealing that the operation would take place on Saturday morning after undergoing a CT scan. Bachchan added that the op was “not too complicated.”The actor has been complaining of abdominal pain recently and it’s understood the surgery is linked to this.

The Big B is no stranger to hospital food having endured two notable hospital stays in the past. In 2005 the Bollywood actor and presenter spent several weeks under medical supervision, and also time in intensive care, after undergoing surgery for an intestinal complaint.

The star also had a brush with death in 1982 after he ruptured his spleen while shooting a fight scene on the set on the movie, Coolio, resulting in a long stay in hospital. It is suspected that many of Amitabh Bachchan’s subsequent health issues may have steamed from this incident 30 years ago.

The host of the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, was delighted at the birth of his new granddaughter in November last year when his son Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai welcomed their first child. Most recently the legendary Indian actor was seen entertaining American TV host Oprah Winfrey during her recent visit to India.

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Bollywood plans day long strike to protest over new tax proposal

Bollywood will come to a standstill on February 23rd as the industry is planning a complete shutdown to protest over new government proposals to levy a new service tax on the film making industry. Those who oppose the proposal say the extra tax will have a negative effect on Indian film makers, squeezing film budgets even further.

The Bollywood strike will take place on February 23rd for the entire day, although the strike could be extended if there’s enough support for the cause. The Film Federation of India (FFI) declared the nationwide shut down, while the industry is waiting to see if the Film Producers Guild will join the strike, which would provide a big boost to the cause.

However not everyone supports the strike, filmmaker Retan Jain is one in particular who insists that the strike will only succeed in losing money for the Indian film industry. Jain believes that the best way to tackle the central government proposal to impose another tax on movies made in India is to call a meeting with the finance ministry to address the proposal head on.

Other well known faces in Bollywood support the strike whole heartedly, including Ramesh Sippy who is calling for indefinite strike to ensure the protest does not go unnoticed. Sippy believes the tax would mean an extra burden on the Indian film industry which is already the subject of heavy taxes.

Do you support the strike? Or do you think the Bollywood movie industry should pay more in tax? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.

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Shah Rukh Khan in alleged punch-up with Farah Khan’s husband

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan found himself in a spot of bother last night according to recent media reports as the actor is believed to have got into a scuffle Farah Khan’s husband, Shirish Kunder.

Shah Rukh Khan was seen arriving at the Aurus restaurant in Mumbai late last night accompanied by three bodyguards. Eyewitnesses described SRK as looking inebriated when he arrived at the party which was hosted by Sanjay Dutt to celebrate the success of his recent movie, Agneepath.

There is some confusion over how and why the argument broke out between Shah Rukh Khan and film maker Shirish Kunder. Some reports suggest Kunder had been following the actor around all night which had annoyed SRK, while other sources have reported seeing Bollywood superstar approaching Kunder and starting a fight, believed to have been caused by a derogatory comment he made on Twitter about Shah Rukh’s movie Ra. One.

The host of the party, Sanjay Dutt and also Baba Dewan who owns the restaurant, intervened after the scrap broke out between the pair, with the two men stepping in to break SRK and Kunder apart to prevent the fight getting out of hand.

The Bollywood actor and the film maker have a difficult history as Kunder’s wife, Farah Khan, was a close friend of Shah Rukh Khan and had directed him in a number of movies including Main Hoon Wa and others. However their friendship deteriorated after Farah cast Akshay Kumar in Tees Maar Khan, it’s believed the duo no longer speak as a result.

Farah wasn’t present at the party, however she had plenty to say on the matter this morning as she issued a statement which read,

“Shah Rukh has always told me that physical abuse is the worst way to sort out a problem, and that it means the person who’s hitting has either a personal or professional crisis going on. It saddens me to see him doing the same.”

There’s been no word from Shah Rukh Khan on the matter, although Farah Khan also said that she and her husband have no intention to charges against the actor.

 

 

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Bollywood movie Agent Vinod trailer introduced by Saif Ali Khan

The trailer for the eagerly anticipated new Bollywood movie, Agent Vinod, was officially released this week by the star of the movie, Saif Ali Khan. The Bollywood actor, who also produced the Hindi spy movie, looked dapper in a sleek dinner jacket as he arrived at the screening for the Agent Vinod trailer.

Comparisons are already being drawn between Agent Vinod and the James Bond films, with Saif Ali Khan doing little to play down the comparison by arriving at the trailer screening wearing a smart dinner jacket suit, one of the looks typically seen on James Bond in the iconic movies.

While the Bollywood heart throb conceded that comparisons between James Bond are “inevitable”, the actor stressed that Agent Vinod is a true Indian hero and that audiences will see this from the very first scene of the movie.

Agent Vinod’s leading lady, actress Kareena Kapoor, and also Saif Ali Khan’s real life girlfriend, was not present at the first showing of the movie trailer however the actor revealed the Bollywood beauty would be involved in future promotions for the film. Talking about his partner in Agent Vinod, Khan described Kareena’s role as “strong” in the movie, adding that she did the part “justice” and the film also did her justice in return.

The spy movie starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor had been due for release in December, however Agent Vinod is now due to be finally released in cinemas on March 23rd.

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Oprah Winfrey visits the Bachchan family during visit to India

Oprah Winfrey was given a very warm welcome during her first visit to India this week by one of the most famous Bollywood families. Head of the Bachchan clan, Amitabh Bachchan, even turned into a personal chauffeur for the famous TV host, getting behind the wheel of his white Rolls Royce to drive Oprah Winfrey to a Mumbai party held in her honour.

The veteran TV presenter was photographed arriving at the star studded party in Mumbai in the back of the stunning Rolls Royce driven by Amitabh. Oprah Winfrey was wearing an orange sari with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan seated next to her in the luxury car for company. Actor and Aishwarya’s husband, Abhishek, was seated in the front seat alongside his father.

New parents Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also had a special visitor to their home this week as the US chat show host visited the couple’s home, spending more than an hour at the Bachchan residence where she is believed to have met the couple’s two-month-old daughter, nicknamed Beti B.

Bollywood star, Amitabh Bachchan, tweeted about Oprah Winfrey’s visit to all of his Twitter followers as he wrote, “The gracious Oprah Winfrey visits our home, to meet us and bless the baby..warm hearted, endearing .. drive her to party in her honor,”

Oprah Winfrey will be attending the Jaipur Literature Festival during her visit to India, and is also planning to carry out filming for her new TV show, Next Chapter, while in the country.

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