Thursday, December 31, 2009

Japanese PM falls for Deepika Padukone

Recently, Deepika Padukone was invited to the PM’s residence at 7 Race Course Road, Delhi to have dinner with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and 20 cabinet ministers. The dinner was in honor of the Japanese PM Yukio Hatoyama and his wife, Miyuki Hatoyama. They are presently visiting India and are huge fans of Bollywood films.

They liked Deepika in Om Shanti Om a lot and wanted to meet her. The PM’s office then called Deepika and asked her if she would like to come to dinner. The actress, who was shooting for Ashutosh Gowariker’s Khelenge Hum Jee Jaan Se in Goa, readily agreed and took a day off from shooting. She was very excited and nervous and felt that she was privileged and honoured to be invited to the occasion. She wore a Manish Malhotra saree for the event.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Cosmopolitan Magazine Names Deepika Padukone 'Sexiest Female'


Watch out Katrina Kaif, here comes Deepika Padukone! While Katz was named 'sexiest Asian woman of the year' by U.K. magazine Eastern Eye in December, Deepika recently received Cosmopolitan’s 'Sexiest Female Award' at their Fun, Fearless, Female Awards in Mumbai.

And while the "Love Aaj Kal" star started out as a model, she thinks it takes much more than good looks to make it in B-town: "I didn’t use this as a platform to enter the film industry. To enter the film industry or any other profession you need to be talented in that particular field," the Bollywood beauty said at the award ceremony.

Well let's just say that looking like Katrina and Deepika must still help to boost a B-town career! Do you think Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone deserve their 'sexiest woman' titles? Drop us a line.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Deepika Padukone's plan of funding underprivileged sportsmen dashed

Deepika Padukone's plan of funding underprivileged and needy sportsmen has been dashed momentarily. The actor had to put this philanthropic initiative on the backburner as she is overworked and has five back-to-back releases next year. However, she promises that she would revive the project in 2011.

A source says, "Deepika has been very busy of late. She has got a lot of work lined up next year too. That wouldn't give her any time to concentrate on this project. So she has decided to pull the plug for the time being."

As this project is Deepika's brainchild, she is very protective about how it should begin.

The source adds, "She is not doing this to garner attention. She has a sporting person's soul in her and having seen the plight of needy sportsmen from close quarters, she thought of helping them out. Deepika wants to sustain the project and fund it if possible throughout her lifetime. She has been silently scouting, observing and researching about good talents from across India for a long time."

Confirming the development, Deepika says, "Though the project is on the backburner now, the research work will be on as we are looking to start it from 2011. Next year is a very busy one for me. So I don't want to start this project just for the sake of doing it. I don't enter into things to come out of it easily and so I will take time to roll out this project. But when it starts, it won't stop."

Friday, December 25, 2009

Deepika Padukone unveils Kingfisher Swimsuit 2010 Calendar


Deepika Padukone has created stirs when she was a part of the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar in 2006. Now, this Sunday, the actress unveiled the 2010 edition of Kingfisher’s swimsuit special calendar and she is very proud of it.


She says, “In the beginning of my career, I was a part of the calendar and it’s becoming better every year. Girls in this calendar have done a fantastic job. It’s of international standards and it’s one of the best calendars in the world.”

“I am very proud of 2010 edition of the Kingfisher swimsuit special,” said Vijay Mallya, UB group chairman, adding that the calendar has given an opportunity to many young models from India and the world, and he hoped to continue the trend.

This year, noted photographer Atul Kasbekar has taken the photographs for the calendar which will feature five stunning models and has been shot in the exotic locales of Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili at Six Senses resort in Maldives. The calendar will be launched in January 2010 in Mumbai.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone are back together? What were they doing in the car?


Bollywood’s heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor had, recently, proclaimed that he’s single since his split with ‘Om Shanti Om’star Deepika Padukone in October. But, is he still in love with his ex-flame. ….Seems like he’s trying to woo her back, and it became apparent on Saturday night when the duo were spotted together.

The leggy lass Deepika and the Kapoor starlet Ranbir attended an event in Mumbai on Saturday night separately of course, but were spotted leaving together in a waiting car. Now, what transpired between the two at the party is anybody’s guess……fate made them come face to face and the gentleman (and also flirtatious) that Ranbir is, he, surely lavished praise and admiration on the sexy damsel. Later on, the duo were caught leaving together and zoomed off in Ranbir’s car.

Now, are the love-birds twittering again? Well, keep guessing and we shall keep you posted. Till then, all seems well in the lovers’ paradise……….Or are they playing hide-n-seek with the eager fans a la Mr. Aamir Khan?

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Deepika Padukone joins the crore club

Deepika Padukone has emerged as Bollywood's dark horse in the ad world during 2009, doubling her take-home compared to what she was worth in 2007-2008. According to media analysts and brand equity watchers, Deepika is much sought after in both premium and mass brands, right from high-end watches, airlines, clotheslines and even chewing gum..

According to industry estimates, from a time when she was charging around Rs 60 lakh for an endorsement, Deepika now demands almost Rs 1.5 crore per ad, hot on the heels of Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif (both around Rs2 crore an ad) and Priyanka Chopra (Rs1.5--2 crore).

Veteran market analyst Harish Bijoor says it comes as "no surprise" that Deepika's equity has doubled. "If you look at the endorsements she has signed, she has been a front runner in landing many leading mass brands. With a few premium brands also signing her up, she's closely competing with the top league of Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. However, none of them is even close to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the premium and high-end category."

When contacted, Deepika said that endorsements are basically about versatility of image. "I think what made people accept me is that I can be glamourous and also the girl-next-door. I have heard this from people who have approached me with campaigns and endorsement offers. I have worked really hard to get what I'm getting. I'm very passionate about movies and my constant effort is to outdo myself and challenge my acting skills. I'm happy with what I have got -- but this isn't enough," she says.

So what does she think about the other big three -- Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra? "I just love how Kareena carries herself. She is extremely graceful. I think Katrina is very hard working and that is a big reason behind her success. Priyanka has shown how versatile she can be and done some very good work recently," said Deepika, who has five back-to-back films releasing in 2010.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Change is good: Deepika

If you thought Deepika Padukone had ducked out of sight and was dodging the media following her split with Ranbir Kapoor, think again

The model-turned-actress herself revealed to BT that she was lying low because she didn’t want to reveal her new look for Kartik Calling Kartik.

In the film, which co-stars Farhan Akhtar, Deepika has got herself a short-short haircut. The actress, who had waist-length hair till recently, has now got it down to her shoulders. “I last chopped my hair when I was eight,” said Deepika. Apparently Audhuna, the celebrity hairstylist and Farhan’s wife, and director Vijay Lalwani had to convince Deepika to go in for the change.

“They thought with my height, I would be able to carry it off well,” said the actress. But she argued with the director that she would go in for the haircut only if he shaved his head bald. “He didn’t do that but he saw to it that he was present in the salon so that I don’t back off at the last moment,” laughed Deepika.

People who have seen her new look, have loved it. Her parents were amazed. “Everybody says it looks good on me and makes me look younger,” smiled Deepika. The actress plays an interior designer in the film. “The scriptwriter had a certain image in mind when he wrote my character Shonali. So I had to do justice to the role,” she said. What about her responsibility as brand ambassador for some hair-care products? Wasn’t her long hair the reason she got those lucrative deals? “It’s okay, I like it this way now,” said the beauty, “Change is good.”

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Deepika Padukone on Verve, shows delightful curves

Verve November 2009 issue cover girl Deepika Padukone speaks exclusively about love, work and the power of mystery in the cover story.

The 23-year-old Bollywood beauty shows her feminine mystique wearing a plunging sequin dress and a vintage bouffant hairdo.


The center spread has more photos of the star in sensuous poses and evening gowns titled "Killing Them Softly With Her Smile."

Deepika was the recipient of the 2009 Fashion Icon of the Year trophy at the Indian Youth Icon of the Year award held at Gurgaon, Haryana, in late September.

Deepika's relationship with Ranbir Kapoor gets so much media attention that she now believes it was a bad decision to make it public.


"Since we were so clear about our relationship, we had nothing to hide. I thought people would respect that. But it didn't work out that way," Deepika says.

Deepika and Ranbir were seen together in Yash Raj Films' Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008).

Deepika has evolved as an actress and is comfortable doing versatile roles. She has a full on comic role in Sajid Khan's Housefull, with co-star Akshay Kumar, and plays a bold cigarette smoking gal in Vijay Lalwani's Karthik Calling Karthik with co-star Farhan Akhtar who is also co-producing the film.

Deepika Padukone and Neil Nitin Mukesh will headline Pradeep Sarkar directed Yash Raj Films' Next, a gritty romance set on the streets of Mumbai. Both the actors have extremely challenging roles to play in the film that is slated to begin filming this December and is scheduled for a 2010 release.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Neetu Singh never liked Deepika Padukone

A lot is being said and written about the reason behind Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor calling off their relationship. From Ranbir's hookup with Katrina Kaif to Deepika's over possessive nature there hasn't been a angle that hasn't been talked about. But the truth is that many factors played catalyst to the split, one of them being Ranbir's mother Neetu Singh. Deepika may have dated Ranbir but she could never become close to the Kapoors.

Deepika and Neetu were always known to share cold vibes and Neetu had never been too happy about her son's choice. It may be recalled that earlier in the year Neetu had said that Deepika was just another girlfriend in her son's life. The actress of the yesteryears had also said that both of them were young and marriage was a long way to go and it was also not sure if they would stick to each other. Well it seems like Neetu's words have come true in less than a year.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

DEEPIKA'S NEXT CHOICE IS SALLU

Deepika Padukone has already won the laurels in her brief stint with films by pairing with the top who's who of Bollywood. Though she is just four-films-old she has played opposite SRK, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. Yes, she is yet to work with the remaining two Khans-Salman and Aamir. The buzz is that Deepika, who was launched by Shah Rukh Khan, strongly desires to work with Salman Khan now. As is usual some of our colleagues attribute her desire to work with Salman Khan to her unhappiness with her beau Ranbir Kapoor who of late is found bonding more with Katrina Kaif! Yes, it's true that Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are frequently chatting and for quite long on the sets of their forthcoming 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani'. However, Deepika forgets that she will also be seen again working opposite Akshay Kumar in Sajid Khan's 'Houseful'. Then, why the fuss? The reason seems to be different to us. Very recently her beau's ace actor father Rishi Kapoor has described Deepika as one of the girlfriends of his son!

This might have upset her. Not in the distant past, Ranbir's mother had also snubbed Deepika with her uncalled for remark. There can be one more reason for Deepika's reaction, if any. That's Ranbir's new girl is Shazahn Padamsee. Ranbir will soon be seen opposite a new girl Shazahn Padamsee in his upcoming flick 'Rocket Singh: Salesman' post 'Wake up Sid!' which is being produced under the Yash Raj banner. Shazahn Padamsee is Alyque Padamsee's daughter. Shazahn confirms the news, "Yes, I've signed the movie and the shooting has begun." As we know that Yash Raj Films keeps the names of their heroines, especially those who are new, a top secret. Fortunately for Deepika, the cat is out of the bag. Anyway, Shazahn isn't new in the field as she has to her credit many ad films before doing this commercial one.

Project K’s Producer REACTS To Reports Of Deepika Padukone Rushed To Hospital Due To Increased Heart Rate: ‘These Are False Rumours’

Several reports were doing rounds that Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone was taken to Kamineni Hospital in Hyderabad after she felt unwell....