Actress Vidya Balan, who was first considered as the female lead for Sanjay Gupta’s next directorial venture SHOOTOUT AT WADALA, has been replaced by Kangana Ranaut.

It is reported that Kangana has stepped into Vidya’s shoes and signed the film starring Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi and Tusshar Kapoor.

Tanuj Garg, CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, confirmed the same on the social networking site. ”For those asking, Kangana Ranaut has been confirmed to star in SHOOTOUT AT WADALA,” he tweeted.

Produced by Ekta Kapoor, SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is a sequel to the 2007 film SHOOTOUT AT LOKHANDWALA. Source

Vidya Balan freshly did a small act at the Screen Awards with Shah Rukh Khan where she addressed the superstar as ‘brother’. However, she tells calling SRK brother saddened her.

“I did not find that act interesting. I felt very sad that I called him my brother. The world can call Shah Rukh their brother, but I will never call him my brother,” the 33-year-old told at the DVD launch here of her film “The Dirty Picture”.

After taking away all the awards for her performance in “The Dirty Picture”, Vidya is currently busy promoting her next movie “Kahaani”. Source

The team of The Dirty Picture launched the DVD of the film here Monday, within two months of the release of the film. Producer Ekta Kapoor said the film is the ‘highest pirated film in the history of Indian movies’.

“The Dirty Picture is the highest pirated film in the history of Indian movies and if we had not come out with the DVD now then the piracy would have made much more money than it had already done,” she said.

The Dirty Picture which has opened doors for the single screens yet again managed to make the biggest box office success.

Vidya Balan said “I just knew one thing we all were trying to make a good film as long as you know that nothing is in your control.” More

Following the huge success of her last film THE DIRTY PICTURE, Vidya Balan is preparing to take her ‘Ooh La La’ tag to newer heights with her very first item song in the Rajesh Mapuskar directed FERRARI KI SAWAARI, under the banner of Vidhu Vinod Chopra Films.

Vidya is expected to go ultra-glamorous in the item song. The item song is expected to be a major part of the film. The choreographer is still undecided though the shoots are expected to commence in early February 2012.

The movie FERRARI KI SAWAARI has become the movie of firsts. This is not only Rajesh Mapuskar’s directorial debut, but Sharman Joshi will also play the lead role for the very first time in this movie. And of course, we will get to see Vidya grooving in her very first item number.

What remains to be tested is whether the theory of first’s works for them! Source

Readily accepting and acknowledging the great impact of cinema on Indian socio-cultural life, a Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS) – a Lucknow based civil society working in various fields of social concern presents the IRDS Hindi Film Awards 2011 for films that primarily dealt with social issues.

The Best Hindi film award has been given to BOL, a topical and thought-provoking Pakistani film for raising many social issues including the regressive attitude of a male-dominated society.

The Best Male Character award has been given Rajeev Khandelval for playing the character Raunak Kaul who is a DJ by profession in the film SOUNDTRACK. Raunak is seen battling with his inner demons and coming back from the verge of extinction in the film. Vidya Balan bagged the Best Female Character award for her role as Reshma alias Silk in the film THE DIRTY PICTURE. Vidya depicted the roller-coaster and controversial life of actress Silk Smitha. More

Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan says he is looking forward to working with Vidya Balan.

“She is a wonderful actor. I haven’t seen ‘The Dirty Picture’ but I will see it tomorrow. I have seen ‘Ishqiya’ on DVD and I just loved her performance. I have also seen ‘Paa’,” Shah Rukh told reporters.

“Apart from being a marvelous actress, I think all these girls are such huge stars. I believe girls are very hard working compared to boys. I hope I get a chance to work with her,” he added.

Vidya too seemed to be thrilled at the prospect.

“Why not, I would love to work with him,” she replied when asked about working with Shah Rukh. More

In a festive city where every truth is a lie… How do you find a man, who does not exist?

Directed and co-produced by Sujoy Ghosh, KAHAANI is a heart wrenching kahaani of a pregnant woman who is in a search of her missing husband.

After THE DIRTY PICTURE, Vidya Balan seems gung-ho for a ‘different’ role. The trailer looks pretty intriguing and we hope that the film fares well at the box-office when it releases on 9th March, 2012.

Take a look at the trailer and post your views. Source

5) Don 2

Panned by many critics, this film makes it to the list for not only being the first genuinely slick action flick of Bollywood, but also because it brought  back memories of a Shahrukh Khan we didn’t despise. Don 2, despite its slow pacing and rather humdrum plot, worked rather gloriously because the Don himself got to deliver some fun punchlines; wear masks of actors far more good looking than him and romance the girl with the sexiest pout in Asia, Priyanka Chopra. Looking back at the year, this is the only mega hit of 2011 that was actually fun to sit through.

4) Stanley Ka Dabba

This film should be much higher up, if only it wasn’t for the lack of its mainstream elements. Yet, this is a small-scale, simple and spectacular film that works as effectively in providing a refreshing twist to the poor state of children’s cinema in India as it does in tugging at the heartstrings without trying too hard. The Partho kid is rather neat, but his father, director Amole Gupte (the writer of Taare Zameen Par) is the one who takes the cake here. A must-see!

3) Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

This film is in our list because this is, by far, the best looking flick of the year, a tour-guide to Spain that unimpressively breezed through much frivolity and mush before taking off the covers and showing us a heart and a soul. This was mainstream, commercial cinema that had something to say — and while the underlying theme was rather stale — the packaging was pretty damn great. Katrina rode a bike all the way through Barcelona only to give a man a kiss, Hrithik Roshan stood opposite her to complete the fantastic looking pair and Farhan Akhtar rose above the role to truly give a heartfelt performance.

2) The Dirty Picture

First banned and then unbanned in Pakistan, this gutsy film is perhaps the most unforgettable feature film of the year. The rigorously censored version in Pakistani theatres should be given a miss. This one is to be seen at home, late at night when kids and parents have been put to sleep. Revolving around a vulgar little South Indian item girl, The Dirty Picture is far braver an achievement than Delhi Belly — another push-the-envelope feature — simply because it uses a female to forward the theme. And what a female she is! Vidya Balan — a genuine actor revelling in her onscreen glory with such remarkable glee — is the one reason why this film is so high up on this list. Trendsetting stuff!

1) Rockstar

Take a bow, ladies and gentlemen. In a year when Aamir was absent, Hrithik was sleepy, Shahrukh and Salman were busy baking blockbuster recipes; one guy stood up and showed them all who the real daddy of performance is. Ranbir Kapoor and this realistic story of music, love and pain are not stuff that Bollywood is used to. Kapoor is a superstar and a spectacular actor who knows how to pull off both sides of him at the same time.

Before the release of The Dirty Picture, it was Vidya Balan who was showering praises on Naseeruddin Shah. And now, it is Naseer Sahib himself who can’t help commending Vidya Balan!

At the music launch of his film Chaalis Chauraasi, Naseeruddin Shah told reporters: “She is a marvelous actress. She has been very brave, not just worked very hard but she is courageous in her choice of work… It is a testimony to her courage that she is in a position that most of our leading ladies would envy her today.”

Not only this, Naseer even said that it is only Vidya Balan who could have done justice to a woman-oriented script: “It is a wonderful thing. So hats off to the girl.” More

Bollywood actor Vidya Balan will be seen sharing her secrets, rise to fame and life story at a special 14-part televised series Achievers’ Club.

Beam Inc has flagged off its 11th edition of the Teacher’s Achievement Awards with Achievers’ Club. Leading to the Teacher’s Achievement Awards to be hosted in February next year, the Achiever’s Club will showcase the glittery, glamorous and fabulous lives of self-made achievers of India.

The Achievers’ Club is an exclusive series where India’s most celebrated achievers like KP Singh, Vidya Balan, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Naveen Jindal, Manish Arora, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and many more will share their success mantras and millionaire lifestyle with the host Vir Sanghvi.

Harish Moolchandani, CEO & Managing Director Beam India & ISC said, “With the debut of the Achievers’ Club on Star World, we would like to showcase to the world the celebrated life of achievers, their lifestyle and their passions as shared with Vir Sanghvi in the series.” More

Ever since “The Dirty Picture” has hit the big screen, actress Vidya Balan has been receiving praise for her bold performance. Preity Zinta is the latest to appreciate her work and hopes she wins the top honours for her performance.

“Vidya Balan was brilliant in ‘Dirty Picture’! She blew my mind with her performance and sincerity. Full points to her and all Best Actress Awards,” the 36-year-old posted on Twitter.

Vidya, 33, sizzled on the silver screen as dancing star Silk in “The Dirty Picture”. Source

Nampally Criminal Court on Wednesday directed the police to take action against The Dirty Picture and to register cases against the film’s lead actress Vidya Balan and producer Ekta Kapoor.

The orders were issued after advocate Azad filed a petition in the court stating that The Dirty Picture contains many objectionable scenes. Admitting the petition, the court directed the Nallakunta Police Station to register a case. More