The much-anticipated television premiere of Vidya Balan starrer The Dirty Picture was stalled at the last moment Sunday, despite 59 cuts in the film to make it suitable for television viewing. While film’s director Milan Luthria is shocked and disappointed, filmmaker Karan Johar branded it hypocrisy.

The government moved quickly to stall the screening of film by an entertainment television channel, ostensibly due to its “adult” content, and asked the channel to telecast it late in the night after prime time.

Information and broadcasting ministry officials in New Delhi told IANS that they have sent a letter to Sony TV not to telecast the movie during prime time Sunday.

“The channel has been told to screen the movie only after 11 p.m.,” they said to a query in this regard. More

Who looks like a goddess? It’s Vidya Balan versus Priyanka Chopra for the role of Goddess Parvati in the film adaptation of the celebrated novel The Immortals Of Meluha. The buzz is that Karan Johar is keen to rope in Vidya Balan for the role, but the actor Hrithik Roshan, who will be seen as Lord Shiva in the film, is apparently more interested in Priyanka Chopra for the role of Parvati.

After acquiring the rights of the novel The Immortals Of Meluha, written by Amish Tripathi, Karan Johar zeroed in on Hrithik Roshan to play Lord Shiva. However, an official announcement on the same is yet to be made. Now, the buzz is that Karan Johar is eager to have Vidya Balan as Parvati. Karan was mighty impressed with the actress after watching her in The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, and now thinks she suits best the role of a goddess. Karan may have envisioned Hrithik and Vidya together, but a question looms if the audiences will like the pairing.

It’s learnt that Hrithik Roshan has a preference towards Priyanka Chopra to be cast as Parvati. The actor has worked with her in Agneepath and is also shooting with the actress for Krrish 3. Moreover, Hrithik and Priyanka look good together on big screen, and that would certainly add to the USP of the film. More

Kahaani has earned Rs.43.05 crore since its release March 9.

Director Sujoy Ghosh made it at a budget of Rs.8 crore and the collections show that it’s a bumper hit of the first quarter of the year. The second week breakup goes like Rs.2.5 crore Friday, Rs.4.7 crore Saturday, Rs.4.9 crore Sunday, Rs.2 crore Monday, Rs.1.75 crore Tuesday, Rs.1.6 crore Wednesday and Rs.1.5 crore Thursday.

“Generally, most films register a 50 percent to 70 percent decline in the second week, since the screen count is fair/massive these days, but the decline in this case was around 25 percent, which is simply remarkable,” tweeted trade analyst Taran Adarsh. Source

Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor who is currently making news for her action packed role in AGENT VINOD is excited about pairing with Saif Ali Khan again. The actress is hopeful that the film, which is her second outing with Saif on the silver screen after the debacle of KURBAAN, may turn out to be their first hit together.

While AGENT VINOD is making the right noise, there is something that is bothering Kareena. According to reliable sources, Bebo’s frequent comparisons with actress Vidya Balan are not going well with the actress. Kareena, who has always maintained that Vidya is altogether a different actress given the kind of films she does, is unhappy about such comparisons becoming the talk of the mainstream press.

Speaking in no uncertain terms, Kareena rubbishes the comparison reports by adding, ”Those who are obsessed about comparing me with Vidya should know that I am an actress who does very different films from her. I do admit that Vidya is one of the talented actresses in town but the comparison is bit unfair. Every actor has his/her individuality and such reports are nothing more than mere figments of imagination.” Source

Vidya Balan’s charm and enduring performance seems to have impressed ‘perfectionist’ Aamir Khan so much that he has expressed his desire to work with the National Award winning actress.

Vidya’s dream run began with R Balki’s Paa (2009) alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Vishal Bharadwaj’s Ishqiya (2010) opposite Nasseruddin Shah, Raj Kumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica (2011) alongside Rani Mukherjee, Milan Luthria’s The Dirty Picture (2011) and the latest, Sujosh Ghosh’s Kahaani (2012).

With Vidya being compared with Aamir for her perfectionist style, so much so that she is dubbed by some in the industry as a ‘Female Aamir Khan’, the latter is singing the paeans for her. More

In cost-recovery ratio terms Vidya Balan starrer KAHAANI with its Rs. 24 crore nett first week box office collections and a clear week ahead, which is certain to fetch in another 15 crores, is all set to become the biggest hit of the year thus far, pushing AGNEEPATH to number two position. It is a dream run for a film of this kind. It has turned out to be a highly profitable investment for its producer Jayantilal Gada and his first major hit. Gada must be ruing his decision to sell its satellite rights cheap to Star TV. Had he held back, he would have fetched a price in the range of 15-20 crores. The film may also revive the career of its director Sujoy Ghosh.

The film reinforces Vidya Balan’s star power and puts her on as high a pedestal as the top line male stars of the industry. A comparison between the cost and the cast of AGNEEPATH and KAHAANI is quite revealing. On one hand you have an opulent production with the combined star power of maharathis like Rishi Kapoor, and Sanjay Dutt, and heartthrobs like Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra, supported by a mighty banner like Dharma Productions led by one of the gods among producers/promoters Karan Johar, commandeering his media power worth crores. In KAHAANI you just have Vidya Balan who anchors and promotes the film single-handedly, travelling in buses and trains, walking on streets, with a dummy tummy, trying hard to create enough buzz for her small film that was shot on actual locations, mostly with a hand-held camera. And in the end it’s this underdog of a film that does better than the behemoth. More

She swept the Best Actress award in this year’s almost all Awards function. And now the actress gets another reason to feel proud and happy. The talented actress has won the Best Actress title by the prestigious National Film Awards for her role of a celluloid sex siren in the film THE DIRTY PICTURE.

Her performance as the sex symbol Silk in THE DIRTY PICTURE, directed by Milan Luthria, had received rave reviews from both critics and viewers.

The Best Actor in the 59th National Film Awards was clinched by Girish Kulkarni for Marathi film DEOOL. Director Onir’s I AM has won the Best Hindi Film award.

Shahrukh Khan’s RA.ONE won the National Award for Best Special Effects. Source

What’s the difference between the two covers? At that time she chose a sari, but this time it’s an unwrapped lungi for her. Yes, it’s a lungi (a piece of cotton cloth worn as loincloth by men) for Vidya, draped so sensuously to cover her that we wonder, did a lungi ever look this fetching on anyone.

FHM India proudly announces. “Lungis, Gangis and Return of Vidya Balan”. However, Vidya Balan is not just on FHM this month; she is also gracing the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. The magazine is celebrating its third anniversary with Vidya as the ultimate Bazaar girl. The actress is sporting three great looks for the photoshoot – subtle glam, rock chic, and glam rebel.

On FHM Vidya is a bombshell with her robust sensuality and oomph. Vidya’s next film Kahaani where she plays a pregnant woman in search of her husband is releasing this March 9.

Nevertheless, catch Vidya Balan on the cover of FHM’s March issue here. Source

After wooing the audience with her bold and sensuous act in The Dirty Picture, actress Vidya Balan returns with another intense role of a pregnant woman in her forthcoming film Kahaani, which releases Friday.

Produced and directed by Sujoy Ghosh, this will be Vidya’s fourth woman-centric film after Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica and The Dirty Picture. The film also features Bengali actor Parambrata Chattopadhayay and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in prominent roles.

Kahaani tells the story of seven-month-pregnant Vidya Bagchi, who flies down to Kolkata in search of her missing husband, all alone in the festive city.

With nothing to rely on than just a fragment from her memories about him, Vidya begins her relentless search for her husband Arnab Bagchi. However, all clues seem to be in vain when everyone tries to convice her that her husband does not exist.

Soon she realises that things are not as they seem. She is determined to unravel the truth about her husband – for herself and her unborn child – even if it puts her life in danger. More

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