I'm flaunting my sexuality, so what

There are stars, and there are superstars, their hits and flops notwithstanding; and then there are the look-at-me-I-am-trying-so-hard wannabes.

Like Mona Chopra, or Sherlyn, or whatever she likes to be called now. Her motto?

"There's nothing evil in flaunting your sexuality - if you have it, flaunt it." And what about talent? Not important, when you have skin.

After disasters like 'Time Pass' and a debut in a so-called A-grade movie (a Vinod Pande sleaze flick), as well as a blink-and-you-miss-it role in 'Raqueeb', Sherlyn has decided to re-launch herself with her music album, 'Outrageous – The End of the Beginning'.

While we are still trying to figure out what on earth that is supposed to mean, we are told that the album will bring to fore the deep hidden desires that every human being harbours inside, but refuses to acknowledge. Go figure.

To give the aspiring starlet her due, she has managed to rope in some of the bigger names in the industry to support her in her endeavour.

A photo shoot was held recently for the benefit of the media, and the man behind the camera was Rakesh Shreshtha, ace photographer. Adman Prahlad Kakkar will direct her in the music video, the lyrics of which she has written.

"Prahlad Kakkar is a legend in his field. There couldn't have been a better person to direct the video. Remember it's an attitude, and that has to come to the fore.

Thankfully I have the right people associated with the album," Sherlyn gushes.

As she flaunts some more skin, she giggles, "I am stylish and yet simple at heart, sometimes naïve and yet street smart. I am a lamb in a tigress' body".

Well, Kakkar and Shreshtha may not gain much from this association, but Sherlyn definitely will, at least for the time being.

We just hope she remembers that not everyone is a Rakhi Sawant. Class does matter sometime.

Lara to endorse Pantaloons?

It's almost official that that Bobby Deol and Lara Dutta have been roped in as the Brand Ambassadors for the leading fashion giant Pantaloons. Though the official announcement is yet to be made, a reliable source informs that the fashion brand has already placed its bet on this pair and that photographer Atul Kasbekar has already done a photo shoot with Bobby for the brand!

Bobby and Lara have been the leading pair in many films like Jurm, Bardaasht, Dosti, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom but all these films failed at the Box Office. What remains to be seen now is how much of a momentum will this pair generate in terms of sales for this fashion brand?

"Toronto Film Festival was a picnic" - Rituparno

Rituparno has never been happier. Ritu and his entire Last Lear team had a picnic in Toronto. "I've never seen this kind of ovation for any of my film. And we were all so relaxed."

Laughs Ritu, "All of us from The Last Lear team were completely cut away from the Festival crowd because we were put up at the Royal York because Amit-da wanted to stay there. But there was a stunning solidarity among us. The entire team—Amitji, Arjun, Preity, newcomer Jisshu Sengupta, then the producer Arindam Chowdhary and executive producer Shubho Shekhar—were all there. And then Presanjeet who was there for Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Kaal Purush joined us because he has a cameo in Last Lear. Arjun had come with his wife Meher and Prosenjeet's wife was also there, also the producer's wife. So the ambience was relaxed."

Ritu recalls the journey to the 'Gala' event at the Toronto Film Festival. "All of us got into three stretch limos as though we were proceeding to picnic. I was wearing black, Amit-da was wearing an off-white band –gala for the Gala, Arjun was wearing a suit, Preity was wearing grey. So it was a perfect 'Grey Card' situation for television."

Ritu sobers down. "There was only one reason why I was very hassled. I was seeing The Last Lear for the first time. I've been to innumerable festivals. But this was a unique experience. They kept asking why Shakespeare was part of an Indian film. I had to keep explaining, I grew up meeting Shakespeare on the streets of Kolkata. Theatre Road was renamed Shakespeare Sarani. Shakespeare is lodged permanently in Kolkata. Anyway, Deepa Mehta and Vishal Bhardwaj and his wife were among those who really loved The Last Lear."

Anil and Chunky come together after 19 years

Nineteen years after working in Tezaab [1988], Anil Kapoor and Chunky Pandey have come together again. Though N. Chandra directed Tezaab had the two actors playing friends, this new venture would see them in a different combination. While Anil Kapoor dons the hat of a producer for the second time after Gandhi My Father, Chunky Pandey is one of the key protagonists in the film.

"It is called Shortkut - The Con Is On; note the 'K' factor", quips Chunky, "I play the role of an 'acting guru' in the film". Chunky Pandey and an 'acting guru'? Now that's some combination! "That's not all. In fact, you could say that I play an 'overacting guru'. Now does that sound convincing?" he continues to joke.

What's the film about? "It is designed as a laugh-a-minute comedy", informs Chunky who has been noticed recently for his comic acts in Apna Sapna Money Money and Fool N Final, "The film is directed by Neeraj Vora who gave us a hilarious Phir Hera Pheri (Akshay Kumar, Suneil Shetty, Paresh Rawal) last year."

How does Chunky Pandey's role as an 'acting guru' come into picture? "Shortkut - The Con Is On has a flavor of Bollywood and touches upon various layers which are prevalent here. Learning how to act is one of them. But no, Shortkut - The Con Is On is not a spoof on Bollywood. We are just trying to tell a tale in a lighter vein."

And who are his partners in crime? "I am in the film along with Akshaye Khanna and Arshad Warsi. Both are simply terrific when it comes to comic timing. We have shot for around a week now and it has been absolutely fun. Along with Neeraj, it is a riot on the sets."

Talking fondly about his director, Chunky says, "What's special about Neeraj is that he has just the right expressions for all the shots. You have to just emulate the way he enacts a scene. So far I have worked in films (Apna Sapna Money Money, Fool N Final, Darwaza Bandha Rakho) which were written by his assistants. Finally I get a chance to work with the Boss!"

As a producer, Anil Kapoor started off with an offbeat Gandhi My Father. Is Shortkut - The Con Is On just an antithesis of the film? "Exactly", says Chunky, "This is going to be a full on commercial entertainer for an entire family. We finish shooting by January and plan to bring it to theaters post March once the school/college exams are over."

Coming together with Anil Kapoor must have brought a sense of nostalgia too? "It has been a long time. I too took a break and made a comeback. So many changes have happened in the industry but he remains the same. Though he is not acting in the movie, we all would make sure that he plays a part in the film. From the point of No Entry, we will now take him through a Shortkut", he smiles.

Exclusive Photo Gallery: Deepika Padukone

Dhoni to lead in ODIs; Pathan, Harbhajan recalled

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Tuesday replaced Rahul Dravid as captain for the One-day International home series against Australia and Pakistan, while Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh come back to the side.

Dhoni, 26, is currently leading India at the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Dravid, who had opted out of the Twenty20, had made himself unavailable for the captaincy to concentrate on his batting after the recent tour of England.

Announcing a 15-member team for the first three ODIs against Australia at a press conference, cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah said here that Yuvraj Singh, who is senior to Dhoni, would be the vice-captain.

"We thought he was the best man for the job. He is a good (Twenty20) captain and it is the right time to groom him," said Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of the selection committee.

Referring to speculation that Sachin Tendulkar had declined to lead the ODI team, he said that no one was offered the captaincy before Dhoni was finally picked.

Rohit Sharma, Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel, who were part of the team that recently toured England, were dropped for the first three matches.

The three ODIs will be played at Bangalore (Sep 29) Kochi (Oct 2) and Hyderabad (Oct 5).

The team for the remaining four one-dayers will be announced later.

A hard-hitting batsman who can change his game according to the situation, the Ranchi-based Dhoni has played 84 ODIs since making his debut against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2004 and scored 2,477 runs at 44.23. In 20 Tests, he has scored 1,019 runs at 36.39.

Board president Sharad Pawar, who approved the team, endorsed the choice of Dhoni and the team as a whole.

"Anything that takes the team forward should be welcomed. We also have to see that the young generation is given opportunity and if the captain is also young that's good," he said.

The seven-match One-day International series against Australia will be played from Sep 29 to Oct 17.

The Pakistani team will visit India for five ODIs and three Test matches to be played between Nov 6 and Dec 12.

The captain for the Test series will be named later, said Vengsarkar.

On the recall of left-arm pacer Pathan and off-spinner Harbhajan, both of whom are playing Twenty20 World Championship, he said they have done well to merit a recall.

On Virender Sehwag, who is also playing in South Africa but was again ignored for the ODIs, Vengsarkar said that since the team was only for three matches, "he will get his opportunity" later in the series.

Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicket keeper), Yuvraj Singh (vice captain), Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh.

Australia in India
Date	Match	Venue
Tue, Sep 25	Australia team arrival
Sat, Sep 29	First ODI	Bangalore
Tue, Oct 2	Second ODI	Kochi
Fri, Oct 5	Third ODI	Hyderabad
Mon, Oct 8	Fourth ODI	Guwahati
Thu, Oct 11	Fifth ODI	Baroda
Sun, Oct 14	Sixth ODI	Nagpur
Wed, Oct 17	Seventh ODI	Mumbai

Pakistan in India
Date	Match	Venue
Fri, Nov 2	Pakistan team arrival
Tue, Nov 6	First ODI	Faridabad
Fri, Nov 9	Second ODI	Mohali
Mon, Nov 12	Third ODI	Kanpur
Thu, Nov 15	Fourth ODI	Gwalior
Sun, Nov 18	Fifth ODI	Jaipur
Thu, Nov 22 - Mon, Nov 26	First Test	Delhi
Fri, Nov 30 to Tue, Dec 4	Second Test	Kolkata
Sat, Dec 8 - Wed, Dec 12	Third Test	Bangalore

Tania Sachdev won the Asian Women's Chess Championship

Tania Sachdev won the Asian Women's Chess Championship on Tuesday i.e. on 11/9/07, at Tehran by beating Chinese Ju Wenjun. She is also a Grandmaster-norm holder. She joined Women Grandmaster (WGM) Club in 2005.

Isn't she cute?

Sophia Chaudhary Hot and sexy Wallpapers

All you wanted to know about Dhol

Dhol - Kiska Bajega' revolves around the lives of four friends Tusshar Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Rajpal Yadav and Kunal Khemu. The guys are bound together by their child-like notoriety and aimlessness. They all want a short cut to success but they end up being in an even deeper mess. The easy route they find is, to get married to a rich girl. A solution they thought would put an end to their misery once and for all. Tanushree is an affluent girl who has just moved in their neighborhood. These men now try to woo Tanushree and marry her. But fate had something else planned for them. Leading in too much confusion; creating hilarious twists and turns, along with an element of thrill, murder and suspense; the story moves on.

Off late, one factor which has become common in each of the films coming from Priyadarshan is Pritam's music. Garam Masala and Bhagam Bhag had the composer creating some catchy rhythmic tunes for the film maker. Now it is expected that Dhol too would be carrying forward the trend, especially so since the film is touted to be a breezy youthful entertainer with predominantly young starcast comprising of Sharman Joshi, Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Khemu, Tanushree Datta, Rajpal Yadav and Payal Rohatgi. While Irshad Kamil writes majority of songs, Mayur Puri, Amitabh Verma and Ashiesh Pandit contribute with a song apiece too.

In recent past not many films have come up with a soundtrack that is worth remembering. Marigold, Dhokha, Dhamaal, Go and Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag have all been disappointments. After hearing Dhol, you realize that even this won't result in revival of fortunes at the music stands, though comparatively this Pritam soundtrack turns out to be the best when compared to the aforementioned albums.

It's the sound of 'sexy' that kick starts Dhol. Also, as required by the genre of the film coupled with adequate justification as necessitated by the film's title, there is ample use of 'dhol' in this racy composition by Pritam. Written by Irshad Kamil, 'O Yaara Dhol Bajake' has a youthful flavor throughout and is blended with Punjabi rhythm and beats.

Mika Singh makes an appearance in the first version of this song that could soon be heard in festive celebrations and marriage processions due to instant retention power it comes with. There is ample liberal interspersion of rap as well throughout the song but for a change one doesn't mind that at all as 'O Yaara Dhol Bajake' turns out to be a track which has good potential to get the album into the charts.

Later the song appears in a 'remix version' by Labh Janjua which doesn't hamper the flavor of the song and only adds on some more 'dhol' to the proceedings. The more you hear the song, the more you feel like dancing to it on the streets. This feeling is strengthened further when you hear the song again with Soham Chakraborty and Sohail Kaul pairing up for the third version. This one is a winner.

Funk and rhythm continue to fuse well in the track 'Namakool' that follows next. Written by Ashiesh Pandit, it has lyrics like 'Namakool...we are cool' which may hardly make for poetry but go well with the genre of the movie. Even Pritam's tune isn't the most original that you may have heard as it only follows the youthful tues that he has made in the past.

Still, credit it to arrangements and mixing which makes this youthful track fairly enjoyable as Kunal Ganjawala and Shaan come together to croon a number about four friends looking at making at their own rules and reigning the world. The song should be good fun as a part of the narrative though it won't be remembered for weeks to come.

'Haadsa' crooned by Sunidhi Chauhan and Akriti Kakkad seems like a night club number which could have been choreographed on Payal Rohatgi. Though the song doesn't sound much exciting to begin with, as one gives it an extended hearing, one senses a scope for an engaging five minutes if 'Haadsa' is supported by stylish choreography featuring eye candy babes.

There is a certain foot tapping feel to this Irshad Kamil written number which catches your attention even though the song isn't the kind which makes you go 'wow' in the very first listening. Nevertheless, on hearing it a few times, you realize that it may not be a bad inclusion after all as a part of the film.

Yes, now here comes a kind of track that you definitely want Pritam to be composing more often. 'Bheega Aasmaan' has that trademark Pritam touch to it, something which he demonstrated for songs in films likes Chocolate, Ankahee, Hat Trick and most recently Metro. A track set in a rock mode, 'Bheega Aasmaan' is very well written by Irshad Kamil as it depicts the feeling of love in a different 'avtar'.

The arrangements are just perfect for this yet another youthful number which could have well been a part of an urban romantic film. While the first half of the song is dominated by Shaan who is best suited for songs belonging to this genre, it is refreshing to hear Vijay Yesudas coming towards the latter half of the song. 'Bheega Aasmaan' is truly the best of the enterprise so far and deserves to be on air soon with aggressive promotion to increase it's reach.

Usha Uthup is associated with a particular genre of songs all these years. Majority of her songs are set in a carnival/celebration mould and 'All Night Long' is no different. While the opening sets the mood for a party time ahead, the 'antaras' bring in a flavor similar to Biddu songs from the early 80s. Written by Mayur Puri, the song is at best situational and isn't expected to become on the major reasons for the music of Dhol to work inspite of a western setting and racy rhythm.

Shreya Ghoshal rendered 'Dil Liya Dil Liya' brings the album to a close and as conveyed by the setting of the song, it appears like an item number in the making. Bordering on being 'chalu' in it's setting, it is a trademark 'dhin-chaak' Bollywood number which relies strictly on beat-one-beat-two formula, keeps you reasonably involved during those five minutes, courtesy promise of some lively choreography, and makes you forget it pronto. One also gets to see a different side of Amitabh Verma who otherwise has been associated with some lovely love ballads in last 2-3 years.

Dhol begins well with 'O Yaara Dhol Bajake' which is absolute 'dhamaal'. Though 'Namakool' and 'Haadsa' manage to keep you moving ahead in the album, 'Bheega Aasman' takes Dhol to an all time high and makes you start expecting a lot from the tracks to follow. Nevertheless 'All Night Long' and 'Dil Liya Dil Liya' do well as gap-fillers but that's about it. In the nutshell, the songs on which one may put money are 'O Yaara Dhol Bajake' and 'Bheega Aasman'.





‘Dhol – Kiska Bajega’ revolves around the lives of four friends – Sam (Tusshar Kapoor), Pakkya (Sharman Joshi), Maru (Rajpal Yadav) and Goti (Kunal Khemu). The guys are good for nothing with no motivation. But they’re bound together by their child-like notoriety and aimlessness. They all want to make it big in life with the least efforts possible. The four wish to live life on their own terms, leading everyone to nowhere. As a result, each one tries their hand at finding a short cut to success but ends up being in even deeper trouble instead. Things get worse as the four decide to take some desperate measures to end their misery once and for all.

According to them, the only way to get rich without working hard is to get married to a rich girl. Surprisingly, to unlock their fates, arrives the rich girl Kanchan (Tanushree Dutta) in their neighborhood. All four set out with their individual plans to marry Kanchan but end up discovering a spine-chilling truth.

This leads to much confusion, creating hilarious twists and turns, along with an element of thrill, crime, murder and suspense.

Bunty Walia's next eight films

G.S. Entertainment P. Ltd., one of the leading event management and film production houses in India, has major expansion plans and has diversified to accommodate their vision of producing 8 films over the next three years, i.e. 2008 to 2010.

G.S. will be producing quality content for which they have commissioned talented directors, namely National Award winning director Rahul Dholakia for their film LAMHAA, which is an espionage thriller based on terrorism in Kashmir.

The next two films are with the award winning ad film maker Shamin Desai, namely GANGS OF LONDON and JUMP – A GENERATION OF THIEVES. One being a gritty action drama based out of London and the other being an action thriller based out of Hong Kong.

Also, award winning ad film maker Anirudh Sen shall be directing MUKTI – QUEST FOR LIFE, which is an action drama. Plus, an action comedy to be directed by producer turned director Jaspreet Singh Walia called JUST PUNJABI.

The next film in line is BOMBAY-3, which is a love story with a thriller element to it and directed by Kitu Ghosh, whose first film CHOWKY, also a G.S. Entertainment production, is nearing completion.

A rib-tickling comedy is also what G.S. Entertainment has in the offering, to be directed by Siddharth Anand Kumar called CHANCE PE DANCE.

'Oh God No God'

The Zee Group, which produced GADAR a few years ago, is planning to get aggressive on film production front. Zee is in the process of starting a series of film productions in weeks to come. There’s GADAR 2 on the anvil, but contrary to what’s been reported, the sequel will not be directed by Guddu Dhanoa. “Anil Sharma will direct GADAR 2. Of course, the project won’t start so soon since Anil-ji has other commitments to fulfill, but whenever GADAR 2 happens, it’ll be with him,” Deepak Sharma, Director – Production Division, Zee Motion Pictures confirms.

Guddu Dhanoa will direct an action-comedy for Zee; this one’s called HANDSOME 4. Meanwhile, Zee has commenced shooting OH GOD NO GOD, a comedy on the lines of KHOSLA KA GHOSLA and BHEJA FRY. Vinay Pathak, Harsh Chhaya and Divya Dutta head the cast of this film being directed by Ramgopal Varma’s associate Saurabh Shrivastav.

Clash averted

With JAB WE MET getting shifted to October 26 and UTV also locking the same date for DHAN DHANA DHAN… GOAL, it looked like the week would witness the clash of two real-life couples. While JAB WE MET stars Shahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor, GOAL re-unites John Abraham and Bipasha Basu on the big screen. But the clash has been averted…

UTV has decided to shift GOAL to November 23, not for of any other reason, but because the post-production work is still pending. Confirms Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV, “The post is taking more time than we anticipated. Since the film has shaped up wonderfully well, we didn’t want to hurry up things just because we have to meet the deadline. November 23 seems more practical for GOAL.”

Meanwhile, UTV had acquired the global distribution rights of Firoz A. Nadiadwala’s comic caper WELCOME and are looking at bringing it on December 7.

I didn't treat Sonam badly: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Like all Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movies, nothing much is known about his next much awaited magnum opus Saawariya. The only known fact is that it is a movie about three generations.

He prefers not to discuss the story of the film. And why not? Farah Khan who locks horns with him with her Om Shanti Om (both the films release on November 9) has also not spilled the beans on the plot of her film.

But he is ready to answer almost everything else related to Saawariya and its actors. Read on for his replies to TWF correspondent Vickey Lalwani’s brave volley of questions

How did Saawariya originate?
After Black, I was restless. I was wondering what should I do now. I had worked with Amitji, Salman, SRK. I kept asking myself what I could do to challenge myself.

Then, I thought of doing a fresh, simple love story with newcomers- so that I would once again be on the toes. I decided to do something that would suit the legacy of Raj Kapoor and Nargis. I didn't want a family drama.

I wanted people who weren't bigger than the film. I wanted the sound of dialogue and colours to be different. It took me about a year to put the whole picture in mind of what I wanted.

Why Ranbir and Sonam?
When he was assisting me on Black, I told Ranbir that he was an actor. But somebody told me that he came to me with a design; he wanted me to notice him. Sonam was also assisting me in Black. One day, I told her that she is actress material.

She looked at herself and replied 'I am so huge and big. How can I become an actress?' That was an interesting acceptance from a person, and it impressed me. She was 90 kg then. Later, she went on a weight loss reduction mission. Both underwent vigorous training and then they were ready.

You are a hard task-master and you often lost your cool with them...
With Bachchan, SRK, Nana Patekar, Seema Biswas, one can't lose his cool because they deliver at that level. Add this to Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukerji and Salman Khan, and you'll get the line up of actors I have worked with. I am used to that level of excellence.

Its' said Sonam broke down into tears when you reprimanded her?
It has been blown out of proportion. Sonam is like a child to me. That part of her life which she should have spent in college, she has spent with me. I wanted her to be the best.

Yes, she would cry if she was going through a certain moment where she wasn't getting it right. But then, we weren't in a school.

We had worked for one-and-half year before we got in the thick of things- so that was school time. But when so much money is involved, you have to be quick at times and deliver.

Did you treat Ranbir badly? Its' said that you threw food on the ground and ordered him to lick it (during the shooting of Black)?
Rot. How can I ask Prithiviraj Kapoor's grandson to do that? I am a civilized person. I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy. Ranbir is like my son. I want to meet this someone who is fabricating and spreading these stories.

Buzz is, you tend to become abusive on the sets if and when you lose your cool?
Listen, I want to ask you a question...

Ask!
Why would Rishi, Neetu, Anil, Sunita allow their children to be treated badly by anybody? If it was happening, would they keep their hand on hand and keep silent about it? These parents are fit enough to give their kids as big as a launch as anybody else.

But so much has been written about you...
(Interrupts) The law of the press is simple. Favour the underdog and if he succeeds, then rip him apart. I think that I have answered your question.

Okay, but did you forbid Ranbir from occupying centrestage at Riddhima's wedding and attending parties, etc?
When you are doing your first film, I believe that you need to focus and be there completely for your film. Aap bahar jayenge, adulation mehsoos karenge, woh sab aapke dimaag ko asar karega.

Better agar aap time be spyenge aur apni script padenge. Discipline is true for any job. Agar maine aapko bola ki ek code of conduct operate karo, toh isme bura kya hai?

You wanted him to look lean, right?
Yeah. I didn't want him to look muscular. I told him not to concentrate on body-building. Actors carry dumb-bells on the sets. What has that got to do with acting?

Once you build that kind of muscular body, it even inhibits you from foraying into diverse characters. Can these muscular actors of today do Balraj Sahni's roles? Can they do a Devdas or a Saaransh or even Amol Patekar's role in Chhoti Si Baat?

If you are going to waste time in what you are wearing and how many extra inches you have in your arms, how can you concentrate and get into the skin of the character?

Do you think Ranbir has matched up to his father Rishi Kapoor?
He is outstanding in the film. I cannot tell his parents that he has bettered Rishi.

Why can't you tell them that?
Rishi and Neetu were my favourites. The entire Kapoor khandan will be proud of his performance. Nobody else could have done this role. I could have taken a set actor for this role, but I didn't want a set array of ex-pressions. Ek do film ke baad, Ranbir aur Sonam ke bhi ban jayenge.

But I wanted fresh ex-pressions (pauses)- because their characters are very well etched in terms of emotional equilibrium. As for Sonam, I would say that she has done exceptionally well.

What are Salman Khan and Rani Mukerji doing in the film?
They are acting in the film (laughs). As I told you, I don't want to divulge the story. If I tell you anything about Rani and Salman, it would be giving away a lot.

Don't you think that you have taken a big responsibility by launching Ranbir and Sonam?
Yes. I was very much aware of that. Ranbir came from a family which has excellence in not only acting but film-making. Sonam is the daughter of a fine actor. But I didn't keep it in my head, for then I would have got bogged down. So that's why, they had to go through some scoldings and firings.

Less than two months to go now. You have made big films and most of them were appreciated and won awards. Are you feeling the pressure?
I am not tense. I have done my best and will always work hard and try to main a high standard of film-making.

I did not pinch Dia Mirza's bottom!!!

Rohit Roy doesn't know whether to laugh or cry about allegations of trying to pinch actress Diya Mirza's bottom in a swimming-pool.

He laughs uncomfortably. "I don't want to paint myself as a saint. But I do pride myself with a more suave temperament.

I've never in my life resorted to such cheap gimmicks. I didn't pinch anyone when I was in college. Why would I do it now when I'm happily married and with a daughter."

Apparently Rohit's mother was very upset by the story.

"It isn' t a very nice thing to say about any decent man. Diya is a dear friend of mine and my wife. I'd have laughed off the whole thing, but for the fact that it's embarrassing to me and my family to hear such things."

Rohit says he's shy of amorous behaviour even on screen. "For my new film Mittal Versus Mittal I had to do some really graphic love scenes… they are as graphic as love-making scenes can get in our films.

I'm thankful to my co-star Rituparna Sengupta for putting me at ease. I'd have never managed otherwise."

The tv actor now pursuing a film career says he was very uncomfortable portraying marital rape in Mittal Versus Mittal.

"When the director Karan Razdan narrated the theme I was like, 'Dude this ain' t me'.

But then I realized there are so many aspects to life and gender relationships. If I get choosy I'd limit myself as an actor."

Rohit has just finished shooting with his wife Manasi Joshi for the the first time in Sanjay Gupta's Alibaug.

"She's one co-star I don' t mind losing scenes to. I always tell her, you're the actor I'm the star. Between us we cover the entire gamut."

Spicy Malaika Arora Maxim Photo Gallery