SRK surprises Vidya with his warm gesture

Shah Rukh Khan took time off his cricket commitments to attend an International media conference in Mumbai recently. And needless to say he was his usual charming self and had the foreign delegates eating out of his palm. That’s not all, by the end of the evening when he showed up again to pick up an award, he managed to sweep fellow award winner Vidya Balan off her feet.

This came as a surprise considering SRK wasn’t too happy with Vidya after she’d turned down his film, Billu, earlier. Ever since, the two have been cold towards each other and have stayed out of each other’s path. At the event, SRK greeted Vidya like nothing had happened and made her feel very comfortable. Vidya was totally taken aback by the gesture and didn’t quite know what to make of it. But by the time she left the venue, she was singing praises of the Khan.

Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan claim top honours

Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan were cited as best actor and best actress respectively at the star-studded 55th Filmfare Awards ceremony here late on Saturday.

Bachchan won the award for his role in “Paa”, while Vidya Balan claimed the trophy for her role in the same movie. As Bachchan was not present in the ceremony, Vidya Balan took the award on his behalf.

Hosting the gala night were Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan, whose one liners had the audience in splits. Their on-stage chemistry was much appreciated by the Bollywood stars present at the ceremony at the Yash Raj Studios.

“3 Idiots” was declared the best film, while Rajkumar Hirani claimed the best director award for the movie.

A.R. Rahman won the best music director for “Delhi 6”.

Mohit Chauhan won the award for the best male playback singer for the song “masakali” from the movie “Delhi 6”, while the female playback singer honours were shared by Kavita Seth and Rekha Bhardwaj.

While Kavita was awarded for the song “Ik tara” from the movie “Wake Up Sid”, Rekha won the trophy for the song “Genda phool” from the movie “Delhi 6”.

Among the other highlights of the evening was a tribute to legendary pop singer Michael Jackson by Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, who charmed the audience with his perfect dance moves.

Watch 'Ishqiya' for its rustic appeal

Steamy visuals, colourful expletives, Gulzar’s lyrics, impressive star cast — Ishqiya promises all this and much more. Coming from Vishal Bhardwaj’s stable, the film, will give a rustic feel to the audiences just like Omkara did.

The directorial debut of Abhishek Chaubey, the movie has actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi. It has already become an awaited venture courtesy its songs and promos.

“The film is a blend of romance and suspense. It deals with various aspects of love, lust, complete submission and false love. It is not just about the three central characters; other characters in the film are also connected to it,” Chaubey said.

“I have borrowed my backdrop and settings from reality and I used them to tell the story. It’s basically about the emotional journey of these three people,” he added.

The story involves two thieves — Khalujan (Naseer) and Babban (Arshad) — who are on the run from their boss. They seek refuge with an old friend and instead meet his widow Krishna. As they plan their escape, their time spent together draws the duo to her.

Khalu with his tinted vision of old-fashioned love and Babban with his lustful eye — both are attracted to her.

The threat of imminent death forces them on a path of violence and betrayal. Set in a rural landscape, Ishqiya explores basic human emotions influenced by desire, greed and revenge.

Vidya had to mouth expletives for the movie, which made her apprehensive.

“I was very apprehensive while using those slangs. I have never used them in my real life but I had to because the script demanded. The movie belongs to a certain terrain where slangs are part of their lingo,” Vidya said.

“Abhishek Choubey had to constantly keep giving me a pep talk. Quite often I was stuck because of the language and content,” she added.

With only four songs on the soundtrack, the music of the film has already become a favourite among listeners.