2010 The Year Of Monstrous Disappointments

R you kidding? The letter 'R' kept recurring in 2010. The biggest letdown of the year Raavan and one of the biggest hits of the year Raajneeti shared the 'R' factor. No doubt Ranbir Kapoor was the star of the year while Rahman, the maestro from Chennai lost some of his sheen with unpardonable delays and mediocre scores like Raavan and Jhootha Hi Sahi.

The biggest chartbuster of the year came from the the low profile Lalit Pandit whose Munni badnaam hui instantly joined the ranks of the ritiziest item songs in Bollywood, on a par with Kajra re and Beedi jalay le…It also catapulted the sizzling Malaika Arora to dizzying heights of glory. Malaika will now dance only for her husband producer Arbaaz Khan's films and will of course endorse the brand of balm that the song so seductively talks about.

Brand endorsement and Bollywood became inextricably bonded in 2010. When stars were not shooting feature films (and many of the leading ladies were not) they were shooting ads. And when they weren't shooting ads they were shooting their mouths off to the media. Otherwise there was always the stage performances.

Besides A R Rahman's world tour there were no major world-concert tours from Bollywood in 2010. 2011 will see Ranbir Kapoor take off for his first ever live performance all over the world.

If A-lister stars were not heading to the stage they took off for television. Priyanka Chopra displayed some delectable derringdo on Fear Factor. The Big B and Salman Khan decided to helm Kaun Banega Crorepati and Bigg Boss, respectively. Akshay Kumar opted to do a cookery show The Master Chef which sadly did not turn out to be finger-licking good.

In 2010 Ranbir lent his cool clout quotient to Prakash Jha's blockbuster political drama Raajneeti.Later during the year came the unexpected clanger Anjaana Anjaani which boasted of the virgin Ranbir-Priyanka pair. (Maybe the fault lay with the word Anjaana. No films with that title Anjaana, Do Anjaane, Anjaan Rahein has ever done well).

Audiences preferred the tried and tested Ranbir-Katrina jodi. That real-life jodis don't work on screen was again proven this year with the debacle of Raavan bringing the hot-and-coveted real-life jodi of Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Vidya-Nana-Sonali share birthday on Jan 1

As the world tunes up to welcome the New Year on Jan 1, Bollywood sensation Vidya Balan gets ready to celebrate her 33rd birthday on the very date.

Significantly, Jan 1 also marks the birthday of actor Nana Patekar and Sonali Bendre. Nana will turn 60 on Jan 1, while Sonali will celebrate her 36th birthday.

Here are some trivia about the gorgeous actor, Vidya Balan, as she prepares to rejoice the all important day in her life.

Vidya attracted the attention of her fans right from her first B-town movie ‘Parineeta’, but interestingly Vidya, who potrayed a Bengali character in the movie, made her debut in a Bengali film named ‘Bhaalo Theko' in 2003.

Vidya had also worked in multiple advertisements which included the Surf Excel (a particular detergent powder brand) advertisement where she had made her debut as a model in 1998.

She also featured in a music album of popular Hindi band ‘Euphoria’ besides working in well known tele vision serials like ‘Hum Paanch’.
It is said that it was during a concert in Mumbai where she was spotted and approached by film maker Vidhu Vinod Chopra for playing the lead role in the film ‘Parineeta’.

The actor, who dazzles the screen both with her beauty as well as her powerful acting, had to go through 40 screen tests and 17 make-up shoots before she was finally chosen for the lead role in the film.

Since then Vidya has established herself as a brilliant actor, dominating both in commercial as well as off-beat films like ‘Ishqiya’.

In 2011, Vidya will be seen teaming up with Rani Mukherjee as both will be seen in the much talked about movie based on the murder of Jessica Lall - ‘No One Killed Jessica’, where she will be seen portraying the character of Sabrina Lall (Jessica’s sister).

She will also be showcasing a de-glamed look in the film.

Amu's hot New Year bash... minus best buddy Kareena!

Amrita Arora and Shakeel Ladhak are throwing a big party tonight at their Bandra residence on the terrace.

Says a guest, "While Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan are in Switzerland, her best friend Amrita is throwing a big party tonight to bring in the New Year.

About 40 people have been invited including Arjun Rampal and Mehr Jessia, Tusshar Kapoor, Abhishek Kapoor (Gattu), Anu and Sunny Dewan, Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, Maheep and Sanjay Kapoor, Nandita Mahtani and Dino Morea, Kajal Anand (Putlu), designer Shabina Khan and Neelam Kothari."

A few of Shakeel's friends including Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Queenie Dhody and Farhad Taraporewala will also be there.

Amrita's sister Malaika Arora Khan won't be able to attend as she will be performing at the Sahara hotel in Amby Valley. "By the time Malaika finishes the event it will be too late for her to come to the party."

Amrita and Shakeel's favourite restaurant will cater for the evening.

"The menu will include turkey, shworma and there will be have a dessert counter with apple crumble with maple syrup and chocolate fondue as some of the desserts, " reveals our source.

Rani Mukerji throws a fit after wardrobe malfunction!

Rani Mukerji gave her designer a verbal lashing in public for giving her a loose-fitting ghaghra

Rani Mukerji threw a fit last week at the Big Star Entertainment Awards in Mumbai because her designer gave her ill-fitting clothes.

Short exits

Says a source, "Rani wore a ghaghra-choli at the recently held awards, which will be telecast tomorrow on Star Plus.

She performed to various B-Town hits right from her first song Koi Mil Gaya (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) to the title track of Dil Bole Hadippa.

Her last song was Dilli from No One Killed Jessica. However, Rani kept exiting the stage for a few moments and even moved backstage during her final track."

The source reveals, "The actress' skirt (ghaghra) was very loose and she had to return backstage for check on it. She kept her cool through out her performance.

Not once did she show during her entire act that the loose skirt was slipping off her waist and would quietly go offstage to adjust it.

But all hell broke loose when her act got over and the actress entered the media room for giving channel bytes. Her designer came running to her to ask her about the performance."

Apparently, she gave the girl a firing. "Rani shouted at her designer so much that she was almost in tears. She told her 'kitni beizzati hui mujhe stage pe aaj, tumhare skirt ke wajah se! Kya ill-fitting skirt diya!'.

The trouble is, most of RM's outfits for stage shows are done by Neeta Lulla and Sabyasachi Chakroborty but this time because of lack of time, Rani brought a new girl to do her outfits for the awards."

Rani remained unavailable for comment.

Oneupmanship
Priyanka Chopra and Rani Mukerji apparently refused to perform on the choreography that was done for them by their respective choreographers at the Big Star Entertainment Awards.

The ladies immediately put their own choreographers on the job. They added individual touches to make it more interesting.

A source adds, "Rani and Priyanka wanted their acts to stand out and not look similar and that's why they chose to choreograph their dances with their own choreographers.

It was as if Rani and Priyanka were competing with each other!""

33 on January 1: Vidya Balan stays home on birthday

Vidya Balan spends her 33rd birthday with her parents

Vidya Balan turns 33 on January 1. The actress plans on bringing in her birthday and the new year at her parents' place in Khar.

Initially, she was planning to spend the special day with friends, but given the fact that she's been on the road promoting No One Killed Jessica for the last few weeks, Balan wants to be with her mom and dad.

A source close to Vidya says, "She's been in and out of Mumbai for the last six months. Earlier she was shooting for Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani for almost two months.

After that she got into the promotion of Jessica travelling to almost every major city. Her schedule hasn't given her any chance to spend time with her parents."

Since her birthday and New Year fall on the same day, Vidya has a double reason to celebrate.

Despite buying a new apartment in Khar, the actress wasn't able to renovate the place or spend time in it. Her New Year resolution is to buy some antique furniture and do up her place.

Every year, Vidya prefers to keep her birthday a low-key affair. Rather than go out with friends, she enjoys spending quality time with her parents. "This year will be no different.

She will bring in her birthday and the new year at her parents' house. Since she doesn't believe in cutting a cake, her mom plans to prepare a sweet dish on the occasion."

After the release of No One Killed Jessica, Vidya plans to start preparing for her next film Balaji's Dirty Pictures based on the life of Silk Smitha.

The Biggest Controversies of 2010- the year of fights

2010 was the year when squabbles, fights, temper tantrums and whims came tumbling out of the closet. Stars were not afraid to speak their mind, specially on chat shows.

Some forever-couples like Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone broke up while other couple like Deepika and Siddharth Mallya came together unexpectedly.

Javed Akhtar fought with producers for royalty rights for lyricists.

A television couple got married on a reality show, Rakhi Sawant made news (again!) when she apparently incited a man to commit suicide on a reality show.

Bigg Boss became the barometer of showbiz etiquette. The louder you abused the more you were bound to be noticed. Here's looking at the most colourful controversies of the year.

THE 3 IDIOTS CHETAN BHAGAT, AAMIR KHAN AND VIDHU VINOD CHOPRA
Chetan Bhagat is the largest-selling novelist of India. But can he get away with accusing an Aamir project of robbing him of credit? No way! The minute Chetan complained about improper credit, the 3 Idiots team jumped on him threatening to reduce the litterateur to pulp. Mercifully, Kareena Kapoor stayed out of the fracas. She had not read the book and knowing her attention span, probably not seen the movie either.

THE AAMIR KHAN-ANUSHA RIZVI FALLOUT
This isn't the first time that producer Aamir Khan has had differences with his director. Interestingly, Anusha Rizvi's debut film Peepli [Live] became a success only after AK's rigorous marketing.

The duo's differences bubbled out in the open when the defiant Anusha declared she wouldn't attend the Oscars where Peepli [Live] has been sent. This could mean one of two things. Either Anusha knows that her film didn't stand a chance in hell of actually winning the Oscar. Or she just doesn't know what to wear to the ceremony.

Watch out for Peepli [Live] Part 2. It's a road movie about a firebrand filmmaker and an authoritarian producer who decide to visit a distant uncle named Oscar.

RANBIR-DEEPIKA PART WAYS
Tum na jaane KISS jahan mein kho gaye? This could be the theme of the Deepika-Ranbir romance. Apparently tired of his infidelities, Deepika gave Ranbir the boot and even gave an interview about how her man was cheating on her.

When all hell broke loose, Deepika hastily retracted saying she didn't mean Ranbir. But the damage was done. Now all his heroines demand a fidelity contract with him before getting into a relationship.

BARBARA MORI & HRITHIK ROSHAN ARE 'JUST FRIENDS'?
For most of the year, we couldn't hear the end of the 'Mori Naam Karega Roshan' saga. In Chapter 2 of the passion-play, Hrithik and wife Sussanne moved out of his father's home into a hotel. Duggu said their bedroom had been attacked by termites.

Is that what they call infidelity these days in showbiz? There were reports that the twosome's fearsome friendship was just publicity for Kites. If it was really so, then it really didn't help the film much. Till the end, he maintained they were, you guessed it, just good friends. Dost beat it.

SHAH RUKH TAKES ON THE SHIV SENA
When Shah Rukh Khan opined that Pakistani players should not be left out of the IPL, the Shiv Sena decided SRK's My Name Is Khan should be left out of theatres. Finally, of course, the IPL itself got left out. But that's another story.

FARAH-SRK KABHI ALVIDA NAHIn KAHENGE
Why do we get the feeling that Shah Rukh and Farah will be back together? It's karmic, I guess! In 2010, the two inseparable friends went their separate ways. Farah directed Tees Maar Khan with Akshay Kumar.

Maybe it should should've been named 'Tees Maar Kumar'. With her bid to create box-office history with a Kumar coming a cropper, SRK's dimples are bound to get more pronounced. Main Hoon Naa, Farah.

NANA PATEKAR-PRAKASH JHA SLUG IT OUT
They quarrelled. They made up. They won't ever speak to one another. They've let bygones be bygones ¦.aaaah, please! We just wanted these two overgrown boys to act their age.

The quarrel that happened between the director and actor during the making of Raajneeti threatened to blow up into a major conflict. Last heard, it had all been settled amicably. Nana will be directing a film for Prakash Jha. Hopefully, it won't be an Indianised take on Grumpy Old Men.

ANIL KAPOOR ON A MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
Is Anil Kapoor really doing the fourth part of Mission Impossible? Is it true that Tom Cruise has decided to read the script again just to make sure his Indian co-star doesn't walk away with all the applause?

Meanwhile, rumours persist that Danny Boyle has decided to make a sequel to Slumdog Millionaire called Slum-Hog Millionaire with Kapoor Saab in the main role.

DREAM GIRL'S NIGHTMARE MOVE
Hema Malini is known to call a spade a spade. Toward the tail-end of her daughter Esha's relaunch film Tell Me Oh Khuda, she sacked director Mayur Puri and took over the project herself. Puri fumed. Hema couldn't care less. Esha laughed all the way to the next shot.

HASTA HUA 'NOORANI' CHEHRA
Certainly not the favourite song in the Dutt household after producer Shakeel Noorani got a court order attaching Sanju Baba's property as compensation for a film that Dutt did not do. Accusations of underworld links, threats of extortion and deception flew fast and furiously. Certainly more exciting than most of the films during the year.

Kareena-Saif stay together in 300 year old Swiss chalet

Kareena Kapoor loves being eco-friendly. She left last night for Switzerland on a 10-day trip with beau Saif Ali Khan.

The couple will be staying at a chalet-hut owned by the Gstaad Palace which runs on solar energy.

Says a source, "Bebo and Saif believe in preserving the eco-system in their own way. Last year, she had promoted eco-friendly handbags. Every year, they re-cycle their fir trees during Christmas.

This year, Kareena and Saif will be staying for a few days at the Gstaad Palace in Switzerland and then shift to a wooden hut (the Walig Hut) built like a small 18th century chalet at 5000 feet above sea level.

The 300-year old hut has been carefully restored with basic plumbing and solar-powered electric lighting. Saif loves skiing, so every year the couple have been spending their New Year's on the Swiss Alps."

The chalet-hut is very expensive costing over £1, 000 per night for two adults. This includes a sumptuous three-course meal with wine and champagne.

Bebo turns to writing

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor has discovered the writer in herself.After having written an introduction to her dietician Rujuta Diwekar’s before book that was a big success; Kareena has continued to keep in touch with her writing skills.

Says the actress, “I genuinely enjoy writing. What’s more, I feel particularly thrilled when I ask Saif to go through my draft and he suggests just a couple of small changes.Then I know that I am on the right track.” Kareena is also going to write for Rujuta’s 2nd book based on the weight loss tamasha.

Says Kareena Kapoor, “When I return from my New Year vacation in Switzerland I will release this book for Rujuta.”

Deepika Padukone against being typecast

Amongst all the main heroines, Deepika Padukone was the one who had the most movies released in 2010. And it has been a year of versatile parts – be it a blind in Lafangey Parindey, a commitment-phobic girl in Break Ke Baad and a revolutionary in Ashutosh Gowariker’s period film, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.

Though, commercial success (save for Housefull) has eluded her in the last year, Deepika is continuing to seek out different roles. She is all excited about shooting in early January for Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan – based on the gritty, real subject revolving around the reservation policy.

Deepika says, “It’s a socially related topic and I am very happy that I am getting the chance to work in films like this.” She adds, “As an actress, I should be able to carry off various parts and reflect different characters and not be typecast with a specific type of cinema.”

Aamir Khan full of admire for Prateik

Aamir Khan and Prateik Babbar have a link thanks to their work. After Prateik made his debut as Genelia’s brother in the Aamir Khan produced Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, the youngster plays the key part of Munna in Dhobi Ghat.

The generally reticent Aamir has nothing but praise for the newcomer. “Kiran and I are both truly pleased to be working with Prateik because he is a dream actor for a producer. Not only is Prateik very talented, he is also very dedicated and works very hard on his dialogues.

To get into the skin of his character in Dhobi Ghat, he went to the dhobi ghat for a long period of time. He is an ideal newcomer for the industry.”