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What this year holds for AB Baby and Raima Sen and Arbaaz Khan promote Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye on Arre Deewano Mujhe Pehchano

What the Future Holds: Astrologer and numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi predicts that Abhi will have a successful 2009.
"2009 will be a satisfying year for junior B. Born on 5th Feb. 1976; Abhishek is a No.5 in numerology, ruled by No.5, 8 and 3. Delhi 6 adds to 6 which is one of his strong numbers and Raavan which adds up to 7 will also do well. Abhishek will also see his family life (maybe even fatherhood) improve because of numbers 2 and 7," says Bhavikk.


Pretty in Purple: Raima Sen looks pretty and glamorous in this fitted mauve dress and black sandals. Where is Randeep Hooda, the man of her dreams (on screen)?


All Smiles: Arbaaz Khan with Mahesh Manjrekar, Yash Tonk and Gulshan Grover


Mujhe Pehchano: Mandira Bedi, Mona Singh and Rakhi Sawant


I am the King: That's what the expression on Shiney's face says and thankfully, he isn't wearing his usual jackets.

Rakhi Sawant leads ICL cheerleaders from front

Rakhi Sawant to lead ICL cheerleaders' squad

The Indian Cricket League (ICL) on Tuesday unveiled its indigenous cheerleaders' squad ICL Zeebras that will be led by Bollywood oomph star Rakhi Sawant as its "Queen Cheerleader".

The squad will be present at every match of the second season of the league that begins in Hyderabad on October 10, an ICL statement on Tuesday said.

“Cheerleading is not just tamasha (mindless drama). It is a sport by itself. Until now, it was the exclusive domain of the international cheerleading troupes. But, thanks to ICL, this country will now have an indigenous cheerleaders' squad,” Sawant said in the statement.

The ICL Zeebra squad comprises eight other cheerleaders - Ritika, Preeti, Jessica, Geeta, Richa, Sharvari, Jayshree and Sangeeta. They will perform across all the match venues of Gurgaon, Panchkula, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

Sawant has personally auditioned and hand-picked the squad members and their performances will be designed by a Mumbai-based choreographer.

“It was after my performance at Panchkula during ICL's Season 1 that I saw a huge opportunity for a possible Indian cheerleading squad," the actress said.

“That dialogue resumed a few months later and culminated in the formation of the ICL Zeebras. I can't wait to don my Zeebra outfit and break into a jig every time Rohan (Gavaskar) or Raviraj (Patil) hits a six. I am sure, this will be one cheerleading squad that the country will remember for a long time,” she added.

Shariq Patel, ICL's senior vice president (Marketing & Operations), said: “Cheerleaders have a significant role to play in the modern context of sports. The ICL Zeebras squad includes some extremely talented and graceful dancers. I am confident that this synergistic initiative between cricket and entertainment will formulate a completely new experience for sports fans of the country.

“Our new initiative 'Cricket Hai Meri Life' has been supported with a Rs.50 crore (Rs. 500 million) marketing campaign. This will be the new mantra for young cricketers at ICL,” Patel added.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that governs the game in India has barred ICL players from turning out in domestic and international matches. At BCCI's instance, the governing boards of other cricket playing nations have declared a similar ban.

BCCI conducts the official Indian Premier League (IPL) that was a roaring success at its inaugural season earlier this year.

Rakhi Sawant proposed to Salman Khan with a ring!

Item girl Rakhi Sawant popped the question - Marry me!" at the grand finale of the reality television show Dus Ka Dum, hosted by Salman Khan. To everybody’s surprise, Rakhi proposed marriage to Salman with a ring. Rakhi was present to grace the grand finale of Dus Ka Dum which will be aired on September 14 on Sony Entertainment Television. The episode will be fun filled as controversy queen Rakhi Sawant will be the special guest. Rakhi is a person who is known to entertain the audience with her tongue-in-cheek jokes. She will be accompanied by comedian Shakeel Siddiqui.

Salman once judged Rakhi's dancing skill at Nach Baliye 3. On that occasion, she and her partner Abhishek Awasthi were upset as they were beatten by Sanjeeda Sheikh-Aamir Ali pair. Salman then tried to console her but depressed Rakhi left the event ignoring Sallu's call.

Two other celebrities, actors Rani Mukherjee and Lara Dutta will also present on the same episode and Rani ironically would ask Salman about his tussle with Shahrukh. With so many stars in the same episode, Dus Ka Dum would really be fun to watch.

SRK and Kareena to lend their voices for City of Dreams

Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu, Karan Johar, Urmila Matonkar, Arjun Rampal and Rakhi Sawant will be a part of the Morani Brothers' and Ashish Gidwani Productions' first Bollywood musical, City of Dreams. It will premiere on June 13 at Mumbai's St. Andrews Auditorium.

Based on the story of a small-town girl who comes to Mumbai with stars in her eyes to become an actress, the musical drama stars Nasreen Morani in the central role. The two-hour extravaganza boasts of larger-than-life sets and props and is jointly directed by Gautam Joglekar and Mohammed Morani.

All the stars will be seen as narrators in an audio-visual playing intermittently. Five more shows are lined up in Mumbai. "Such shows are very popular abroad and we wanted to introduce them in India too," said Mohammed Morani.

Rehearsal hall turns into a battleground

Kashmera Shah is hopping mad at Rakhi Sawant. Reason? Rakhi’s rude behaviour. Both the actresses were at Natraj Studios yesterday afternoon when Rakhi rubbed Kash the wrong way.

Kash gives a first-hand account. “I was to rehearse for a song in the Star One show Annu Ki Ho Gayee Waah Bhai Waah. Rakhi was also at the studio shooting for a reality show for another channel. She was sitting with a bunch of kids. Rakhi was warm and cordial as we exchanged pleasantries. But as soon as I went to the rehearsal hall, I was told that I could not use it as Rakhi had asked for it!”

According to Kash, she was told that Rakhi had booked the rehearsal hall in advance. Explains Kash, “I was supposed to use the hall upstairs where Rakhi was sitting. When she found out that I was to use the lower level rehearsal hall, she told the studio guys that they shouldn’t let me in. I find her behaviour repulsive!”

But Rakhi maintains, “I haven’t seen Kashmera’s face. I don’t know what she is talking about. I have been rehearsing in the hall for the past two months.”

Continues an angry Kash, “I don’t think I can ever be friends with Rakhi Sawant. She drives me up the wall with her behaviour. Even though I try to ignore her, she irritates me with such antics. Either Rakhi is insecure of me or she just wants to seek attention.”

Does she plan to forgive her? “Not this time! I’ve had it,” says Kash. “There have been times when I have kept calm despite being treated badly. But I won’t keep quiet anymore.”

Tushar Joshi

Rakhi's paisa hazam!

The producers of Love Khichdi paid Rakhi Sawant Rs 50,000 to play a maidservant, the item girl says the money was unpaid dues for Paisa Vasool

B-Town item girl Rakhi Sawant recently expressed a desire to also do full-fledged movie roles. But when the producers of Love Khichdi approached her for a role, she agreed at first and even accepted a Rs 50,000 signing amount. Later, she turned it down, then dodged the producer’s calls and is now even refusing to return the money.

Rakhi says she does not remember signing the film. “I don’t know anything about the film. Who is the producer? Who is the director? Maine kissi se paise nahin liye hai.”

Says Satish Sharma, the film’s executive producer, “We had approached her and she agreed to do the role of a maidservant. We even signed her on the spot and gave her a signing amount. Then she just disappeared and stopped taking calls from anyone of the production team and even the director.

She has still not been answering our calls. We are now planning to approach the producers’ association and send her a notice. I’ve made four films and have never seen such unprofessional behaviour.”

The film’s director Shrinivas Bhashyam also shares his experience. “I did go to meet Rakhi for a role in my new film. She had loved the script and I remember she said, ‘Who else could play the role of a maidservant better than me?’ I don’t know how much money was spoken about.

Days before the shoot, she stopped taking our phone calls. I even called her a day before the shoot and someone picked answered the call and said it wasn’t Rakhi’s number.

It’s surprising because Paisa Vasool, my debut, had Rakhi doing a proper talkie portion sans the item numbers she is now famous for. I am glad I went back to my original choice Sonali Kulkarni for the role. She has done an amazing job. I am glad that Rakhi didn’t do it. It was a blessing in disguise.”

We called Rakhi again with the facts and this time she strangely remembered everything. “They are using my name for publicity. Their film with Randeep Hooda is complete and they want free publicity.

I have worked with Shrinivas before in Paisa Vasool and the money he gave me was unpaid dues for that earlier movie. Why should I do the role of a maidservant? I am a glamorous girl. Bai-vai ke role mujhe nahin karne hain.”

Amul Sharma

Rakhi loses jelly-belly

After her collagen-induced pouty pucker, botoxed face and breast implants, Rakhi Sawant has been seeking more cosmetic help for a crease-free waist. It is learnt that the item girl has taken injections to melt the fat in her midriff.

In recent times, B-Town has been pencilling Rakhi in to shimmy for item songs, and she has become even more conscious of how her body looks in her revealing outfits.

Presently her track, Dekhta Hai Tu Kya in Jaideep Sen’s Krazzy 4 has become a sensation. But before she signed on, producer Rakesh Roshan had asked her to lose weight. Rakhi also features in the Bichua item number in Vikram Bhatt’s 1920. There’s also a jig in Rakesh Sarang’s Horn Ok Pleassss followed by an outing in a Yash Raj project at a later date.

According to a source, “Even though she’s extremely careful about her diet and gym routine, Rakhi felt she needed help.

As it is her waist that is the focus of attention, she wanted it to be absolutely perfect. Along with Botox shots for her face, she has also taken shots on her waist that melt away fat via injections of drugs into the mesoderm the layer of fat and connective tissue under the skin.

Though these procedures are medically called mesotherapy and lipolysis, they are better known as ‘shots that melt fat’. This is different from liposuction which is more time-consuming and expensive.”

Rakhi who doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind, says. “Bigger actresses have been there before me. They are the first ones to resort to all this kind of help. I only know that there is a process called liposuction.”

She however, maintains, “I have been working hard for a slim figure than resort to such injections. Apart from item mumbers, I want to do good roles too. Depriving myself of food is a big deal as I love to cook and eat. Once I take a vow with Bhagwan, Jesus, Mother Mary not to touch a particular food item, nothing can tempt me to eat it; even if someone tempts me with crores, I will not!”

Shaeen Parkar

Salman gets back at Rakhi

Salman Khan neither forgets nor forgives something Rakhi Sawant discovered to her dismay while performing at the Sunsilk Apsara: The Producers’ Guild Award 2008.

Salman hasn’t forgiven Rakhi for walking out of the Nach Baliye 3 finale last year, where he was the chief guest. When Rakhi lost, she stormed off the stage with beau Abhishek in tow. Even though Salman followed her in a bid to pacify her, she snubbed him and drove off in her car.

Problem kya?
So when Salman had his chance to snub Rakhi at the Apsara awards last Sunday he couldn’t turn it down! The source adds, “He had performed at the event (which was pre-recorded for TV). Later, he told the organisers (Wizcraft) that he wasn’t happy and wanted to re-record his bit. By the time he finished that, it was time for Rakhi to perform to her song Tuk tuk dekhe from Krazzy 4 But it was close to 10 pm (the deadline for live shows in a public places.

The cops came in and stopped the event but as Rakhi’s number was yet to be performed, it was decided to just record it for the televised event. Rakhi got a nasty shock when she found she had to perform without music.”

I am Rakhi Sawant!
Rakhi admits that she had to perform almost without any music. “I was very upset and walked off after my performance without giving any TV bytes. It was very difficult to perform as we were only given a tape recorder and the music got muffled with the steps of so many dancers. At one point, I thought I should pack up and leave but it was a very big opportunity for me.

How can I perform without music? But then, I am Rakhi Sawant! I sang the lyrics myself, having rehearsed for the song during the shooting and somehow managed. Gaana mera dil aur dimaag mein basaa hua hai.”

Her recording was to be done at 8 pm but instead, happened at midnight. Apparently, it was because of Salman Khan. He wanted a re-recording so she’d have problems performing to her number.

The forthright Rakhi says diplomatically, “I don’t want to comment anything though I heard he wanted to re-record his song again. You will have to ask him why he did that and even if Salman did snub me that’s his choice. Salman is my senior and I love him!”

What Wizcraft had to say...
SAYS Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft, “Rakhi Sawant and a couple of other artists were expected to perform after the event and were being filmed strictly for television.

There was never a plan to use the public address system because it would be disturbing the law and order and the court regulations with regards to sound pollution. Post the show, like every other artist chooses to have a look at the filming of their respective acts Salman Khan too desired to have a look at the filming. Salman Khan’s act was performed and filmed during the course of the event before 10 pm, and was not performed after that.

There is no question of Salman delaying Rakhi’s act. As planned, Rakhi was provided stage-monitored sound which was within the sound pollution limits and did not disturb the peace. This was as per plans.”

Upala KBR, Mid-Day

Rakhi Sawant's item number removed from KRAZZY 4!

Item girl Rakhi Sawant is known for her naughty pranks and tricks to one and all but this time it was the other way round! The prankster Rakhi got fooled herself... that too by her KRAZZY 4 director Jaideep Sen!!

The director told the media that he and Rakesh Roshan have jointly decided to remove Rakhi Sawant's item song, as it wasn't working in the flow of the film!!!! Although Rakhi gave her best and danced for 12 hours non-stop for the song and even promoted the song, thanks to which she got other offers... but still the song is going to be removed said Jaideep Sen!!

But thankfully this was just an April fool's joke for Rakhi! Instead Jaideep Sen said, "Rakhi Sawant is not only a great dancer but also a thorough professional and her song is a great hit!! There is no way that the song would be removed from KRAZZY 4!!"

Bollywood Trade News Network

Item Queen does it again

They say that 'A rose by any other name remains a Rose'. Likewise, Bollywood's original item girl: Rakhi Sawant, by any other name ('Dramebaaz, Nautanki, Drama Queen etc…) remains 'The' Rakhi Sawant by all means!

After having made news (and still continuing to do so) with her item number in Rakesh Roshan's Krazzy 4, where she takes on the likes of none other than SRK and Hrithik (who also have an item number each in the film), this 'bindaas' girl has been roped in for yet another item number in the Vikram Bhatt's horror flick 1920, which is being produced by Surendra Sharma of ASA Films Ltd. The film stars newcomers Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma. The song is called 'Bichhua' and the track has been sung by Shubha Mudgal to Adnan Sami's music.

Speaking about the song, Rakhi thanked God (assumingly 'Jesus' and 'Ganpati') for her Krazzy 4's song and Rakesh Roshan, that she got a chance to work in 1920. She also added that 1920 is a dark thriller with her as the only colorful thing in it!

The song's costume designer Reza Shariffi told Bollywood Hungama, "Rakhi's look in the song is that of a typical Rajasthani, which is sensually Indianised! And that it's for the first time that Rakhi has worn a totally traditional garment with the 1920's feel."

Frankly speaking, we at Bollywood Hungama, are running short of words when it comes to presume the audience's (specially the frontbenchers) reaction to 'Bichhua'. All that we can say is that, be it '1920' or 2008, one thing is for sure that 'Boys will be Boys'. What say Rakhi!!!

Bollywood Hungama