Priyanka, Sushmita and Lara as Charlie's Angels?

According to the latest buzz doing the rounds in the B-town, Rohit Jugraj - who started his career by assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali and then directed the fiasco actioner - James - for Ram Gopal Varma - has been approached by Abbas-Mustan to produce his take on Charlie's Angels.

The film is expected to star Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra as the three sexy 'angels' played originally by Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu.


Rohit says, "Yes, I'm directing a film for Abbas-Mustan and it's the Charlie's Angels styled girls' action flick.

I'm going to say neither yes nor no to the three names mentioned in the lead. All I'll say at this stage is that, my producers Abbas-Mustan are very influential and they've worked with the who's who of the industry. For them getting my wish list of actors won't be a problem!"

Stay tuned in!

Sushmita Sen in a legal hassle over 'virginity'

Sushmita Sen finds herself in a soup as the Madurai branch of the Madras High Court issued a notice to her over some comments made by her on pre-marital sex.

The actress - in a T.V. interview - had commented that "No Indian has chastity or virginity anymore" which didn't go down well with the legal authorities and the moral police, who felt that such comments could affect the moral fabric of India.

In the past, actresses like Khushboo, Reema Sen and Shilpa Shetty have also faced similar petitions in the past for their controversial comments.

Sushmita thrilled with praise from Ashley Judd

Bollywood star Sushmita Sen says she is "floating in the air" after lavish praise from Hollywood actress-activist Ashley Judd.

"I'm floating in thin air. This was the first time that I interacted with an organisation that works so closely with sex workers. Ashley has been working with them for five years. I'm a newly converted novice in front of her," said Sushmita .

Ashley visited India in March as part of the NGO Population Services International to educate sex workers about HIV/AIDS. Sushmita joined her in the campaign and the two visited brothels and interacted with young sex workers.

After going back to the US, Ashley expressed her views on Sushmita on a blog. The Double Jeopardy star says that she admires Sushmita's self-confidence and her unconventional approach towards life.

She wrote: "I was being joined by a stranger to me, but a beloved star to millions of Indians: Sushmita Sen, maverick yet firmly ensconced Bollywood star. We picked her for her willingness to break with convention in her personal and professional life.

She has that remarkable self-belief, answers to the enigmatic questions I don't dare touch on, stuff about being a woman in this world and other things that leave me tongue-tied. She was focused, clear-eyed, intent, attentive, dazzling."

Sushmita admits Ashley has made her feel special with her compliments.

She says: "Yes, she made me feel very special. Here was a woman coming all the way from America. The only common ground we shared was that we were both actors. She was so humane in her approach to me. The very fact that she wrote a blog like that proves how secure she is within her space and how fluently she deals with the world around her."

Related Article: Sushmita on her forthcoming rendezvous with Ashley Judd

Sushmita Sen is not doing DON 2

Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra will be doing an encore of their roles from Farhan 's Don.

However stories that Sushmita Sen has been approached for Don 2 are being dismissed as baseless.

The sequel is expected to be much more lavish and gorged with effects because of the new technologically oriented films, namely Dhoom 2 and Krissh, raising the bar and standards.

The budget and the locations for Don 2 will be far more spectacular than the first part. Dates for Shah Rukh and Priyanka have been finalised for early next year.

First Look: Sushmita as Durga in Sholay

Here's a look at another character from RGV's contemporary version of Sholay.

Sushmita Sen steps into Jaya Bachchan's shoes. The former Miss Universe plays a widow by the name of Durga, a role which Jaya immortalised as Radha.

Sushmita to replace Priyanka in Don 2

After the resounding success of the remake of 1978's Amitabh Bachchan starrer Don, both the director Farhan Akhtar and Shah Rukh Khan have now shown their eagerness to make a sequel of the movie.

While initially it was just eagerness, things seem to have been finalized now. There is a great possibility of Don 2 coming on the screen soon. The remake had left the opportunity for a sequel so possibilities cannot be ruled out completely.

There is a buzz going around that except for the beautiful Priyanka Chopra, the entire cast of Don would be retained in the sequel. Reportedly, Priyanka is likely to be replaced by another beauty queen Sushmita Sen.

So if things move in the right direction, now Sushmita will be playing the leading lady.Let us wait for the official announcement.

Update: She is not doing Don 2.

Sushmita on her forthcoming rendezvous with Ashley Judd

Sushmita's impending appointment with Hollywood actress Ashley Judd has her excited like seldom before.

"What makes Ashley's trip to India so special is not only the fact that she cares so deeply for the AIDS cause. It's also because she’s coming all the way to our country to raise funds for this cause. And as far as I'm concerned that's enough reason for India to play host to Ashley. I feel she's my guest and I'm going to do my best to make her feel at home," says Sushmita five days before Ashley Judd comes to Mumbai to join hands with Sush.

Ashley has gone on record to say she's keen on to meet Sush. "Has she?" Sush is delighted. "I read up a whole lot on her on the net. And I must say I'm very impressed by her work. It's not just what she's done on screen, but what she has done off screen that makes her so important. It's the kind of career model I'm trying to follow. "

On April 14, Sush and Ashley leave early in the morning for the Kamathipura red-light area of Mumbai to spend the whole day with sex workers.

Says Sush, "I'll be speaking to the sex workers in the language that's prevalent among them, Bengali. I'm really looking forward to my day with Ashley and with these brave women who perhaps need just that bit of information to make their lives healthier and safer."

The day with the sex workers will be followed by a 90-minute interview for the National Geographic. "Then on the 17 March Ashley and I will be attending a very exclusive dinner to raise charity funds for the cause," says Sushmita who says she loves public events. "Even the dance performances at functions. Because I dance basically for myself. If the audiences enjoy it, good for them."

Sush to spend Sunday with special kids

Sushmita Sen has a well-planned weekend ahead. Tomorrow, the elegant Bong babe, along with daughter Renee, will spend the day at Fun Republic, Andheri with 250 children from St. Catherine’s Home.

E-City Films and Fun Republic, Andheri have organized an all-day event on Sunday, February 18, in which these special children will be able to enjoy game shows, dance and music. They will also get a chance to watch Hollywood flick Bridge to Terabithia- an adventure film for kids. What’s more? They have Sush and Renne for company! Since this event also marks the prelude to Leo Mattel’s flagship brand Barbie, Sush will be distributing the new “Career Barbie” dolls to reinforce the brand tagline, “Be who you want to be…with Barbie”.

Post Zindaggi Rocks, everybody is looking forward to watching a simple, saree-clad Sushmita Sen in Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay.

Sushmita Sen turns producer

Sushmita Sen is all set to become a film producer now. The actress will be producing a film on Jhansi Ki Rani in which she herself will be playing the lead role. This is one of her dream roles and she wants her vision to be well interpreted onscreen. If that doesn’t happen, she will be upset says Sushmita. Hence, Sush feels that no other producer can do justice to the film apart from her. Sush also says that she will be thorough professional while handling production and will take care of the economic side as well, along with the creative part.

It is said that she is currently busy working with her script-writer and will soon be zeroing down on a director. Sushmita’s last release was Zindaggi Rocks which didn’t well at the Box Office. She is currently shooting for RGV’s Sholay.

Sush-Mallika’s mutual fascination

The intrepid Mallika Sherawat has an unlikely supporter in Sushmita Sen.“I think that she has a lot of spirit and spunk and tremendous audacity,” says Sushmita of the oomph girl.

“To have come from where she has and to establish her own identity isn’t easy. But she has done it,” she adds.

Tell her that Mallika looks up to Sush as a role-model too and the actor smiles and says, “Really? I haven’t met Mallika. But the little that I know of her, I like her.”

Coming back to her career, Sush says, “Every role that I’ve played has been a stepping stone towards my goal. To get to a summit you need to climb step by step.”

She continues, “I knew I had to work hard to get there. Some people get there more easily than others. But that’s life.” Unapologetic about any move, she confesses,

“Maybe, I’ve made some major mistakes in my career. I continue to make them even today. But that’s part of the growing experience.”

So what keeps Sushmita growing? “The one thing that nourishes me constantly is my self-identity. I’m very comfortable with who and what I am. I am an actor only when the camera is on. The minute it’s off I go back to being myself. I can’t be an image. I’ve to be a real person. I have to be absolutely me.”

Ask her what that means and she replies, “It’s an enigma even to me at times. It’s someone only I know, and that too once in a while.

Source

Sushmita's performance in Sholay has Ramu stunned

There's a new and absolutely irreversible mutual -admiration club brewing between Ram Gopal Varma and Sushmita Sen on the sets of Sholay.

So taken up is the prolific director with Sushmita's performance as the widow Devi (The role that Jaya Bachchan played in the original Sholay) that he intends to cast her again as soon as he finds the right vehicle for her.

Says Ramu, "I always knew Sushmita was a superb actress. She has immense intelligence and she understands the medium fully. Now directing her I feel she has brought to the widow's role the kind of quiet wisdom and sensitivity which I've never seen before. Sushmita's scenes with her screen brother-in-law Mohanlal are among the highlights of Sholay. So far she has mostly played talkative characters. But Sholay prove silences are Sushmita's forte."

Sushmita is equally enthused by Ramu's work-modalities. "It's a dream-come-true for me. Working with him is like finally being directed. I just love that man's creative energy. Ramu is one director I've waited to work with him. I've pestered him repeatedly to work together. Even when I was doing Vaastu Shastra for his production house I told Ramu that's not what I wanted. I wanted to be directed by him. Now I finally have a chance to be directed by him in Sholay. I could write a book on the way Ramu deals with actors. It's amazing. He has a unit of hundreds of people and he knows only one guy's name on the set. That's how focused he is. That one guy has to know exactly what Ramu wants from all the others on the set."

And now Ramu is looking for the first opportunity to cast Sushmita again. "The problem is that she can't be cast in any ordinary role."

Is Sushmita going the Parveen Babi way?

Well, that’s the lead story of a popular gossip magazine for January. Sushmita has led a checkered life. Hoisted on the Miss World stage at age 19, a somewhat successful Hindi film career, a lucrative modeling career, adopting daughter Renee against all odds and a string of affairs (that she never denied), Sush has led her life very much on her own terms and conditions. So, why is she being labeled as a possible candidate for Schizophrenia (a mental disease that afflicted Parveen and eventually she succumbed to it)?

The gossip magazine gave an account how Sushmita fired more than half a dozen employees at her home. The beleaguered employees obviously spitted venom against their former madam whom they had been serving for the last many years. Her behaviour was cited as irregular and fiery at times. Sen who has been going through a tough time with talks about her current flame Manav Menon ditching her for work and her last big release ‘Zindaggi Rocks’ coming in for stringent criticism. There have been reports about her getting back with former boyfriend Randeep Hooda as well. Hooda on his part gets majorly irked when asked about his current relationship status with Sen.

Sushmita on her part has stated that her staff had been bungling for quite some time and taking advantage of her. She also feared for her daughter Renee’s security. On the other hand it has also come to light that Sush is providing full support the family (wife and two children, also afflicted with HIV) of one of her former employees who recently died due to AIDS. Sush is ensuring that her employee’s wife gets proper medical attention which enhances her life span by another five to seven years.

Sushmita Sen has always been associated with various causes and is more or less known for high professionalism (a few hawala transactions and evading car duty are a few of her excesses). Somehow, the question rises, that is it fair to target a celebrity to enhance the publication’s sale (that particular gossip magazine is being launched in Germany with this edition)? The question also rises that why don’t the film stars take a serious action against such erring publications. One example of heavy compensation will be a deterrent to others. Or, do they lack faith in the judiciary (Preity Zinta’s defamation suit case against a Mumbai tabloid is going on-n-on and the tabloid never leaves a chance to target Zinta in one way or the other)?

It’s time the stray film associations come together and do something about this situation. Indian films are getting recognized the world over and the film stars are enjoying an ambassador’s status. It’s time for some transparency, accountability and responsibility (on part of the stars as well as the media).

Sush-Manav headed for splitsville?

Sushmita Sen's much-speculated about relationship with ad-film director Manav Menon seems to have hit a rocky patch. According to sources the actress has not met the fiery-tempered Manav for almost three months.

The relationship was always going to be difficult, says the source what with Manav separated from but still married to his wife who left him to go back to her parents in Pondicherry once the news of Sush-Manav relationship became public. In addition both have hectic work schedules and with Renee growing up Sushmita is very clear that her daughter must approve of her choice of men. For instance, her last boyfriend Randeep Hooda was a big hit with Renee and the two of them continued to meet even after Sush split up with Hooda.

In fact, Hooda's reappearance in Sush's life is something that has become an issue in her equation with Manav. According to sources, Manav wanted to throw a surprise bash for Sush on her birthday on November 19 at a Bandra night-club. Instead Sush chose to keep the celebrations low profile and threw a party of some of her friends at home. One of the invitees was Randeep Hooda while Manav Menon pointedly kept away.

In fact the last time the two of were publicly seen together was at Karachi where Sush had gone for a charity show to raise funds for Imran Khan's cancer hospital and from there the two had travelled directly to Kolkata for the launch of Sush's night-club 'Sssh.' Those present that evening say the sight of Menon mingling with the Sen family had indicated that all was going well with the couple and that Manav was set to become an integral part of the family. Sush had also especially flown in Israeli tarot reader Ofer Cohen to consult on their relationship.

But once the couple returned from the City of Joy things started to cool down between them. Manav is under tremendous pressure from his family over his liaison with Sushmita, says our source. While Sushmita has always been open about her relationships with men be it Vikram Bhatt, Sanjay Narang or Randeep Hooda, Manav had difficulty being in the spotlight.

Sushmita who is travelling was not available for comment but sources say that the actress's priorities have changed busy as she is with her business in Kolkata and her film commitments.

While she will never completely break off from Manav whom she met during a world tour earlier this year—she remains in touch with all her boy friends—it's getting clear that she has moved on in life.