Who`s that girl, Shahid?

THE TIMES OF INDIA I FRIDAY I JANUARY 8, 2010
BTA
SIMPLY SOUTH
BACKBEAT
When it was unlimited
fun all the way
Pg3
Why Priya wants to
stick to Sandalwood
Pg7
Marriage rumours are just
for laughs, says Genelia
Pg8
VG Sridhar
ANGRY! Amitabh
Bachchan in Rann
‘THIS IS THE
BREAK I
NEEDED’
... says an ecstatic
Nidhi Subbaiah, who
will act opposite
Diganth in Yograj
Bhat’s next film
W
PRIZE CATCH: Nidhi Subbaiah
HOT, HOTTER,
Heart-throb hottie
Ranbir is India’s
Most Desirable
Man in ZOOM’s
Top 50 list
HOTTEST
AYBE it’s the ‘rocket’ in his ‘pockdeciding the final winners.
et’. Maybe it’s the wide awake Sid
Aamir Khan, with his newin him. Maybe it’s his real
found hotness post 3 Idiots; Akslife ajab-ghazab prem kahani or the
hay Kumar’s lean and mean
success of his pairing with Katrina.
‘hauteness’; Hrithik’s bare
Maybe it’s nothing more than his
bodied and hirsute look; the
Kapoor genes and his charm —
ever-popular SRK; and Salbut without a doubt, Ranbir Kapoor
man’s Wanted status — all
has topped the ZOOM 50 Most
made it a close competition.
Desirable hotties list for 2009. Nope,
With Saif still up there on the
he didn’t have to bare his butt (like
hottie list, Abhay Deol steplast year’s winner John
ping on the gas, Farhan Akhtar
Abraham) — Ranbir did that
‘rocking’ it up and Shahid makalready in his first film,
ing the gals swoon with his
remember? Nor did this
shirtless act, it was a formidaKapoor boy need a sixble Top 10. But Ranbir
pack to top this much
nudged ahead in the final lap.
desired list. Just a
“It feels wonderful to be
sweeping vote and very
voted the ZOOM Most
close competition from
Desirable Man. We always
several other B-town hunks.
look to the fans and to the
The Red Hot Countdown —
media for their endorseZOOM’s master countdown to beat
ment and acceptance and
all countdowns — had its annual
to be voted by them feels
John
competition to compile a list of
great. I don’t know about
Abraham
India’s hottest men and women.
desirable but yes, I try and
And with Katrina emerging hottest
live up to my fans’ expectaIndian woman, what with her
tions. I thank ZOOM for this
class act and her huge fan base,
crown. I hope I’m as
it needed Ranbir to become the
lucky next year, though
(Tune
into
ZOOM
on
Sunday,
3
ghazab partner to Katz.
I’m surprised that I
pm, for the male toppers and
The list was compiled on the
topped in spite of such
tomorrow at 12 noon to watch
basis of online voting on
amazing competition.”
all the hotties on the 50 Most
www.zoomtv.in and via SMS and
Desirable
List)
by an elite, informed panel
MADHUREETA MUKHERJEE
Kasab,swine
flu,cricket,
recession
The Big B turns newscaster and reads out the top
stories of 2009 in a promo for RGV’s next film
M
LL you lovely gals out
there, we have news
for you. The most
sexy, single man in town was
spotted with a stunning
woman. Yep, we’re talking
about Shahid Kapoor.
Recently, he has been linked
to every pretty girl in B-town
and his longest link-up in the
last couple of years has
been with Priyanka
Chopra. And while
rumours of their supposed blow-hot, blowcold relationship are
still doing the rounds,
Shahid was seen in the
company of another lovely lady. Last week, he was
hanging out in Goa with a
bunch of friends, and apparently, the new babe was a
part of that group. Of
course, she seemed to be
quite smitten by our cool
Kapoor boy, and was drawing
a little extra attention from
him too. Not that it makes a
difference to us; we’re just
wondering what our dear
friend PC is thinking.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Psst...
A
A
Ranbir
Kapoor
Saif Ali
Khan
TOP 10
DESIRABLE MEN
1. Ranbir Kapoor
2. Hrithik Roshan
3. Akshay Kumar
4. Shahid Kapoor
5. Saif Ali Khan
6. John Abraham
7. Abhay Deol
8. Salman Khan
9. Shah Rukh Khan
10. Farhan Akhtar
cities on the radio,” said Madhu.
Sheetal added, “Most films are
promoted on television through
their music, which may have no
bearing on the film’s theme.
Ours is the first film promoting
itself via the
media. Rann is
about the relationship
between the
electronic media
and the conscience. And Mr
Bachchan’s
character spills
over into real
life without any
effort.”
The national
programming
head of the radio
station that broadcast the Big B’s
year-ender was also delighted
with the appreciative response
from listeners. “Having the man
who epitomises Bollywood in
India was a fantastic thing. His
persona as a newscaster was
very impressive, and the top
news he selected to read reflect-
‘
This Vijay is
angry about
issues that the
Vijay in Deewaar
and Zanjeer
could never have
thought of
Think it, ink it
Hrithik
Roshan
ed the sentiments of millions of
listeners.” True, because the
celeb newsreader picked up
hard-hitting issues, ranging from
the trial of Kasab and swine flu
to the recession and rise of the
Indian cricket
team.
RGV, in tribute to
Bachchan’s angry
young man days of
Zanjeer, Deewar and
Agneepath, named
the actor’s character
Vijay in his film.
But Madhu said,
“This Vijay is angry
about issues that the
Vijay in Deewaar
and Zanjeer could
never have thought
of — the way the media is
misused for power politics.
When he read out 2009’s most
powerful news stories on television, Mr Bachchan wasn’t playing a role; he was expressing his
deepest concerns through observations that have a bearing on
every individual in our society.”
SUBHASH K JHA
Amalanath Benedict Kumar
Who’s that
girl, Shahid?
MITABH BACHCHAN
knows how to get under
the skin of the character
he’s playing on screen. In 2009,
he did it with Paa; now, in 2010,
he’s doing it for Ram Gopal
Varma’s Rann, in which he plays
Vijay Harshwardhan, a media
magnate in search of a balance
between news and sensationalism. In fact, this is something
the Big B has been hoping to see
in the Indian media for long.
And he carried his convictions
about media credibility beyond
his screen role by appearing on
national television last week and
reading out an incisive and indepth wrap-up of the year that
was.
Rann’s co-producers Madhu
Mantena and Sheetal Talwar
weren’t surprised by the exciting
response this promo for the
media-based film got. “When it
comes to Mr Bachchan, nothing
is surprising. We planned this to
coincide with the release of the
film and it was shown on
English and Hindi news channels and also played across 36
‘
HILE Doodh Peda
Diganth is pretty much
a fixture in any Yograj
Bhat film, the director is known
never to repeat his leading ladies.
So, in his sixth directorial venture,
YB has decided to cast Nidhi
Subbaiah opposite Diganth. An
excited Nidhi tells BT, “I feel like
screaming the news from the
rooftop. This is the break I really
needed.”
The actress was last seen in
Chamkaisi Chindi Udaisi six
months ago, and has Krishna Nee
Lateaagi Baro set for release. She,
untitled project is the first film
Nidhi auditioned for. “So far, filmmakers just wanted to see my face
and cast me in their films. I’m
glad I got this film on the basis of
however, hadn’t signed any other
my acting ability,” she says.
project until now. “I did
Although she’s done
get offers to do Tamil
BHAT’S CUT
her homework on Yograj
films, but I chose not to “Nidhi’s glamorous Bhat by watching all the
do films in other lanand can be witty. films he’s done, she
guages. I wanted to stick
As the character is knows very little about
to Sandalwood because
that of a damsel in Diganth despite the fact
I’m a Kannadiga and
that they both come from
distress, she’ll suit modelling background.
know the language,”
the role well.”
says Nidhi.
“I’ve just seen him at
And she doesn’t
Sandalwood get-togethers. Now,
regret the wait. “If I hadn’t waited
I’ve got the opportunity to interand had done movies for the heck
act with him during the shoot,”
of it, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the
says Nidhi, who’ll start shooting
excitement of bagging this offer,”
from January 25.
she beams. The as-yetSHARADHA SRINIDHI
Many Sandalwood celebs have been inked for posterity
HAT’S on their
minds is on their
bods — hot, sexy
and making a statement.
Which is why namma Sandalwood celebrities have hit the
tattoo trail with a passion. Top
of the heap is the ‘IT’ couple of the
chitra ranga — Shilpa and Ganesh.
“Ganesh started off by inking my
name on the back of his palm in
Kannada. He got it done way before we
got married,” says Shilpa. Lady G too, has
got her hubby’s name tattooed on her
forearm. “I got it done while filming
Maleyali Jotheyali in Goa.
Ganesh has a special way of
signing autographs —
the G looks
like a
W
Kiran Srinivas
Ganesha. I got a tattoo in the same style,” needles. “I also have an
says Shilpa. As for the Golden Star, he has Anjaneya, my favourite god’s picnewborn daughter Charitrya’s name tatture, done on my right arm,” says
tooed on his nape. “I wanted to get a tatChiru.
too of her name too, but by the time I
“I seem to have a long-standgot Ganesh’s name done, I was
ing association with the
ready to faint,” laughs Shilpa.
number seven,” says Kiran
OTHER
It was destination Goa for
Srinivas. Which is why
MARKED FOLK he’s got it marked for eterRakshitha as well, who got her
➠ Aindrita Ray nity on the right side of his
first tattoo done there. “I was
on a holiday with my gal pals
back. “My register number
➠ Aditya
and decided to do it,” says the
in school and college was
➠ Vijay
glam mom. She got two of her
seven. My jersey number was
favourite things — a star and a
seven when I was on my college
flower — inked. The count has now gone
football team. Even my birth number, I
up to four. “One’s a heart and the other is
recently discovered, is number seven,”
my son Surya’s name, which I got done on reveals Kiran. So, it’s a Roman numermy wrist,” she says.
al specially inked for the actor.
For Chiranjeevi Sarja, it’s his late
Actor Sri Murali’s wife Vidya got
uncle Kishore’s name that’s found his name scripted while they were
a place on his right forearm.
dating. “I didn’t want to be
He also didn’t want to disapclichéd, which is why I got it done
point his other fave uncle,
on the back of my palm,” says
Arjun Sarja; so, he copied Vidya. She plans to get another
a tattoo that’s inked on
done soon. “It’s two sentences
Arjun’s arm. “It’s the
that he’d always write in his letnational flag and Arjun
ters while he was studying in
uncle got it done in the
Mumbai. But I plan to get it
US. Mine was done by a
done in a foreign lancouple of village ajjis
guage so nobody knows what
back home in Tumkur,”
it is,” she laughs.
narrates Chiru. And it was
MADHU DAITHOTA
Rakshitha
done desi style with seven
madhu.daithota@timesgroup.com
Aindrita Ray