It’s an open secret that the chemistry between Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra is getting sour by the day. And the final nail in the coffin was when Abhishek got Priyanka Chopra out of a big film project because she had refused to work in his friend’s film citing date issues.

The story goes that Priyanka Chopra refused to work with Rohan Sippy much to the surprise of the filmmaker who had earlier cast her in BLUFFMASTER. Rohan, who is a good friend of Abhishek complained about Priyanka, and Abhi, who already had a few things to settle with Priyanka got her kicked out of the upcoming film THE ITALIAN JOB, in which he plays the lead role.

Though, Priyanka’s spokesperson has denied these reports, but looks like Priyanka’s fight with Jr. Bachchan is turning to be a costly affair for the actress.

Both the films and Kareena’s characters are creating a lot of buzz in the market. And now Kareena is confused about how she should manage the promotion of both these films.

Sometime back Katrina Kaif too faced a similar dilemma. She had to choose between either promoting Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani or De Dana Dan. And it’s noteworthy that Kat chose Ranbir over Akshay.

Here Ritesh Deshmukh emerged as a winner, when he managed two of his films’ promotion perfectly. The actor was seen in the press conference of Do Not Disturb and the very next day he appeared for Aladin.

B-town babes should learn this balancing act from our Aladin!

However, the brains behind the business this time around, say sources, may well be bahu Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. According to industry insiders, the actress is going all out to ensure that ABCL becomes a big banner production house. Not only is Ash devising the marketing strategies for Paa, she’s moved on to the next level where she is finalising and speaking to directors for whom ABCL would produce films.

In an interview to a tabloid recently, R Balki, the director of Paa, said Ash had been working on plans for the movie’s promotion. “Aishwarya has ideated some thematic events which will add to the excitement of the film. We will hold those events nearer to the release,” he had said. ABCL’s first Marathi production, Vihir, directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, released at the Mumbai Film Festival last week. Now, speculation is that it was Ash’s idea to debut with that film as it would have a greater audience connect.

According to a source at ABCL,“She has been diligently involved in deciding the future projects of ABCL. While Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan remain the final authority, Aishwarya is formulating the whole plan.”

Buzz is that she has been reading scripts and hearing plot narrations from various directors for a while now, and has already finalised a list of 12 directors. It includes A-list directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Anurag Kashyap, Sanjay Gadhvi, Ashutosh Gowarikar and of course, R Balki, the director of Paa.

Though none of the directors confirmed the news, Anurag Kashyap said, “Talks are on and if it’s finalised, it’ll be an exciting union for me.” “I’ve worked with both Ash and Abhishek. Both are thorough professionals. It’s a pleasure to work with the Bachchans,” said Gadhvi, neither confirming or denying an imminent partnership with the Bachchan banner.

It will set the tone for an elaborate yet exclusive Shilpa-Raj Kundra marriage on November 22 where, according to a close friend of Shilpa, “Tarun Tahiliani has designed the wedding outfit that no bride in Bollywood or outside has ever worn before”.

The guest list for the November 22 wedding is restricted to Shilpa and Raj’s family only. Raj’s parents and sister are expected any moment from London and his relatives from Ludhiana and Amritsar are expected to arrive closer to the wedding.

The wedding will be conducted fully in the Bunt tradition, according to the Mangalorean community that the Shettys belong to.

“Shilpa’s mom consulted the astrological documents and found that the next auspicious date was not before April 2010. Shilpa’s first response was, ‘Not without my sister’. But now that Shamita is well on the way out of Bigg Boss Shilpa doesn’t mind the rush, though she would be shooting until the very last moment for the Indo-Chinese production Desire in Hyderabad,” says a very close friend of the Shettys.

The last thing Shilpa wants to do at the moment is to work. “But a commitment is a commitment,” says Shilpa’s friend.

A.C.T. aims to help mobilise people on the issue by raising awareness, preventing trafficking and supporting the efforts of child welfare organisations through fundraising on a regular basis, said a press release here.

The initiative has been made by US Ambassador-at-Large Melanne Verveer, film producer Firoz Nadiadwallah and Wizcraft International Entertainment apart from key members of the Indian film industry.

“The violence against women and girls that we’re currently seeing is a global pandemic. It cuts across ethnicity, race, class, religion, education level and international borders. We are pleased that the issue is being taken up in India and is being highlighted by the voices the nation will pay attention to. We hope to make much progress with the support we are receiving,” said Verveer.

A special A.C.T. campaign has been launched in Mumbai with the aim of inviting various NGOs, government bodies as well as the general public to come together and raise their voice against human trafficking.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who has spoken out in support of the campaign in a video, said: “Human trafficking is the selling of human beings? slavery. Men, women and children are forced into slavery every day in our country and other parts of the world.

“Crores toil in brick kilns, zari manufacturing, on farms, and elsewhere with no freedom to choose their path in life. Some call it bonded labour, but it is slavery. There is no place in a developed nation for human slavery. We need to end every form of human trafficking now.”

His son Abhishek said: “I pledge to raise my voice against child trafficking in whatever way I can by getting involved in the A.C.T. campaign – through raising awareness, preventing children from being trafficked, acting against child labour, supporting child welfare organisations and in any other way which will lead to a secure future for children.”

Katrina is a go-getter, says Lakhwani. “She is one of the few celebrities who have their heads screwed on their shoulders.” Sandya Ramachandran of Matrix Entertainment adds, “She has that global Indian feel about her which connects with the Indian and International audience, too.” For a girl who, according to ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, “can’t dance, can’t act”, good things did not happen by accident. “She might look dumb, but her business sense is sharp,” says Kakkar.

Kat is the most searched celebrity on Google and FHM’s ‘sexiest woman alive’.

She is very correct when talking about her success. “It’s a part of the industry that one replaces the other. Tomorrow someone else shall replace me, too.” No rash claims about her current popularity either she makes the usual polite noises about feeling “overwhelmed” by fans’ “love and appreciation” and working hard to “live up to their expectations”. Ad guru, Prahlad Kakkar feels that the way she has steered her career has been remarkable: “She made a safe move by starting with established stars like Akshay Kumar or Salman Khan, and now when she is at the peak of her career, she is experimenting with actors of her age group, like Ranbir Kapoor. She is smart enough to realise that the future cannot be linked to one entity.”

Article by Minakshi Saini from HT