Akshay Kumar has taken over the Hashmi’s character and the reports are that Sonakshi Sinha will play the love interest of Akshay in the film. The Dabangg girl will play the character of ‘Mandakini’, the love interest of Dawood in the film.

Earlier, it was said that Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone or Kareena Kapoor would play the character of ‘Mandakini’ but Milan seems to have zeroed on Sonakshi for her successful Dabangg debut.

A source was quoted in Mumbai Mirror as saying, “Ekta Kapoor and Milan Luthria are taking their time to choose the leading lady for ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai’ 2. They want the girl to be perfect. Initially, they wanted a leading lady to essay the role of Mandakini. But now, they are considering Sonakshi Sinha.”

Sonakshi who is working with Akshay in another film ‘Joker’ seems working in the favor of the actress, “Akshay and Sonakshi are already doing Shirish Kunder’s Joker and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Rowdy Rathod to be directed by Prabhudeva together. Ekta and Milan will obviously keep that in mind while making their choice,” added the source.

So far the casting a part from Akshay isn’t final as yet, the director is looking for a parallel hero for the film, “They are still looking for the parallel hero in the film. Once the second actor is finalised, Ekta and Milan will take a call on who will play the leading lady,” said the source.

Vidya who is playing the sultry role of ‘Silk Smitha’, the south Indian siren in Ekta Kapoor’s production and Milan Lutharia’s directed, a much hyped biopic ‘Dirty Picture’ encountered an unhealthy problem.

Reportedly, the film contains a lot of skin show but a bathtub scene has spoiled Vidya’s skin for which she had to run to a dermatologist.

She developed the rough as soon as she was done with the scene but she ignored. However, when it turned into red rashes then she raised the alarm and hurriedly taken to a dermatologist.

A source said, “Vidya soon realized that she had developed an allergy. The rash spread all over her body. She quickly got dressed. Abandoning the shoot, she went to see the doctor immediately.”

Many would blame the unhygienic water but Balaji Motion Pictures says that they have organized for mineral water for the scene. The source added, “Balaji Motion Pictures had organised for mineral water to be filled in the bathtub. Luthria is very particular about his actors getting the best.

Despite the precautions, Vidya developed the allergy. It could be due to the bathtub, which was hand painted. It could be the soap or maybe just the fact that she had remained in soap water for a long time.”

While the doctor said that it happened due to higher presence of alkali in the soap to which Vidya was exposed for a good time which resulted into red rashes.

Next time check your brand of soap Vidya, else the ‘Dirty Picture’ will seriously go dirty!

When there are three ladies to romance with, no one will suit best than Emraan Hashmi for the role. The actor is roped for the film. It will be his first with Vishal who has a habit of having a good punch at the box-office.

An insider told Mumbai Mirror, “It is going to be a thriller with super natural elements in it. It’s a new genre for Indian cinema. The interesting part is that Abhishek Chaubey has also signed on as the creative producer for the film. And with Vishal, the film is bound to be a musical.”

The ladies are yet to be decided. It was rumored that Rani Mukherjee will play one of the leading character of the film but we have heard the ‘Bong’ girl is actually said ‘No’, petrified by the title.

While Ekta told the tabloid, “When contacted, Ekta confirmed the same and added, “Yes, Vishal and I are planning a drama with a breakthrough genre.

It will be replete with thrills, chartbusting music and supernatural elements. Three young and happening girls will be cast opposite Emraan.”

The film which has landed to her is the sequel of Sangeeth Sivan 2005 ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’ where she will be playing the second leading lady of the film.

Bollywood has got its eye on the eye candy swimsuit calendar girl as soon as she was found in Ranbir’s arms, spotted going around in the city with the Kapoor ‘Casanova’. The sequel of Kya Kool Hain Hum will be directed by Sachin Yardi and it comes out straight from Ekta Kapoor’s production house.

A source from the industry told a leading daily, “Ekta Kapoor has been planning to start the sequel to Kya Kool Hai Hum for some time now. This was her first commercial hit. However, Riteish Deshmukh, one of the two leading actors in the first, was not to keen on the sequel.

However, now Riteish has agreed to the project. They have roped in Sachin Yardi since Sangeeth Sivan won’t be a part of the sequel. Balaji, after finalising Bipasha Basu for the first female lead, was on the lookout for the second.

They had Zareen Khan and Angela Jonsson in mind for the role. Finally, Angela has been finalised for the same.”

The necessary paperwork for the cast still seems to be put in place. Perhaps that’s why, when contacted, Angela’s publicist choosing to deny the story, said, “There’s no truth in it.”

Now, they are all set out to find the perfect groom for Ekta.

Tusshar Kapoor, Ekta’s brother and actor confirms, “Yes we are very concerned about Ekta finding the right match. It has come to a point where I now go to parties and social gatherings only to check out prospective husbands for her!”

It is now a matter of finding the groom for Ekta as Kapoor Pariwaar is leaving no stone unturned, they have sent her kundli to pundits and also asking elders of the family to look out to find a suitable groom for the girl.

Reveals Tusshar to Mid-Day, “It has come to a point where the minute I see a guy of a certain age I start making discreet inquires about his family life, work details, etc.

It’s a scary thought, but I’ve become like one of those marriage-obsessed characters in Ekta’s serials.”

But the question which is hovering on many minds is that who will fit the bill to TV Czarina, after setting such a standard of her work, one is required to find someone who is equally successful.  Adds Tusshar, “It has to be someone more successful than her and who can influence her.

That’s a tall order. It has to be someone like Shah Rukh Khan. We are looking.

If Yash Chopra and Karan Johar think there’s someone somewhere for all of us then it’s just a matter of time before we find the right person for Ekta.”

Ekta has chosen Vishal-Shekhar to compose the music of ‘Dirty Picture’. Now we hope the duo can tune in some great compositions so that they may not be replaced by someone in later ventures of Ekta!

The film which is based on the 80’s South Indian siren ‘Silk Smitha’ has started gathering too much headlines as the film features Emraan Hashmi, Tusshar Kapoor, Vidya Balan and Naseeruddin Shah. To keep the essence and freshness of the character Ekta took this step and even asked the visitors to come sans mobile phones.

Ekta Kapoor told TOI when asked about the ban, “Every actor in the film will essay the role of an individual from the South Indian film industry. Tusshar will play a struggling writer while Naseer will essay the character of a grown up actor who works in children’s films in the eighties.

This is the first time a Hindi film will depict the South Indian cine industry. There are different colours to each character and everyone has a specific look. The cell phones on the sets can ruin everything for us.”

“We keep on hearing of incidents about looks being revealed and I don’t want that for my film. I want to bring out every look in the proper way,” added Ekta.

She revealed the looks of the actors, “The men in my film are not going to look hot – Naseerbhai will be seen wearing wigs. I am dreading that he might end up looking scary. I don’t want the characters to look like caricatures.”

“Vidya, however, will be seen in revealing clothes. She has three or four different looks in the film,” she added, about the female lead in Dirty Picture.

Is there anyone out to reveal the ‘Dirty Picture’??

It is said that Tusshar is required to look so to match the character of a South Indian writer of 80’s. Told a source from Balaji to Mid-Day, “Last week, when he went for the costume trial of the Vidya Balan-starrer, Tusshar was in for a shock.

The film’s costume designer told him that for his role as a south Indian writer from the 1980s, he had to put on a lot of weight. An upset TK took the matter up with his sister.”

Ekta told him that he would have to get flabby for the character. “She said that he was ‘too fit’ for the role. Tusshar was equally adamant about not gaining the extra kilos. Their argument went on and on,” adds the source.

Tusshar plays it safe, “I will do as my director says. It’s just that I was shocked when asked to put on so much weight! I have worked hard to get a good body.”

Tusshar knows he can’t do anything else than too listen to sister, else he will be made ‘Dirty’ at home!

Vidya carries a plum look although her film career so far but Dirty Picture requires her to lose weight and then put on in a short span of time. This requirement was too much for the actress and Ekta Kapoor melt down and chooses the idea of cosmetic help to increase the size of her butt.

The makers of the Dirty Picture have asked the makeup artists to keep a good eye on Vidya’s bust line with the help of prosthetic.

Let see either the film goes ‘Dirty’ or a clean deal.

Vidya who is portraying the role of south hot sensation ‘Silk Smitha’ character in the ‘Dirty Picture’ was of two minds over her characterization until Milan referred her ‘Burlesque’ and ‘Chicago’ to get her out of her thoughts of soft porn.

Milan said, “Vidya wanted to have an idea about what was in my head and about the character she plays. So as a reference point, I asked her to watch Burlesque and Chicago for rhythmic energy, lighting, photo, costumes, etc. After watching Burlesque, Vidya`s respect for me shot up a few notches further.”

It isn’t only Vidya who has conceived this thought, many people think ‘Dirty Picture’ is soft porn, having known the tales of ‘Silk Smitha’ for long.

“That`s why it`s important to see films like ‘Burlesque’ to show you the potential for this art form whether it is about a stripper, dancer or item girl. I wanted Vidya to know that what she`s doing is not crass or crude but can be shown aesthetically in a sensual manner with a touch of class. What her character does is not cheap. I wanted to show her that I haven`t taken up a career in soft porn,” added the director of last year hit ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai’.

Now we hope, no one will have a ‘Dirty Picture’ on their mind about the film and Vidya of course.