Kareena's mujra takes place in Pakistan

The much talked-about mujra in Saif Ali Khan's Agent Vinod, featuring Kareena Kapoor, was not included just to keep audiences happy, asserts director Sriram Raghavan. "Songs should take the film forward, not exist just for entertainment. There is a sequence in Karachi, Pakistan, so I thought if we have to do a song sequence, then let it be a traditional mujra," he adds.

Unlike female actors in most international spy thrillers, Kareena has a substantial role in Agent Vinod.
The director says, “It’s not an easy character to pull off. I didn’t make her a better actor. She made the character better than what was originally conceived.”

Based on the life of a RAW agent, played by Saif, Raghavan admits this is his most challenging project yet.

“So far, I have done small-budget films, mostly shot within 50 days. For this, we shot for around a year-and-a-half at several Indian and foreign locations, dealing with different weather conditions everywhere. And since we had a multi-national cast, communication between all the actors was a bit difficult,” recalls Sriram, who is credited for directing films like Ek Hasina Thi (2004) with Saif and Johnny Gaddaar (2007) with Neil Nitin Mukesh to his credit.

Agent Vinod is set to hit theatres on March 23.

Source: Hindustan Times

Kareena sizzles in her Mujra from Agent Vinod

Kareena Kapoor is all set to revive the traditional dance form of mujra in boyfriend Saif Ali Khan's ambitious upcoming production, Agent Vinod.

The spy thriller directed by Sriram Raghavan will see Kareena perform some kathak moves in an era when the mujra is gradually fading from the Bollywood screen.

"The dance is a classic mujra, which we haven't seen in Hindi films for a long time. We had to decide between a regular item dance featuring Kareena or some other star, or do something really hot. Most Hindi films today have item songs, with the term 'hot' defining what the heroines wear and how they are presented in front the camera. So we thought we would do something slightly different in terms of the song as well as the dance. Even my co-producer Dinesh Vijan was keen to have a mujra," Saif said, while unveiling the first look of the film recently.

The dance has been choreographed by Saroj Khan, who is known for her mastery of the classical dance forms.

"Kareena has given her best dance performance in the song. It is a new-age mujra but we have retained the real mujra feel," Saroj said.

Kareena is not a trained kathak dancer and had to undergo training. According to sources, she rehearsed for almost 22 hours to perfect the steps.

The leaked snapshots of Kareena's mujra show that her look in the song is trendier than that of actresses such as Rekha and Madhuri Dixit in their mujrewaali avatars. Kareena reveals far too much bosom in a red anarkali kurta and churidar with minimal ornaments. Unlike the famous mujra queens of Bollywood, who always wore heavy ornaments, Kareena is seen wearing only a pair of long earrings and a bracelet on one hand.

Saif and Sriram decided to approach Kareena after Priyanka Chopra refused to do an item number in the film.

Source: India Today

Kareena Kapoor to dance on Kolaveri Di

Tonight, Kareena Kapoor will set the stage ablaze with her south Indian act. For her performance at the Apsara Awards, the actor will perform to a medley of chartbusters like Nakka Mukka (Kadhalil Vizhundhen), Ringa Ringa (Arya 2) and the latest, Kolaveri Di… (3). 

The first of the aforementioned tracks was included in The Dirty Picture, and filmed on Vidya Balan. The last, sung by actor Dhanush, has become a rage across the country over the last few months. And the second track inspired Salman Khan’s hit, Dhinka Chika (Ready).

“It’s for the first time that Kareena will perform to such a mix. No other female actor has attempted an act with Kolaveri Di at a popular award show. She’s putting in a lot of hard work for her performance,” a member of the organising committee lets in.

“Today, cinema from across the board is becoming one. The idea is to present a unified face of Indian cinema without any tags attached. Kareena’s performance will show that we can cut across languages,” beams Sabbas Joseph of Wizcraft. “If a leading lady like her does something, it’s appreciated all the more. Kareena loved the idea when we approached her.”

Besides the Agent Vinod actor, Band Baaja Baraat’s leading lady Anushka Sharma will also perform to a host of songs along with TV actors. Her performance will include different dance forms like lezhim, hip-hop and Bollywood freestyle. Her co-dancers include Nandish Sandhu, Sushant Singh and Shabbir Ahluwalia.

source : Hindustantimes

Jodis to look forward to in 2012

Bollywood Spice lists the onscreen couples to look forward to in 2012. 

Kareena couples up with Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Rampal, and Imran Khan.

Imran Khan / Kareena Kapoor
  Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor are both familiar with romantic comedies and their next film proves to be no different. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, which is due to be released at the start of February, will be produced by UTV and Dharma Productions. The fresh rom-com is about two totally different people that when after a night of having way too much fun and way too many drinks they wake up and find themselves married. From what we have seen so far it seems we can expect laughs and romance in abundance. So far the pair have received positive comments with the release of music videos and trailers and even Imran comments saying, “Kareena and I have a fantastic chemistry in the film. We have been appreciated by a lot of people.” The songs are proving the be a hit among the younger population along with the insider video blogs from Imran, so we predict a very good response with many fans turning out for this fun flick. We also hear the jodi is so good together that they have already signed a new film together but that may have to wait until next year’s list!

Saif Ali Khan / Kareena Kapoor
 Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor can not only look forward to a wedding in 2012 but also the up coming release of their film Agent Vinod. While the film has undergone a series of delays in production, director Raghavan confirmedm “Saif and Kareena did their last shooting for my film on December 24 and left for their holiday. We are now in post-production work. The release date is March 23.” The official poster release has stirred up a great deal of interest with some stating it feels like a Bond film promotion. While Saif is to play the lead in the film, Kareena is set to play the role of a secret agent, quite the removal from her recent comedies. Kareena in the past has voiced her dislike of doing her own action stunts but admits that for this production Saif was able to convince her to do them, something, which she actually enjoyed. In terms of their personal relationship, the two have stated that they can only prepare for a wedding after the release of the film. We can’t wait to see what they have in store for us both off and especially onscreen in Agent Vinod!

Aamir Khan / Rani Mukherjee / Kareena Kapoor 
When we heard that Aamir would be starring with Kareena Kapoor AND Rani Mukherjee in Talaash, needless to say this combination of excellent actors immediately made it on this list and our films to look out for in 2012 (but more on that in the next countdown). Talking about starring with Kareena and Rani, Aamir wrote, “Well, the lead actresses for my new film have been locked. Kareena and Rani. Am so happy to be working with Kareena again after 3I, and most excited about working again with Rani after so long. Difficult to concentrate on my work with such beautiful co-stars around “ Directed by Reema Kagti, who most recently wrote the screenplay for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Talaash is said to be a suspense thriller. Aamir revealed a bit of the story, “Talaash actually goes very well with each of the characters. Kareena, Rani and me, all three of us are in search of something.” Seems we will get our first look at the trio and the film because we hear a teaser promo is coming with Agneepath on the 26th!

Kareena Kapoor / Arjun Rampal
 They may have only first worked together in We Are Family, but Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal were praised for their chemistry in the film holding their places next to Kajol. Film goers will have their chance to see the two come together again but it promises to be a more racier pairing in the film Heroine directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. The film, which has been compared to recent box office smash The Dirty Picture, is set to see Kareena essay an up and coming actress and the journey she takes within the industry. Along the way she falls in love with Arjun Rampal’s character who is also an actor. Arjun Rampal has said, “It is a beautiful love story about what happens to two characters from the same line of work and how much misunderstanding is created by people who are supposed to make that communication easier.” We have a feeling this love story will have us riveted to our seats!

Source: Bollywood Spice