Noted Indian actress, Ayesha Dharker has completed shooting for her role in the new Stars Wars film. At a recent press night party, Ayesha was not able to talk about her most high-profile film role to date because she is bound by a strict confidentiality clasue. "But I am in the new Stars Wars film," she said. "It will come out in 2002." Filming for her role as a princess in Stars Wars was completed in Italy but she travelled all the way to Australia, where Fox have their production studios, for costume fittings.

Ayesha will be working soon on location in Trinidad in Ismail Merchant's film version of V.S. Naipaul's 1957 novel, "The Mystic Masseur". "It was only because filming was delayed that I could do "The Ramayana," she added. Although still only 22, Ayesha is emerging as one of India's most sucessful young actresses. "She's been acting since 9," her father pointed out.

Actress Juhi Chawla is pregnant

It's official. Juhi Chawla is pregnant and ready to become a proud mommy soon enough. The rumors of the pregnancy had been circulating for a bit now. With more than a few newspapers and websites writing about it as a rumor. It was being said that Juhi had told her producers about the new development and that she was going easy on signing up any new films. Jay Mehta, Juhi's husband has confirmed that his wife was pregnant and that he was thrilled about it.

Akshay Kumar is back with Twinkle Khanna

The on-again-off-again couple of Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna are actually planning to marry. Twinkle has apparently decided to forgive Akshay Kumar for his flings by agreeing to marry the guy. Cricket match fixers and bookies have started accepting bets on the length of the marriage. Actually, you can't really condemn Akshay for playing with women. He's no Lothario. He just thinks all the pretty women he comes across are so many cards in his pack. He shuffles them, drops some, shuffles again and picks a new one, sometimes an old one. Akki is a card player. But Twinkle remains his Queen of Hearts. Lets hope he stops shuffling after marriage or he may find the deck stacked against him. Worse, he might find himself the joker in the pack.

Hrithik's marriage to Suzanne is on hold till May next year

Put those buckets away girls. No need for any more tears. Hrithik's marriage to Suzanne is on hold. Those wedding bells will ring out only in May next year. He has to finish Karan Johar's new film "Kabhi Kush Kabhi Gham" opposite Kareena Kapoor first. Another interesting news is that Amisha Patel has sworn never to act with Hrithik again for reaons not known yet. The film "Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage" will be their last film together. However, Hrithik's other co-stars are quite crazy about him so one grumpy co-star won't bother him much.

Aishwarya Rai calls off her relationship with Salman Khan

Strange are the ways of Bollywood heroes and heroines. Just a couple of weeks ago we kept hearing about how Salman has done a friendly appearance in Aishwarya's "Dhai Akshar Prem Ke" In return, Ash was planning to do a guest appearance in her beau's much delayed film, which also stars Madhuri and Shahrukh Khan. We've also been hearing stories about how one visits the other on the sets in the middle of shoots. The last heard was how Ash kept disappearing to her hotel room while shooting for "Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke" in Hyderabad.

It seemed surprising to everyone till it was found out that Salman was staying in the same hotel. The two were engrossed with each other to the extent of forgetting that one of them was there to shoot. However, the latest on the two is that Ash has got wind of Salman's flings and unfaithfulness to her and has called off her relationship with the incurable flirt.

"Mohabattein" and "Mission Kashmir", two of the most eagerly awaited big budget films releasing this Diwali

Mohabbatein: Aditya Chopra's "Mohabattein" is said to be heavily inspired by Hollywood's "Dead Poets Society".Mohabbatein has a campus backdrop and the film is set in a hostel in London. Narayan Shanker (Amitabh Bachchan), is a strict principal who will not tolerate any nonsense (read flirting, dating or romance) within the campus. Raj Aryan ( Shah Rukh Khan) is a young lecturer in the college, who's immensely popular among the students, and who's in love with Narayan's daughter in the film, Aishwarya Rai. Aishwarya is dead and appears only in flashback sequences, we are made to believe.

Hrithik has proved himself twice over with the hits "Kaho Na Pyar Hai" and "Fiza". Chances are, he will pull off a hat-trick of hits with his third and final release in the year 2000. Like "Fiza", Hrithik's character in "Mission Kashmir" undergoes severe tests of loyalty and morality before it emerges victorious. The film affords Hrithik a chance to display a spectrum of complex emotions.

Shilpa's final word on Akshay Kumar

It was just yesterday when it seemed to the whole world that Shilpa Shetty and Akshay Kumar were the most steady twosome in filmdom. The couple shocked everyone around when they split. Everybody had a field day trying to find reasons for the breakup. A few gossipmongers even went around saying that Shilpa was trying to woo him back. Some even went to the extent of saying that the two had made up and were back together again.

However, the dam seems to have burst and Shilpa has gone on record denying her reconciliation with lover boy and has also expressed her disgust at having found how Akshay cheated on her even when they were together. "Akshay used and abused me," is Shilpa's final word on the whole sordid affair.

Noted actor Anupam Kher excited about the mega show "Sawal Dus Crore Ka"

If Amitabh Bachchan says 'lock kiya jaye' in Kaun Banega Crorepati, the favorite words of host Anupam Kher in the mega show "Sawal Dus Crore Ke" are "freeze it." If Kaun Banega Crorepati has more questions on history, geography, people and places, "Sawal Dus Crore Ka" focusses more on current affairs. This is how the two shows differ from each other, Anupam Kher said in a press conference.

Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala will co-host Zee TV's "Sawal Dus Crore Ka" with Anupam Kher according to a report. Manisha was unavailable for comment but her secretary Ajit Dewani said, "She will be shooting for two episodes a day for eights days a month." Zee TV has signed an agreement with the actress to do at least 48 episodes for a period of three months, after which it can be extended, depending on the programme's feedback, Mr Dewani added.

Amitabh Bachchan's hosted television show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" faces stiff competition from other channels

The Megastar of Hindi films Amitabh Bachchan's hosted television show "Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC)" is facing stiff competition from other television channels. There's money in the air. Harshvardhan Nawathe from Mumbai has become the first Crorepati winner. To counter the unparallel success of "Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC)" on Star Plus, two TV channels are launching big-money shows around Diwali.

On its part, Star TV is planning a series of innovative KBC shows, to stay on top. Says Sameer Nair, executive vice-president, programming, "We're going to have special episodes for children, jounalists and housewives. The competition is getting fierce, it's going to be very challenging. Clearly, KBC has rewritten the rules of the TV game, and the eight-year-old satellite television industry is entering a phase of fierce competition from other television channels.

Salman Khan faces one more chargesheet in poaching case

One more chargesheet was filed against Bollywood actor Salman Khan for using illegal arms in hunting protected wild animals two years ago. The chargesheet was filed by the police in the court of additional judicial magistrate against Salman for hunting black bucks in the area falling under Luni police station, about 60 km from here. The police had recovered a revolver and a rifle from the actor after his arrest and now registered a case under the arms act as the licence of the arms had expired.

Salman was not present in the court when the fresh chargesheet was filed. His counsel told the magistrate that since the actor had been granted permanent leave from attending court dates in the other cases, he should be allowed to get leave from personal attendance in this case also. The request was granted by the court which fixed December 2 for arguments on the charges. The prosecution has listed 19 witnesses in the chargesheet. The cases against the film actors were filed in October 1998 when they were shooting here for the movie "Hum Saath Saath Hain".

Indian film bags Green Oscar

The film Shores of Silence- Whale Sharks in India by renowned wildlife filmmaker Mike Pandey has won the top award for environmental films on television at the Wildscreen 2000 festival, also known as the Green Oscars, in Bristol. The film was chosen out of 47 international entries in the British city. This is the second time that a film by Mike Pandey has won the Green Oscar at the Wildscreen International Film Festival for Environment and Conservation. The Last Migration- Wild Elephant Capture in Sarguja had become the first Asian film to win the Wildscreen Panda (Green Oscar) in 1994. That film had gone on to win five other international awards.

Shores of Silence- Whale Sharks in India, the first Indian film to focus on a large marine species, is a hard-hitting account of the slaughter and trade of whale sharks on the western coast of India. One of the 47 films selected of a total 424 international entries, it was made under difficult conditions and took almost three years to complete. The film was produced, directed and filmed by Mike Pandey of Riverbank Studios, assisted by his core crew Rita Banerji and Shibani Chaudhary and backed by veteran technicians Lalman and Rajinder Pratap. The film is supported by the Earth Matters Foundation, which has begun an awareness campaign to save the whale shark, which is the largest fish on Earth. Two other films by Mike Pandey- Honey Hunters of the Blue Mountains and The Living Fossil- were also shown at Wildscreen 2000.

Hot babe Shilpa Shetty finds a new admirer

While the gallent Yuvraj was thrashing the Australians in the quarter-finals of the ICC Knockout cricket tournament in Nairobi, an elderly man tucked in the press-box of the Nairobi Gymkhana was thinking not-quite cricket. Here was the former English cricketer Geoffrey Boycott sitting in front of the confession box and speaking his heart out. This time, his heart lay mysteriously in Bollywood. Steadfast by the 'aila' girl. Never known to mince his words, this notorious Yorkshire man (he had violent rows with his past girlfriends) said he was flattered by Shilpa's vital statistics. Even Ashwariya Rai fell short of his adoration. The reason- "Shilpa is stronger."

Hollywood star Steven Seagal joins Bollywood team

Hollywood superstar and producer Steven Seagal has joined the board of the Bollywood group which gives annual film, music and fashion awards to Indian artistes, chairman Kamal Dandona said in New York. "This is the first time that a major Hollywood personality is on the Board of a media company with focus on South Asia," he said. The selection for the award is made on the basis of popularity of the artistes among NRIs and is adjudged by a panel which nominates the top three performers.

Hrithik Roshan, the cool milk baby

Hrithik Roshan pumping iron? Sure. Hrithik Roshan promoting breast-feeding? No! Well, why not? Look at it this way- breast milk is just another form of iron. In a move that has drawn gasps of surprise, the biceps boy has decided to lend his charming visage to promote a countrywide breast-feeding campaign. From the first week of October, 50,000 doctors' clinics and nursing homes across the country- from Guntur to Jamshedpur and Tenali to Bareilly- will carry autographed posters of black-clad Hrithik with this line: "You can always tell a mother's milk baby." The poster is being printed in nine languages- English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Malayalam, Telegu and Tamil.

What kind of lateral thinking made the company link a Bollywood hero to breast-feeding? Wouldn't it have been more natural to have a celebrity young mum with a dumpling baby? Says Atul Dandekar, group product manager, "We didn't want to talk down to mothers, we wanted to approach it from a new viewpoint- that of the child. We wanted to put something aspirational before them. Hrithik was the answer." The company decided that the best way to arrest the attention of young women was by using a handsome young man. Hrithik is not too macho and his physique rules out any chances of his being considered a sissy. His appeal is pan-Indian and, more than anything else, he epitomises contemporary cool.

Abhishek Bachchan's third film "Dhai Akshar Prem Ke" running sucessfully all over India

Abhishek Bachchan's "Dhai Akshar Prem Ke" which released all over India on September 29 is running successfully throughout India. The film also stars Aishwarya Rai, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, Dalip Tahil and Salman Khan and Sonali Bendre in guest appearances. The music of the film is by Jatin-Lalit. The film is produced and directed by Raj Kanwar.

Abhishek Bachchan is expected to be as proficient and screen-friendly as megastar Amitabh Bachchan in his very first few films. At the same time he is also expected to be an actor in his own right. Audiences want a double- deckered thrill while watching Abhishek. This places him in a peculiar crisis. If his genes assert themselves prominently, as they did in "Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya", they crib he is overdoing the Bachchan tag. If his genes become dormant, they say he is not able to extract from his father's super shadow!

Income-tax raids on Bollywood stars

Income-tax authorities raided the premises of several film personalities, including Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai in Mumbai. A team of 150 income-tax officers, supported by 60 policemen carried out searches at the residences of Rani Mukherjee, Urmila Matondkar and Amrish Puri. The premises of some well-known Bollywood producers-directors including Yash Chopra, Yash Johar and his son Karan Johar were also raided. Most of the raids were conducted in Northwest Mumbai localities of Bandra, Juhu and Versova. Cash and documents relating to investments were seized during the raids and 15 lockers have been sealed. From Salman Khan's house the authorities recovered some confidential documents pertaining to contracts and payments he received for performing abroad. Confirming the raids, Director General of Income Tax, P K Sharma said that the raids were conducted following definite information. Many of the film stars were present at their home when the Income Tax officials turned up. The raids are to continue.

Aishwarya Rai and Lisa Ray too old for Hrithik

Instead of playing spin the bottle they're spinning Hrithik to get the gal for him in the Coke ad. Hrithik's father Rakesh Roshan is becoming a stickler for details. The gal whom he'll romance is being changed all the time. First it was supposed to be Aishwarya Rai. Then she was changed for Lisa Ray. Then Lisa was out and the gorgeous light-eyed model Aditi Gowatrikar was in. Aditi's okay feels daddy Roshan but those who know all, say that Rakesh Roshan felt that both Ash and Lisa look too old for his Hrithik. Rakesh however, was quick to deny this. Ash, he said, failed to turn up for the shoot in Mauritius. "I don't have an inkling as to why Ash could not attend the shoot. I had even narrated the story board brief to her and I flew to Mauritius well in advance." About the shoot he says, "This ad will be eagerly awaited because I have given Hrithik a new look which his fans will love." When it comes to Hrithik, any look will do!

Madhuri Dixit open to Hollywood films

Bollywood film actress Madhuri Dixit, settled in the United States after marriage, says she has no plans to quit acting in films and would consider a debut in Hollywood films if offered "suitable roles." "Though I live in America, you will see more of me in films. I love acting and I am not going to give up (acting) so easily," she said in Berlin on the occasion of the world premier of eminent painter Maqbool Fida Husain's Hindi film "Gajagamini".

Husain said that he chose Berlin for the world-premier of his directorial venture because of "emotional reasons and special attachment to the German capital." Hussain recalls that a short film made by him 30 years ago was first shown in a Berlin Film Festival where he got "recognition" as a film maker. Madhuri said that she decided to act in Gajagamini impressed more out of its content than the form. "The film's a unique one and does not fall into any particular category like a Bollywood film or arty film or parallel cinema," she said.