Salman Khan with Kangana Ranaut

Salman Khan seems to have found a new favourite. After Katrina Kaif and Zarine Khan, Salman Khan has chosen to work with Kangna Ranaut for his maiden production. The film will be directed by ace filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar.

It's learnt that Salman and Mahesh Manjrekar wanted to cast an actress who could emote strongly and yet look glamorous and their search ended with finalising Kangna for the film.

With this film Kangna has proved that she is becoming the new reigning queen in B-Town since she's bagging all the big films at the moment.

My role was really tough : Kangana

Ever since ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI was announced and proclaimed to be about the gangs of Mumbai (then called Bombay) with the 70s battle of Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim being a definite highlight, there was immense curiosity to know more about the presence of leading ladies in the film.

However, Kangna - just like most of the cast members of the film - refuses to comment on the reference point. "If you ask me then there is my reference point to any real life personality that any of the male protagonists may have been connected to in reality. On closer look you would find that my character is based more on the rebellious actresses from 70s like Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi. They changed the way actresses were perceived to be in the era gone by. These women were bold, beautiful, daring, gorgeous and above all courageous. They were the ones who started the trend of live in relationships, something which is so 'in' today."

Kangna is happy that she went ahead and played yet another character that stems from a biographical tale.

"The brief that was given to me by Milan (Luthria) was that I have to project such a woman with whom every man should fall in love", she smiles, "On the face value this seems simple but enacting this is a different challenge altogether. To play a Bollywood Diva who is so real isn't something that is easy to portray. I had to act a lot through eyes and emotions."

Well one had all the right reasons to believe so. After all Kangna Ranaut has made a career out of playing mysterious or biographical characters (Monica Bedi for GANGSTER, Parveen Babi for WOH LAMHE, a drug addict model in FAHION) ever since she entered the industry. Now that she is all set to play a Bollywood Diva, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI should hopefully make for a glam filled fun watch once it releases all over on 30th July.

Kangana in Rascals with Ajay and Sanjay

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut is making a conscious effort to break her 'tough dramatic or tragic roles' image and, perhaps, that's the reason she is working predominantly in light hearted films now. After being a part of as many as three comic ventures NO PROBLEM, TANU WEDS MANU and DOUBLE DHAMAAL (DHAMAAL sequel), the lanky lady has yet again signed an out-an-out comedy film RASCALS.

The trade is abuzz with the news that filmmaker David Dhawan, the King of comedy, who is making RASCALS with actors Ajay Devgan and Sanjay Dutt, has roped in Kangana as one of the leading ladies of the film. Apparently the film is being produced by Sanjay Dutt alongwith his wife Maanyata Dutt and it is their first home production. As the female lead needed to be sexy, glamorous and funny, they finalized Kangana for the part.

This is the first time Kangana is working with Sanjay Dutt, however with Ajay this is her second outing after ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI.

With the teaming of three powerhouse performers and backing of the filmmaker like David Dhawan one can sure expect fireworks on-screen!

Kangana in Dhamaal 2

Ever since the beginning of her career, Kangna Ranaut has excelled in roles where her character is a tad edgy. Also, there is a certain psychotic/suicidal element to majority of her characters. Whether it is Simran of GANGSTER, Sana Azim of WOH LAMHE, Neha of LIFE IN A METRO, Shonali of FASHION, Nandita of RAAZ - THE MYSTERY CONTINUES or Gina Grover of KITES - each of these characters hasn't quite been a regular girl next door with everything hunky-dory about her. No wonder, one has waited to see Kangna in a film where she could afford to live life normally, be happy, enjoy a normal relationship and let her hair loose.

Audience (and perhaps Kangna's) wait has finally come to an end with the actor being signed for DOUBLE DHAMAAL, sequel to the original DHAMAAL, which was successful at the box office. Icing on the cake lies in the fact that though the first of this Indra Kumar franchise was an all boys affair (Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey, Ashish Chaudhary), the sequel is all set to be a far colorful affair with female protagonists being an integral part of the film as well.

Confirms Kangna, "Yes, I have signed the film. It seems good fun to be working in a laughter entertainment like DHAMAAL. Being a part of a comic outing like this should be quite interesting." When asked about her leading man in the film, Kanga informs, "I am paired opposite Riteish in DOUBLE DHAMAAL. We begin shooting this September." DOUBLE DHAMAAL would be for the first time that Kangna would be working with Riteish Deshmukh, something that should make for an altogether fresh new pairing.

Other than Kangna, there is another leading lady in the film as well. As per reports, Vidya Balan is also a part of DOUBLE sequel and would be paired opposite Sanjay Dutt. However, an official confirmation is yet to come in.

Kangana : The next tatto girl

Tattoos surely are scoring a hit with the bollywood stars. Now, the latest name to be added to the list is Kangna Ranaut.

Buzz is that Kangna Ranaut is studying tattoo designs these days. The actress wants to get inked as soon as she can. The only hitch is the design which she wants has not been narrowed down upon yet.

After seeing many of her friends get inked, Kangna has decided to take the plunge now. Initial reports say that in all likelihood Kangna will get a tattoo done around her neck.

Well, let's hope Kangna's wish to get inked isn't a long wait for her and also for her fans.

I am no more a Serial Kisser

Emraan Hashmi is all set for his upcoming film, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI, in which he's playing an underworld don. According to the actor, his 'serial kisser' tag will go after this film.

"Definitely it's a major depart from playing romantic roles. Hopefully, I won't be addressed as a serial kisser after OUATIM. The script and the film is a completely different genre for me," said Emraan

The film also stars Ajay Devgn, Kangana Ranaut and Prachi Desai.

On working with Ajay Devgn, Emraan said, "It's extremely intimidating to work with Ajay Devgn. He's an actor who has won a National Award and who oozes that kind of intensity in the frame."

The 31-year-old actor further added, "For a young actor it is almost like going to acting school and learning. It was a tremendous experience as well. Just sit there and watch him act. I really admire him as an actor and learnt a lot from him."

Emraan had to work a lot on his body for this film. But he completely loathes the term 'six pack abs'.

"I hate this term six-pack. When Milan narrated the script he made sure that the character demands an overall muscular physique. Because of the action sequences, the toughness in the look was required," he said.

Directed by Milan Luthria, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI is set to release on July 30.

Kangana praised Zeenat Aman's work

Kangna Ranaut cannot stop praising the queen of the 70's - Zeenat Aman. For her role in the film ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI, Kangna did an extensive research on Zeenat Aman before portraying the role.

According to Kangna Ranaut, the charisma of Zeenat Aman was inescapable every time she saw her film.

It must be recalled that Kangna is playing a role that borders on the popularity of Zeenat Aman during her peak days.

Speaking about the era of the seventies, the actress says, "What I noticed while playing my character in the film was the fact that the heroine of the seventies took half an hour to get dressed and more than two hours to style her hair."

Though Kangna cannot stop praising the retro time for its style, but at the moment her concern is that the audiences accept and appreciate her in the retro look.

Ajay made Kangana nervous

Kangana Ranaut has done some very bold scenes in her past films. Be it GANGSTER, WOH LAMHE, FASHION, LIFE IN A METRO or RAAZ- THE MYSTERY CONTINUES, Kangana has had no qualms in performing them.

However, for a scene in her upcoming film, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI, Kangana was very nervous and the reason behind her nervousness was Ajay Devgn.

We hear, in a romantic scene in the film, Ajay Devgn expressed his emotions through his large and intense eyes, pretty easily. This made Kangana feel inferior as she thought her eyes were not that expressive. According to Kangana, it was very challenging to act opposite Ajay, who was pretty immaculate.

We are sure that this experience of shooting with Ajay must have raised Kangana's acting skills a notch higher.

Kites

Cast:-Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori, Kangana Ranaut, Kabir Bedi, Nicholas Brown, Luce Rains, Steven Michael Quezada, Dave Colon, Ronald Hamilton, Yuri Suri.
Producer:- Filmkraft Productions
Director:- Anurag Basu
Music Director:- Rajesh Roshan
Choreographer:- Farah Khan, Flexy Stu

Rating:-4.5