CELEBS FACTORY

Actor Ranveer Singh seems to have beefed up for 'Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl' as the first look of the film shows him flaunting his six-pack abs.

The poster shows Ranveer posing shirtless with a toned up physique and the tagline reads - Ladies Beware! Ricky Bahl is coming.

After the stupendous success of 'Band Baaja Baaraat', Ranveer is once again teaming up with Anushka Sharma for the romantic comedy, which releases Dec 9.

What's common between Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone and Anushka? Well, besides the fact that they are super famous and powerful, they all hail from Karnataka.

With their stupendous success in movies, Sandalwood certainly seems to have lost out on cashing in on their charm and popularity. Here are a few well known stars whose names are synonymous with beauty and popularity

Aishwarya Rai:This dancer-turned-model with the most attractive eyes hails from Mangalore. She debuted in Mani Ratnam's Tamil biopic Iruvarand did a couple of Tamil and Hindi movies that were not much to talk about. However, her performance in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanamestablished her as a good actress and she was flooded with offers from Bollywood. Her marriage into the Bachchan Khandaanonly enhanced her star power. Sandalwood's dream of getting her to feature in a Kannada movie still remains a distant dream.

Anushka sharma:Another Bangalore beauty who completed her education in Bangalore. However, her modelling career took her to Mumbai and after she bagged the role in Shah Rukh Khan's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, she's been on a roll. Her popularity has grown by the day and looks like she too will join the list of others who made a quiet exit from Bangalore and will always remain elusive to Sandalwood.

Anushka Shetty:This Mangalore-born bunt beauty like others did her schooling and college in Bangalore. However, her entry to tinsel town was with a Telugu movie. The rest, like they say was history. With her mind blowing performances in movies like Arundhati, she's now become the queen of Tollywood. No talk of her doing any Kannada movies yet.

Deepika Padukone:This long legged Konkani lass is the most sought-after actress in the film industry. Deepika did her schooling and college in Bangalore and started modelling when she bagged her first movie. Even though her debut was in Kannada with Upendra's Aishwarya, she has always been considered a hot Bollywood babe. Deepika too hasn't had the time to look back since then. It's Hindi movie all the way for this Bangalore chick! Her only connection to Bangalore right now is her link-up with the liquor Baron's son Sidhartha Mallya.

Lara Dutta:Nobody expected this Bangalore-bred former Miss Universe would enter films. However, even after her debut with a Tamil film Arasatchi, Sandalwood gave her a royal ignore. Post that, Lara starred in many Hindi movies that went on to become a hit. And now, with her expecting a child with tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi, it isn't likely that she will act in movies any time soon. Hard luck again!

Ajith's next heroine is likely to be Anushka who is on a high, post the rave reviews of her performance in Deiva Thirumagal.

Ajith and Anushka are likely to do a film together for Nagi Reddy's banner.

Ajith will soon turn his attention to this film once the shooting for Billa 2 and Vishnuvardhan's next for A M Rathnam is completed.

Anushka should also wrap shooting for Selvaraghavan's Irandam Ulagam opposite Arya and her pending Telugu projects before beginning work on this project.

This untitled film will be directed by Siruthai Siva and Yuvan Shankar Raja is likely to compose the music for the film.

Billa 2 will be a complete action film with the stunt sequences being fiery like never seen before in Indian cinema.

The action scenes are touted to be highly power-packed to make sure that its going to be a treat to all Ajith fans after seeing him in his smashing performance as ACP Vinayak Mahadev in Mangatha.

Recently, the star was injured during the filming of one such stunt scene and had to be rushed to the hospital. When enquired about this, we were told that the injury was a minor one and Ajith was back in action almost immediately after it was treated.

Billa 2 directed by Chakri Toleti is currently progressing in Goa and the it seems to have shaped up very well with Parvathy Omanakuttan and Bruna Abdullah being the leading ladies.

After seeing the Ajith starrer Mankatha, Suriya is said to have wondered how long it would take him to act in a film like that.

Suriya was apparently showering praises on Ajith for acting in a negative role without considering his image.

Ajith’s negative role in Mankatha was the talk of the town when the film released.

It is noteworthy that at a time when his contemporaries would shun such roles to maintain their image, Ajith took it up without any qualms.

Actress Poorna's career has started to look very good lately and is very promising at present.

Poorna is Shakthi's heroine in Enna Solla Pogirai. Her film Vithagan opposite Parthiban is also nearing completion and is to be released soon.

This upcoming actress will also be seen in the film Karuvaachi that has her playing the title role opposite Akhil of Kalloori's fame as her leading man. She reported her role in Karuvaachi as a performance - oriented role that would exhibit her potential as an actress.

After a powerful performance in Naan Kadavul, actress Pooja went missing from the Tamil screen making way for reports that she had taken up a regular job at a big multinational organization in Bangalore.

It is now reported that Pooja will be seen in a Sri Lankan film called Kusa Paba directed by Sunil Ariyaratne.

Kusa Paba is a beautiful script derived from the Jataka tales about Prince Siddhartha's former birth as a deformed noble Prince who falls in love with the most beautiful Princess in the land.

Pooja is playing the haughty Princess who rejects the Prince (Jackson Antony) at first but is later won over by his goodness and talent.

There has been a lot of bad press for Ileana in recent times accusing the actress being a tantrum - throwing, unprofessional diva.

Farah Khan, one of the top choreographers in the country as well as director of hit films like Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om dismisses these reports as vicious fabrications.

Farah said that she has worked with Ileana on the sets of Shankar's forthcoming film Nanban that stars Vijay, Jiiva and Srikanth in the lead roles adding that she found Ileana to be the consummate professional.

"Ileana is an absolute trooper. She had her legs badly injured performing some intricate dance sequences and wanted to continue despite being in pain," said Farah.

Farah further defended the slender Goan beauty requesting the libelous reports about Ileana to be neglected.

The buzz now is that Prakash Raj has approached the Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni requiring him to appear in a guest role in his forthcoming film Dhoni.

Dhoni is expected to agree for the cameo as the film is titled after him and is touted to be a film for Children that raises a lot of possibilities that the cricketer may star in it.

Discussions about Dhoni's cameo in Prakash Raj's Dhoni are still in the initial stages and an announcement is expected very soon. It may be recalled that there was news that Prabhu Deva has done a guest role in Dhoni.

The film is being directed by Prakash Raj, who is also producing it under his banner Duet Films. Prakash Raj has also donned the main role in Dhoni.

Richa Gangopadhyay's debut films in Tamil are yet to be released, but Richa Gangopadhyay has already bagged a ticket to Bollywood.

The 'Osthe' and 'Mayakkam Enna' actress has been signed on by director Sushi Ganesh (yes, that is how Susi Ganesan wants to be known in Bollywood!) for his Hindi remake of his superhit Thiruttu Payale, which starred Jeevan, Sonia Aggarwal and Malavika in lead roles.

Susi Ganesh has cast Richa Gangopadhyay opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh in his debut Hindi flick titled 'Shortcut' launching himself along with the actress.

Shruti Hassan's career in Bollywood has not been very fruitful so far but she is getting a golden opportunity to create a niche for herself in the Hindi film industry.

Well, Shruti will be pairing up with none other than the Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in the Hindi remake of the Tamil movie 7am Arivu.

If reports are to be believed, Aamir Khan has recently seen the Tamil movie, 7am Arivu and the actor was so impressed with the movie that he immediately made his mind to have it remade. Not only the story of the movie but also Shruti Hassan's performance made him to stand up and clap for the actress at the end.

It goes without saying that A R Murugadoss, who directed Aamir in Ghajini, shares a good rapport with actor and Aamir knowing of Murgadoss' potential, has been keen on watching his 7aam Arivu, ever since it was announced.

7aam Arivu (7th Sense) directed by A R Murugadoss features Surya in dual roles of a circus artist and a monk named Bodhi Dharman, the transmitter of the Zen. Shruti Hassan will be seen in the character of a young scientist, whereas Hollywood actor Johnny Tri Nguyen threatens everybody with his negative character.

The making of the Dirty Picture poster is becoming very popular on the internet, thanks to Vidya Balan's seductive looks in it.

Co-star Tusshar Kapoor shared the video, and tweeted: 'Hey everyone, have just received 'The Making of the Dirty Picture poster', it's interesting footage from the photo shoot featuring the cast. I hope you all have as much fun watching it as we all did while shooting together.'

We're certainly looking forward to this film!

When Kareena Kapoor was approached for RA.ONE, it wasn't just the tag of 'biggest film' and 'biggest hero' that was enticing enough for her. She also wanted Shahrukh Khan to ensure that the film had at least one 'killer track' that won't just be the 'hottest song of the year' but also a class apart. Shahrukh consented and this is how 'Chammak Challo' was born with 'Criminal' being an icing on the cake.

"It's a given that RA.One would be watched by millions across the globe. Bebo was more conscious about this since it's an action movie and is centered on battle between Shahrukh and Arjun. She had to make her presence felt really strong and had a heart to heart conversation with Shahrukh,' informs a source, 'Shahrukh further assured her that she didn't have to bother at all and made her hear 'Chammak Challo' which was designed just for her. Post that she didn't have any hesitation whatsoever as she knew she had hit a jackpot."

Post that when 'Criminal' came her way, it was an added bonus for Kareena as now she had two dance numbers to dance on and that too with Shahrukh as her partner.

"Yes, I wanted the hottest item number of the year and I have been told that 'Chammak Challo' is indeed up there. On screen I have got a chance to be someone entirely different from what I have portrayed before," says Kareena.

Talking fondly about the film which many would believe to be the biggest grosser ever surpassing a total of 200 crore set by 3 IDIOTS, Kareena says, "When I was approached for RA.One, I knew that it was Shahrukh's most ambitious film and it was an honour for me that he wanted me to be there with him. I have a wonderful role in the movie and people will love my Character."

Seems like Anushka Sharma has been reduced to nothing but a puppet of Yash Raj Films.

Apparently, she has been asked by the production house not to retaliate about her alleged affairs with Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.

A source said, “Anushka isn’t the kind who’ll hide things for the heck of it. But she has been advised by the YRF officials not to talk about her personal life to the media.”

However, it was the most recent Shahid Kapoor allegation that made her see red. So she chose to seek Shahid’s help itself to clear the air.

“She will be allowed to talk to the press only during the promotion of the film Ladies V/S Ricky Bahl. But Shahid has promised to bail her out in the time being,” added the source.

After all, what are “just good friends” for?

Actress Kareena Kapoor had postponed the unveiling of her wax statue at Madame Tussauds’ for an indefinite period after the tragic demise of beau, actor Saif Ali Khan’s father, cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. The actor has now given the nod to museum authorities that she’s ready to unveil her wax statue on October 27.

“The unveiling of the statue was scheduled for the second week of October. But after the tragedy in the family, Bebo was in no mood to attend any event. Her primary objective was to be there for Saif. She cancelled all her appointments and public appearances that were scheduled in the first week of October,” says a friend of the star.

The reason Kareena chose to cancel all her events then was because she felt that she was not ready to attend any thing that remotely seemed like a celebration. “She politely communicated to the museum authorities that she had a tragedy in her family, and was unable to attend any public function. The museum authorities assured her that they were ready to wait,” the friend adds.

Kareena is now ready to fly to Blackpool, near London, where she will unveil the figurine. “She will also flag off a global exhibition, where the statues will be taken to six major cities around the world to be exhibited, before they are brought back to Blackpool. Unfortunately, this time around, the statues are not coming to Mumbai during the tour,” informs the source. Reportedly, Kareena’s statue will be seen in her avatar from the film Chameli.