Barbara Mori begins filming for Kites

Mexican beauty Barbara Mori has come to Mumbai and began shooting the final leg of Kites from January 4th. Accompanied by her mother and sister, Mori has been enjoying Hrithik’s hospitality ever since she arrived in the city.

“Barbara is the Roshan family’s special guest. Hrithik is taking special care of her. She doesn’t eat set food as it’s very oily. Special food is served for her which is completely oil free. In fact she had once shared Hrithik’s dabba with him and since she liked it a lot, her food now comes from his home for her,” informs a source from the set.

“Barbara’s mother and sister also visited the sets to see the shooting. The filming goes on till 10pm every night,” adds the source.

With Hrithik’s birthday round the corner, celebrations are being planned for the superstar.

“Hrithik’s birthday is on the 10th and the whole crew is planning to celebrate it on the sets. There will also be a small get together in Hrithik’s home and Barbara is expected to attend with her family,” informs the source.

Barbara Mori and her family are staying at Oakwood Premier, a service apartment in Juhu ever since she arrived in Mumbai at the start of the month.

Mori plays an important role opposite Hrithik Roshan along with Kangana Ranaut in Kites. The film is directed by Anurag Basu. Kites is releasing in May 2009.

Hrithik spotted with three ladies

Oakwood Premier, a block of serviced apartments in Juhu, has a star visitor these days. Hrithik Roshan is seen three regularly. And guess what, he comes to meet there ladies in an apartment.

But hold on, they are none other than his “Kites” co-star Barbara Mori, her mom and her sister who have just come back from a holiday in Goa.

Hrithik wanted them to be very comfortable in Mumbai and hence he himself searched for an apartment wherein the trio ladies would be comfortable and feel special. He also arranged for their traveling not only from the sets but also to site-see around Mumbai.

Hrithik is paying a whopping Rs.60,000 a day for the apartment. And Barbara's mother just can’t stop talking about Hrithik and his hospitality!

Hrithik Roshan plays a Salsa instructor in Kites

Hrithik Roshan plays a Las Vegas based Salsa dance instructor in Kites. And Rakesh Roshan, the producer of the film, is sparing no cost to ensure that his son, who is already one of the best dancers in Bollywood, surpasses his previous performances. Totally motivated, Hrithik has set his best foot forward, and he is working extremely hard on his new moves. So much so that he hardly meets anyone.

The Roshans have got US-based choreographer Flexy Stu to choreograph a dance sequence in the film. Presently, the song being shot in a suburban studio in Mumbai is picturised on Hrithik and Kangna Ranaut. Supposedly, it is a crucial song during which Kangna, who plays a rich siren in the film, realizes her love for the dance instructor. The film also stars South American beauty Barbara Mori, who is expected in India in early January to shoot her part.

Looking forward to 2009 in Bollywood

The New Year has dawned with a promise of more entertaining and thought-provoking cinema from Bollywood. Will new milestones be reached in 2009? Here’s a look.

If 2008 ended on a promising note, 2009 begins with a bang, with some big banner movies set to hog the marquee. The Bhatt camp’s Raaz - The Mystery Continues and the Sippys’ Chandni Chowk To China with Akshay Kumar at the helm would be the two scene stealers of January, which will also witness the release of Zoya Akhtar’s dark comedy on Bollywood, Luck By Chance , due for January 30 release along with Harman Baweja ’s second film Victory . Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire , a Golden Globe nominee and an Oscar hopeful, might get released in January after its successful run at overseas box office.

The month of February would see the release of movies like Priyadarshan’s Billu Barber and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra ’s Dilli 6.

This year will see directors like Anurag Basu and Imtiaz Ali returning after a break of one year. While the Rakesh Roshan produced Kites can hit the theatres any time around mid year as the movie is still in the making and its major chunk is still to be shot, Imtiaz Ali will comeback with yet another love story, untitled yet, starring Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan .

Rajkumar Hirani will not give any Munnabhai jhappi, but will return with a thought-provoking film that takes a dig at our education system in 3 Idiots which is based on bestseller novel ‘Five Point Someone’ and has Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles. Most likely, ‘3 Idiots’ would close 2009.

Lavishly budgeted movies in this period of recession may appear absurd but they would be one too many in 2009. London Dreams by Vipul Shah, Kambakkth Ishq by Sajid Nadiadwala , and the Salman Khan -written historical drama ‘Veer’ are some of the celluloid mammoths that would roar in 2009. ‘Kambakkth Ishq’ is particularly special as it has some Hollywood biggies in cameos for the first time in an Indian masala movie.

On the contrary, industry giants like Yashraj and Dharma Productions have few movies lined up this year. There is no news as to when Karan Johar’s much anticipated My Name Is Khan with Kajol and Shahrukh Khan is going to release. Possibly, by this year end. Yashraj will begin this year with New York directed by Kabir Khan and starring John Abraham , Neil Nitin Mukesh and Katrina Kaif . Katrina would also be seen in a love story Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani with Ranbir Kapoor .

Himesh Reshammiya will be back with a movie named A Love Issshtory , again paired opposite two beautiful ladies. You can also watch some off-beat parallel cinema like Dev. D , Aur Devdas , Tera Kya Hoga Johnny , Wake Up Sid , Delhi Belly , Lamha , Teen Patti , Johnny Mastana which has Amitabh Bachchan in the lead, Nagesh Kukunoor’s Eight By Ten or the Bipasha Basu starrer Pankh or Mallika Sherawat ’s nagin act in Hisss .

Some serious directors would dabble in comedy for the first time. Ashutosh Gowarikar is trying some rib-tickling humour in What's Your Raashi with Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja. And Vishal Bharadwaj will return with Kaminay which stars Shahid Kapur and Priyanka in the lead.

And not to forget, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is returning back to what he does best and directing a movie with Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai . Ash would also be seen in Mani Ratnam’s next with hubby Abhishek Bachchan .

From the look of it, 2009 holds out a promising spread.

Hrithik-Barbara lovestory transcends boundaries!

Anurag Basu is super excited about his latest film under production KITES, starring Hrithik Roshan opposite Mexican Barbara Mori, which is about love transcending cultural and language barriers.

Here, Barabar Mori's character speaks only Spanish and while that of Hrithik's only Hindi, but despite of this barrier they fall in love with each other. But in spite of all the talks about steamy scenes the movie is not about sex but is an intensely romantic film.

There is some spice too in the story with a love triangle involving Kangana Ranaut's character and a thriller twist towards the end.

Director Anurag is working with the very talented and handsome Hrithik Roshan for the first time. He says, "Hrithik and I really enjoyed working together. I always respected him as an actor but now I respect him as a human being too. Hrithik and I made the film honestly, just like we wanted to."

Anurag was amazed by Hirthik's professionalism in spite of a knee injury.

"Before every shot I would be worried about Hrithik's knee. If anything happened to him, then our entire outdoor shooting schedule would've gone for a toss. But Hrithik asked me not to compromise the shots under any circumstance. I'm awed by the way he managed, without ever letting the shoot halt. He even did the few action scenes we have in the film himself."Says Anurag.

And it is learnt that Anurag is impressed by Barbara Mori too. He stated, "The day I narrated bout KITES I knew I had chosen the right actress. I've this bad habit of narrating very fast. Barbara is a Mexican actress, so she is not aware of Hindi and also less familiar with English. But the way she understood my story, hats off to her. Her expressions changed while I was narrating the story. I've never seen any actor responding this way. Even though she comes from a different culture, the emotions of love and relationships are the same. Her approach was definitely different."

KITES will be complete by January and Basu says he is nervous because of the huge expectations surrounding the multilingual film and hopes that it delivers.

We too want the movie on which he worked so hard to deliver maximum results.

Hrithik meets Michael Jackson

Hrithik Roshan couldn't believe his eyes when pop king Michael Jackson casually walked into his make-up room in LA, where he was stationed for the shooting for Kites being directed by Anurag Basu.

No one was aware that the pop singer was going to drop in on the set. A source reveals, "Hrithik was in his make-up room when Michael's two bodyguards entered.

He was taken aback to see these burly men enter the room. On questioning them, he learnt that they were Michael's body guards."

It is believed that the singer had come to do a recce as he was shooting the next day in the same bungalow.

It was a coincidence that Jackson dropped in the same day as the Kites team was shooting.

Sources from the film reveal that Hrithik also took pictures with Jackson.

"Michael introduced himself to Hrithik. It was a funny scene to see someone like him who the whole world knows introducing himself.

The two spoke for a short time and then Micheal left."

The singer who is usually seen wearing gloves, didn't have them on, that day.

British super model Kate Moss had dropped in on the sets of Dostana in Miami where John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan were shooting.