Presenting the facts!

Producer Boney Kapoor is a little peeved and justifiably so. He says his latest film, Pukar isn8217;t doing as poorly as people say it is. quot;True the film didn8217;t take a bumper initial, but that8217;s because most of the youth were completely taken in by Kaho Naa8230; Pyaar Hai,quot; he explains. With the tax-free status, however, things have begun looking up, he adds. Explaining that the entire youth market has embraced Kaho Naa8230; Pyaar Hai, while the large Muslim masses have politely shown their slant towards Pakistan by staying away from Pukar, Boney says the film has found a huge audience among the thinking audiences. quot;In our ninth week, the movie is running at ten cinema halls in the city. If that isn8217;t a good record, then what is?quot; he asks. Discussing pure figures, the filmmaker says that in Mumbai alone, where the film was sold for Rs 2 crore, it has crossed the Rs 2.75 crore mark. quot;And we8217;re doing well in Delhi too,quot; he says, adding that the film has fetched an overflow in suchterritories as Nizam, Andhra, Mysore and Tamil Nadu. He admits that Bengal is a slow recovery centre, but also makes it a point to mention that positive word-of-mouth towards the movie has pushed it immensely.

After her sizzling Dilbar number in Sirf Tum, Sushmita Sen has once again been roped in to lend glamour to a seemingly grim movie. This time round, the sensational Ms Sen will be seen gyrating to a foot-tapping number for Khalid Mohammed8217;s Fiza which stars Hrithik Roshan and Karisma Kapoor in main roles. Those who8217;ve caught a peek at the dance insist that Sushmita8217;s once again managed to do wonders, and they predict this number will rule the countdown shows for a long time to come. As for the rest of the film 8212; a terrorist saga 8212; we8217;ll just wait and watch!

The dash for Ash

With television promos of Mansoor Khan8217;s Westside Story-inspired musical, Josh having hit the channels already, one can8217;t help but notice that Aishwarya Rai is truly looking sexy. While in the past, words like quot;gorgeous, smashing, beautifulquot; and quot;ravishingquot; have been heaped on her in abundance, nobody8217;s really called her sensuous or sexy. Paired opposite Chandrachur Singh, with Shah Rukh Khan playing her pyaara bhai, wonder what8217;s going to happen some months later when Aditya Chopra8217;s Mohabbatein releases. In that one, Ash is romantically paired opposite Shah Rukh. Guess they8217;ll just cross that bridge when they reach it!

Reel vs real life

With former boyfriend Akshay Kumar chasing Twinkle Khanna now, we hear svelte Shilpa Shetty has decided to focus on her work for a change. She8217;s apparently giving her best shot for Dharmesh Darshan8217;s Dhadkan, which insiders say will do wonders for her career. But we can8217;t help wondering how it must feel reporting to work day after day, running around trees with who used to be your former sweetheart. Ladies and gentlemen, let8217;s not forget that Shilpa8217;s co-star in Dhadkan is none other that Akshay himself!